Standing the Test of Time

I am a little bit of a movie buff. It makes sense, if you think about it. After all, popcorn does top my list of all time favorite foods. And popcorn and movies are one of those matches made in heaven.

I watch a lot of movies. Some good, some terrible. Some surprisingly good even though they are panned by the critics (think "Catch and Release" - and NOT just because of Timothy Olyphant. I could talk about this one all day long - join me if you're interested). Some that I can't stop thinking about long after I've left the theater. (These are my favorite - they can be anything from "Schindler's List" to "Love, Actually" - I don't discriminate on a genre-basis.)

What I find funny, though, is movies that I THOUGHT were good when I first saw them, but later realized that they were total junk. Again, there's no genre or setting/decade bias here. I have seen "Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead" at least ten times, most of them unintentional (HBO seems to like this one). I saw it shortly after its video cassette release (sadly missed this one at the Winchester Mall when I was in high school). And you know what? I still freaking love this movie. The premise is ridiculous, the plot cheesy, the clothes are BEYOND dated. And yet, it is irresistible. Christina Applegate is fantastic, and where else can you see the early work of a rising David Duchovny?

But the other night, I was reminded of another one of my favorite movies of the early '90s: one "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves." This movie is not just mediocre; it is downright awful. It is melodramatic and stupid, and Kevin Costner's acting sets the bar for horrific. And yet I was so drawn to it that I had to buy it immediately after its video release (and a life-sized poster of Kevin Costner to go with it). The best part of this movie is the severely overplayed Bryan Adam's ballad "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You." Now that's saying something.

You know what the worst part is, though? Back when we saw it in the summer of 1991, I had to challenge my mom's suggestion that it was kind of lame. And now I have to eat my words . . .