From Cheech & Chong to 'Superman III': My guilty pleasure movies

Thomas Chong

Part of being a true movie fan, in this humble writer's opinion, is embracing work that seemingly most other people don't appreciate. The same is true of music too, I think. We all have those artists or "works of art" we enjoy that most people look down upon or outright hate.

There are more than a few films I will probably be forced to defend liking over the course of my life, and I'm fine with that. It'd be boring if my collection only contained the selections the American Film Institute declares classics every now and then.

The idea for this blog came to me while I was recently binge-watching Cheech and Chong movies.

They're all pretty plotless and silly -- but I love them. Their stoner humor is on point, instead of manufactured. They're politically incorrect as hell but also rambunctious and unpredictable, which I would argue all great comedies should be.

Their three strongest films -- Up in Smoke, Cheech & Chong's Next Movie, and Nice Dreams -- are both time capsules of the era in which they were released, but also hilarious viewing for a lazy afternoon.

Fun fact: The duo also pop up sporadically in one of my favorite, underrated Martin Scorsese films as well, the 1985 New York classic After Hours. But I digress...

Here are a few other guilty pleasures of mine:

Superman III - The first two Christopher Reeve Superman films are pretty unassailable in my mind and have yet to be topped by any future adaptation of the DC Comics icon. Most fans of the franchise (and even some of its stars) have argued that series took a nosedive with part III. They probably have a point. It's a goofy, tonally-jarring movie, where Richard Pryor gets almost as much screen time as Reeve -- but that's kind of why I like it. It's great camp. Reeve playing "bad Superman" as a horny drunk? Phenomenal. Pryor wearing an oversize cowboy hat and a general's outfit, while taking on comic personas. Hilarious. And the Superman fighting himself sequence still holds up!

Drunk Superman

Russ Meyer movies - The king of the nudie picture is far from a feminist icon but I'd be lying if I said I didn't love the raunchy, devil-may-care quality of his best films. Yes, they feature copious amounts of T&A, but they are also shockingly bizarre and violent, with the female characters usually physically dominating the men throughout. Meyer was a fascinating guy who made sneakily brilliant movies like his satire Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Even reading the title makes me wince a little, but that said, I am a sucker for seeing Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. And despite this film's flaws, he's terrific in the much-maligned outing. Now, granted, I haven't watched it much since I first saw it in theaters, but this film is no way as atrocious as the Star Wars prequels it's often associated with. And while many fans were appalled by the sci-fi bent this film took, I personally enjoyed its attempt to be an homage to 1950s B-movies.

Bad movies - I've written about this before, but there's few things I adore more than an unintentionally horrible movie. It's probably not the best way to spend your time -- but there are few activities I enjoy more than sitting back and riffing on disasters like The Room and Miami Connection with friends. Not only does it make you appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into a good film but there's something so touching and tragic about someone aiming high and failing so miserably.

Rocky III and IV- I will contend that the original Rocky film, it's first sequel and 2007's Rocky Balboa are all actually excellent dramatic films about boxing. Part V is nearly unwatchable. But when it comes to pure adrenaline rush mixed with a healthy dose of absurdity -- the middle part of the saga has the goods. Part III is largely reasonable, although some pretty heavy camp creeps in. Rocky IV however goes all in with heavy-handed Cold War commentary I should have no patience for, but totally do.

Other much maligned sequels... - I am also a defender of several other sequels which have more than their fair share of detractors, such as Back to the Future Part III (I've never understood why people don't like this one), Ocean's Twelve (sure, it's a little smug, but it looks great) and Iron Man 2 (I loved seeing Robert Downey, Jr. face off with Mickey Rourke). There are probably a few others that just haven't immediately come to mind.

Hustle & Flow - This is one of those wildly entertaining movies that is morally reprehensible when you think about it for more than five seconds. Terrence Howard gives a genuinely terrific performance as a pimp we're somehow supposed to pity, who is trying to get a hip-hop career off the ground. I am pretty sure I can't support any of the notions this movie presents about relationships or the sex trade -- but it's got a great beat.