Hula Boy's Top Ten (Alleged) Guilty Pleasure Movies

In doing research to compile this list, I ran into the following qualification of a Guilty Pleasure Movie, which I felt was perfect enough to quote. I kept this in mind in making my list.

The test of a guilty pleasure movie is
1) If it comes on cable do you sit down and watch the entire film even though you’ve already seen it 20 times?
2) Do you watch it even though you also own it on DVD or video?)
3) And finally, would you ever admit to anyone that this film is one of your favorite movies?
If the answers are, respectively, yes, yes and no, well then you’ve found your guilty pleasure flick.
-MSNBC, June 2006

So, in essence, it came down to whether or not I would keep it on my DVD shelf, or if I did keep it on my shelf I would attribute it's possession to my brother or an ex. I realize this standard cannot be applied to everyone, as some people stress quantity over quality in their DVD shelves. (But I won't name names.)

Without further ado...

10. Can't Hardly Wait

I just think this is a good movie. I think I've seen it at least a dozen times, making it the second most viewed movie on this list. Sure it's cheesy, but has it not epitomized everything we've come to know about high school and college life. And I feel like those same teachings are true of law school as well.

9. Super Mario Bros.

This movie is an absolute blast, and it starts with the casting. I must say, the choices are all inspired, but I could not imagine anyone else playing Mario other than Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper as Bowser is delightful, plus Peter O'Toole makes a cameo as the the Mushroom King. I feel like the special effects even stand up when compared to today's releases, particularly the Mushroom Kingdom characters including the Goombas, Yoshi, and cityscape. Adding to all this is one of the funniest scenes in cinema- John Leguizamo as Luigi dancing with the Goombas- as well as one of the most action-packed scenes -Mario and Luigi's elongated slides through one of the tubes/chutes/whatever it may be. Oh, and brownie points for clarifying Mario's last name...it is Mario for those keeping track at home.

8. Baseketball

I really enjoyed this movie, from the talents of Airplane, Top Gun, and South Park. One of the first sport's spoofs that featured a great array of cameo talent including Ernest Borgnine, Bob Costas, Al Michaels, Pat O'Brien, Robert Stack, and Eric Camson-err I mean Cartman. Just listing it here makes me want to go watch this again.

7. Last Action Hero

This movie dealt with deep, interesting postmodern thoughts, before scholars, intellectuals, and pompous college students even fully knew what the term meant. Plus it was a formative movie throughout my youth, and is the reason for my idolization of Arnold. Oh, and it envisions what a terrible world it would be with Sylvester Stallone in the lead role in T2, oh what a horrible world that would be.

6. Wrong Turn

I'm a closeted horror movie fan, and this movie sums up why perfectly. On it's face it seems to be a terribly cheesy romp of a movie, but upon viewing it drums up an inner fear that I enjoy from the movies. Plus, it has Eliza Dushku in it, which is a near deal sealer inclusion on this list.

5. 100 Girls

I think the reason for this qualifying in the 'guilty pleasure' catagory is mainly for its title and DVD display. Yes, it sounds like a porno and yes it does have a plethora of chicks on the cover, but damn if it isn't an entertaining flick. With a who's who of borderline famous actress throughout (Katherine Heigl, that chick from Entourage, and that chick from The Secret World of Alex Mack) it offers a nice dialogue-driven alternative to the slew of crappy college movies that try and one up each other with gag scenes.

4. Ginger Snaps

This is certainly my favorite movie on this list, but one that so few people would ever give a shot to or care to give a shot to. The plot...two Canadian high school sisters deal with the troubles associated with high school, puberty, and one becoming a werewolf...makes the movie sound ridiculous. But it blends the high school genre, black comedy genre, and horror genre better than any movie by far. In reality, the movie is a blend of Juno and Teen Wolf, if you can imagine that. Plus, one of the leads makes an appearance as the clerk at the Women Now clinic in Juno who says "It makes my boyfriend's junk smell like boysenberry."

3. Halloween 1-7

Ever since my 13th birthday, I've been a huge Michael Myers fan. Yes the movie's get more and more ridiculous and more and more guilty pleasure as the number following the title gets higher, but I can honestly call myself a fan of each and every one. Yes, even number 7, which stars Paul Rudd in his first film role.

2. The Hot Chick

Yes, the movie starring Rob Schneider. Yes, he is a terrible actor. But yes this is a great movie. What few people believe are that the hilarious Anna Farris and stunning Rachel McAdams can right a movie starring Rob Schneider. But its the case in this movie, which I continue to find myself hysterically laughing at upon each viewing. Plus it has a couple Butch Walker songs, which certainly don't hurt its cause.

1. Bring It On

This was a no brainer. I was fortunate enough to see this movie five times in theaters, and have seen it a countless number of times since on DVD and cable. I even hate Kirsten Dunst, but somehow this movie transcends her pouty girl role that she plays in every movie. The most surprising thing to me about this movie was that Jesse Bradford, who almost steals this movie from Eliza Dushku, hasn't been a more prominent force in films since this movie. I love his character in the movie, and feel the epic battle between the Toros and Clovers is the greatest battle witnessed in film.

I loved putting this list together. Much credit goes to the category selection, which made for a highlight week in the Top 10 x 4 blog.