Mamacita says:  It used to worry me that the vast majority of my favorite movies are always the very ones that end up on “Ten Worst Movies of All Time” lists But it doesn’t any more, because I figure that people like what they like, and those lists might be one of the reasons more people don’t speak up and say “Wait a minute; I saw that and really enjoyed it.” Fight back, quirky movie lovers. As for you people who use such lists as actual guides for what you should or shouldn’t watch, the hell with you. You’re stupid.

I firmly believe that over half of the film reviewers in this country: 1. Go to see a film based on a book without first reading the book and therefore have no right whatsoever to say anything about it, * 2. Don’t even watch the movie before “reviewing” it, 3. Are from some planet whose customs and tastes are completely alien from mine, 4. Have no sense of humor, and 5.  Consider a movie silly unless it’s an expose’ or a piece of horror. Fresh air, nice people, and honest laughter are as “realistic” as are blood, war, degradation, drugs, betrayal, and psychopaths, and given a choice – and we all are – as to what kind of movie to see, I’ll pick the quirky, out-of-the-box, well-written, romantic comedy/drama any time. If it’s got Christopher Guest in it, all the better; I do enjoy a film that knows how to woo me with a witty turn of phrase.  My movies also have to have satisfactory, if not always happy, endings.  I hate loose ends, idiots, ignorance, dirt, and films that make me feel depressed.  I watch movies to feel happy.  They’re an escape into a better world, not a descent into hell.  Well, unless you choose to descend into hell. . . .

Life is hard enough without paying money to watch people slash, kill, rape, stalk, betray, wallow in their own misfortune, and take pride in their own ignorance.  No, thank you.

That’s my opinion, anyway.  Take it or leave it.

I’ve been watching my stack of Christmas movies all month, and I’m ending my holiday marathon with a film that is apparently #5 on many “Worst Films” lists, but which is in the top ten of my own personal “Movies That Fill Me With Memories and Make Me Really Happy” list.

Bonus:  The soundtrack is bloody awesome.  It opens and closes with this song:

Pay attention and you’ll see Dumbledore and LLCoolJ playing father and son. How much quirkier can a movie get?

*This film wasn’t adapted from a book. I fully understand why the reviews were bad, too. I just have the ability to, sometimes, read between the lines, dive into the subtlety, become one with the whimsy, and appreciate the humor. Unlike so many reviewers and the public whose tastes they control. (Shouldn’t it be the other way ’round?)

I do read some reviewers’ lists of bad movies; I use their list to make my own of must-see films. I figure, if these guys hated a movie, it must be right up my alley.  There are also a few reviewers whose opinions I respect.

But seriously?  If I want to educate myself about all the ills in our society, I’ll read about it.  I go to the movies to get away from society’s ills, not to immerse myself in the muck.

Bring it on, lovers of movies that do not make people smile.