Most people see a movie with 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes and immediately move on. I don’t. Perversely…I want to watch it.
About six years ago, a friend and I saw the trailer for the 80’s zombie buddy cop film called Dead Heat. It looked so bad that we had to see it. But we knew we’d probably need a few mimosas to make it tolerable.
And that’s how Bad Movie Brunch (or BMB) was born. Every month or so, my friends come over to my home for bacon, eggs, and bagels while watching a conventionally “terrible” movie. While sipping mimosas, of course.
Afterwards, I review the film using a simple, three-tiered rating system.
First, there are “bad bad” movies. These are obvious cash grabs, lifeless and passionless mid-budget films that tread on cliches or tired movie tropes. They tend to be humorless, drab, and immediately forgettable.
Then we have “mimosa bad.” These are films that would be unenjoyable to watch on your own, but become fun when you and a group of friends constantly make jokes about the film without worrying about missing important details.
Mimosa bad films almost always somehow feature Nicolas Cage. (Seriously. We have seen somanyNicolasCagemovies. So many.)
Then we have the “good bad” films: movies so bad that they are incredibly fun to watch.
Arguably my favorite “good bad” movie is Tammy and the T-Rex, a 90’s film with Denise Richards whose boyfriend, played by Paul Walker, has his brain implanted in a robot T-Rex after being attacked by a lion. (It’s a romantic comedy.) I could talk to you for hours about this movie.
The concept of what makes a “bad” movie good, bad (or…mimosa bad) is subjective. But the passion put into an individual project is immediately apparent. The “good bad” movies exude sincerity, effort, and the sense that everyone on set is having a good time. But the “bad bad” movies? They feel disinterested, at best, and aren’t much fun.
“Good bad” movies might be “bad” but can still inspire. They inspired me to gather my friends to spend our Sunday afternoons watching them. They inspired me to write reviews and invent my own silly grading system. And they show you don’t have to “succeed” to be successful.
Yes, there are unenjoyable bad films out there. But if a movie is created with passion and confidence? Even when it’s bad, it can still manage to be inspirational, and even pretty fun to watch.
Jeff GoodSmith Writes Here 