Why are American movies shit?

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Look at your cinema people. It is full of lousy Hollywood product stifling all those other good movies out there. I'm lucky, I live in London but lets say all you have is the Salisbury UGC and its got Jurassic Park III, Tomb Raider, Pearl Harbor, Down To Fucking Earth and Shrek on. You have no chance of seeing a great film like - say - Together since the distribution is all stitched up. But even if that wasn't the case, why are American films such artless lowest common denominator fodder.

― Pete, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Here here. OUr movies are only good when they are very bad.

― Mike Hanle y, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Because the majority of the people making them always have one eye fixed upon dreams of untold millions (and even billions) at the box office, so they bland things out to make them appealling to everyone = thus pleasing nearly no-one. Plus, I personally think a lot of the people involved in film today may have a lot of ambition and drive, but lack a certain amount of intelligence and creativity.

Still, a lot of the most mind-blowingly stupid movies become the most entertaining. Ex. Roadhouse and Showgirls.

― Nicole, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I just saw "Showgirls" for the first time a few weeks ago at a midnight screening (which was sold out btw). My jaw was on the floor the whole time. It was so outrageous and over-the-top, it defies description. It was also very, very funny.

― Sean, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Because that's what we do. And note that we do it for you: much as it's fun to pretend Americans are just dumb, the fact remains that those movies are well-received by audiences around the world. I mean, that's just Hollywood's role: we make sort of crappy/cheesy movies for the world. Hong Kong makes sort of crappy/kicky movies for another large portion of the world, and Bombay makes sort of crappy/singy movies for a lot of the rest.

But there's plenty of good film coming out of the U.S. as well, isn't there? I'm not a very knowledgeable person in film terms, but I'm sure there's a current of goodness running under the crap you're pointing out. How about Hal Hartley? Wes Anderson?

― Nitsuh, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Verhoeven = perverted adolescent genius.

The real question is: why does Hollywood put all their eggs in one basket, releasing 3 or 4 hugely expensive probable flops a year, rather than 15 cheaper probable flops? Some have suggested that the reason is: money laundering, which is easier to do in big chunks.

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think this is a horrible slur on American film and I'm sorry you are lumbered with Pearl Harbor. I mean, we're not stupid enough to take Snatch as representative of British film...

Besides which, if you look back at US film history, all the producers and a shedload of the directors were immigrants, often Jewish to boot. They synthesised what we call Hollywood. I blame these massive and horrific putative blockbustas on the INTERNATIONAL conglomerates who think they're selling a brand or a concept.

And Together rocks, BTW.

― suzy, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

American movies kick ass. Look at my cinema people: The Fast & The Furious, Legally Blonde, America's Sweethearts. All great films. Kiss of the Dragon (kinda French, that one, though) and The Score are good too. Artless lowest common denominator fodder is almost always more entertaining than arthouse crap, especially American arthouse crap, since we make the worst art films in the world. Middle America may not be filled with arthouses, but some areas, such as western Mass, have way too many of them. So we still get most of the really good foreign films, though frankly, I'd rather see them on video, an arthouse is a terrible place to see a movie.

― Otis Wheeler, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

paul verhoeven has been slandered unduly by the critical media for no reason. did you people see robocop? that was the best sci-fi movie of the 80s, it was like repo man with robots. did you hear me? REPO MAN WITH ROBOTS. even starship troopers had it's moments. making fun of casper van dien's teutonic looks = classic, making doogie howser look like an SS agent = classic, spending half the film on lame computer effects = dud.

― ethan, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Don't forget putting Denise Richards in a completely sexless role = CLASSIC.

― Dan Perry, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

What makes a movie American? Verhoeven's Dutch so could it not be seen as a Dutch visionary's movie financed by the $? If a movie is directed by a Brit then by gum we'll claim it . Starship Troopers is classic though whatever it's labelled as.

― Jonnie, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Joel Schumacher is one of the most underrated directors alive! '8mm' = better than 'Taxi Driver' and 'Falling Down' = 10,000 times better than 'Weekend', 'Clockwork Orange' and most other dystopias you care to mention.

― dave q, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Oblvously AMerica makes great movies, but Hollywood and DIsney have to be chuckled at. They'r efine if they go overboard(showgirls) but if they try to do something serious they fail. Viva le Russ Myers.

― Mike Hanle y, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Starship Troopers = war movie in which EVERYONE OF ALL GENDERS is portrayed as young, gaymale, dumb-gorgeous-available- desexed. Fave moment = the unisex locker rooms!! It is a very odd film. Is Hollow Man salvageable. Who here has seen Spetters?

― mark s, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Don't you DARE defend Joel Schumacher. We're talking about a Lizzie Borden-sized hack here. Momentary lapses of good taste (I've heard some interesting things about _Falling Down_) do NOT make up for cinematic shit like the two Batman movies he sunk, the two Grisham potboilers, _The Lost Boys_ (which should've been SO much better than it was), and _D.C. Cab_ (?????).

There's as much US film tripe as there are US film truffles. Anything from Pixar, the Coen Bros, Wes Anderson (previously mentioned), Jon Favreau, Doug Liman, Neil LaBute, Steven Soderbergh (!!!), Woody Allen, Harold Ramis, David O. Russell, PTA, Darren Aronofsky - it's wiiiiide open. (Too bad the tripe often gets all the publicity dollars.)

And no one can say a damn thing about _Shrek_ being bad.

― David Raposa, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i love what a huge freaking fanboy dave popshots. for the record, i loved flatliners. 8mm = better than taxi driver, though? like, no. batman forever is underrated though.

― ethan, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yes the co ed locker room was awesome. i wanna be there, especially In D RIchard's locker room.

― Mike Hanle y, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i like action movies that endorse blatant facism, like having to serve in the military to be a citizen. dirty harry should have gone further in this direction.

― ethan, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Starship Troopers is very fine, and much misunderstood movie. However, if you're asking Mr Sinker, Hollow Man really stank and I so very, very much wanted to like it. So it goes...

― Mark Morris, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Re: Starship Troopers: What was up with the vaginal face-opening on the head bug, as reinforced by the "censoring" of the insertion of the metal probe into it?

As in, in the context of how the rest of the film asks to be read, how were we meant to read that?

― Nitsuh, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Wait, I have SCIENTIFIC PROOF that Robocop isn't what Ethan says it is. If a film existed that was like Repoman with robots it would be favourite film ever. Now, Robocop is not my favourite film ever, therefore it cannot be like Repoman with robots. D'YOU SEE?

― Richard Tunnicliffe, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think te metal probe into the alien head was a rape theme but not meant to symbolise personal rape so much as mythological rape as in Zeus and his victims. Isnt it odd that he fucked them as a duck?

― Mike Hanle y, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Alex Cox - I don't get him. _Repo Man_ = wacked out, confusing, trying way too hard (though cute - I like the rampant nihilism & glowing car). _Sid & Nancy_ = sloppy, shatty, crappy, cruddy, blech. Feh.

― David Raposa, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Mike Hanle y: I want to see a picture of you. hehe.

― Sean, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

http://i19.yimg.com/19/73aa4136/g/81ad9479.jpg

try This link maybe it will work

― Mike Hanle y, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Hmmmm, "Access Forbidden". It's better that way, really. Ups the mystery quotient even further. I mean "forbidden", it's such strong language...

― Sean, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I blame Marlon Wayans.

― Chris, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Oh I know! Um, because they're NOT?! Could that be? Yes, yes, I think it is. It's just that you're not wise enough to catch onto to the non- mega-productions created all over America, this great land of ours, the home of the brave, purple mountains majesty and like that. Last good Brit film I saw was -- Trainspotting? No,that's right-- that film sucked balls! Hmmm, I guess I'd have to go with The Full Monty! No, wait, that sucked balls, too! Hurrumph. Well, then it must be Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels-- Hmmm, was that British? Okay, that one was alright, but not really fantastic. I'd have to go with "Holy Grail". That's the best film from that measley, foreign Florida-sized cunt-ry of yours.

No offense, please!

Stars and stripes forever,< br>Nude Spock

― Nude Spock, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

heh, i'm just kidding, but lumping all american movies in with the shit you mentioned goes along the same lines as "brit rock vs. american rock: we're better". It just depends on what you've been exposed to and, of course, personal taste. There's also cultural differences, I guess, though I can't imagine what the piss they'd be for fucking out loud. Crimey.

― Nude Spock, Wednesday, 25 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Verhoeven = perverted adolescent genius.
Hah! He's Dutch. You should have seen the movies he made in his homeland.

― nathalie (nathalie), Thursday, 26 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

It was - after all - a deliberately provocative question as a response partially to Why Are All British Films Shit. Of course there are a lot of good US films, just as there are a few good UK films - the number as a proportion though good to bad probably remains the same the world over. Nevertheless there are a large proportion of American films which are shit - and I wanted to know why those ones were shit. In the Brit film thread we theorised a number of reasons, whereas here its gotten all jingoistic and people defending Joel Schumacher and his rubber nips. Strange.

8mm my arse.

― Pete, Thursday, 26 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

8mm my arse.
Uh insert pervy comment. ;-)

― nathalie (nathalie), Thursday, 26 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i recently attempted to relate the plotpoint of batman forever when robin steals the batmobile and tries to pass himself off as batman and get chicks by saving a girl from a neon street gang. unfortunately i doubled over in laughter before i could finish. but that seal song is damned alluring and the video makes you want to see the movie again.

― ethan, Thursday, 26 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"i recently attempted to relate the plotpoint of Kiss of the Dragon when Jet Li steals the tape and tries to pass himself off as a random Chinese dude and get chicks by saving a girl from a neon street gang. unfortunately i doubled over in laughter before i could finish. but that rap song is damned awful and the video makes you want to never see the movie again. "

― Mike Hanle y, Thursday, 26 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ethan, you're a strange bird. The ONLY reason to see that movie again is Nicole Kidman in that short cocktail dress, getting all Dr. Ruth with the latex muscles. THE ONLY REASON. Damn that Schumacher.

― David Raposa, Thursday, 26 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Referring to an earlier point, I thought Shrek was quite bad. Well, not bad as such; lots of funny jokes and great ideas, great animation, reasonable acting. It just didn't hold together for me; they didn't seem to have joined up the bits of plot that well and it seemed to flow really badly. It was still a fun film, but hardly the best animated film ever, or something.

― John Davey, Thursday, 26 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I saw Shrek at the weekend. Isabel adored it. I think on reflection it was PISS POOR. 'Subversion' of fairytale ideas an even older ploy than 'subversion' of (say) superheroes, and it made the sentimental bits even more cloying. And the jokes weren't that good, and the animation...am I the only person who thinks computer animation is really flat, still, compared to the flow and humour of 'classic' animation?

― Tom, Thursday, 26 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yep, my view of Shrek is pretty much that. All the interesting ideas are in the first ten minutes and then its pretty much bog standard love story and Eddie Murphy. The animation is really flat - why oh why try and make it more realistic? But mainly I found the movie really rather offensive. It spends most of the time saying that it doesn't matter what you look like (hoary old cliche it is) and yet constantly has a go at the bad guy for being short. Didn't think that one through.

― Pete, Thursday, 26 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I didn't dare watch the Grinch

― Mike Hanle y, Thursday, 26 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'm guessing I'm the only person on this board who laughed his ASS off at "Scary Movie"...

― Dan Perry, Thursday, 26 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

How do you sit down now, then?

― DG, Thursday, 26 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

GHOST WORLD!!! Sure, I haven't seen it yet, but still-- it CAN'T be shit.

― Nude Spock, Thursday, 26 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

DG: Very carefully.

― Dan Perry, Thursday, 26 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i'm hoping the ghost world movie never gets released. except maybe directly to me.

― ethan, Thursday, 26 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yo, ethan, check it out: it's playing RIGHT NOW at the Angelika and uh somewhere else, too! Do a search! I'll meet you there this weekend and we'll watch it together! I'll be the naked guy with the pointy ears.

― Nude Spock, Thursday, 26 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

six years pass...

i don't know

― Surmounter, Wednesday, 23 April 2008 23:28 (eighteen years ago)

the best picture oscar always seems to go to an american movie.

― El Tomboto, Wednesday, 23 April 2008 23:29 (eighteen years ago)

...and when it isn't, it's one from Britain.

― C. Grisso/McCain, Wednesday, 23 April 2008 23:38 (eighteen years ago)

To answer the original question: Lowest common denominator is by definition the greatest number of people. Most people like shit. Most people also eat McDonald's and think Mariah Carey isn't a pointless fuckbar.

― Autumn Almanac, Wednesday, 23 April 2008 23:43 (eighteen years ago)

please, shit american movies are a lot shittier than mariah carey's existence, which actually caries some meaning in terms of american popular music and its history.

― Surmounter, Wednesday, 23 April 2008 23:45 (eighteen years ago)

aw!

― blueski, Wednesday, 23 April 2008 23:46 (eighteen years ago)

is the American movie 'Glitter' good?

― blueski, Wednesday, 23 April 2008 23:48 (eighteen years ago)

haha i don't know

― Surmounter, Wednesday, 23 April 2008 23:49 (eighteen years ago)

"Glitter is gold!" say top critics

― latebloomer, Wednesday, 23 April 2008 23:53 (eighteen years ago)

glitter me timbers

― El Tomboto, Thursday, 24 April 2008 00:18 (eighteen years ago)

I didn't know whether to glitter go blind

― J0hn D., Thursday, 24 April 2008 00:25 (eighteen years ago)

glitter-is

― max, Thursday, 24 April 2008 00:31 (eighteen years ago)

Armond: why is film criticism shit?

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 24 April 2008 01:03 (eighteen years ago)

five years pass...

Wide releases now in theaters
Need For Speed
37
Mar 14
Tyler Perry's The Single Moms Club
29
Mar 14
300: Rise of an Empire
47
Mar 7
Mr. Peabody & Sherman
60
Mar 7
Non-Stop
56
Feb 28
Son of God
37
Feb 28
3 Days to Kill
40
Feb 21
Pompeii
40
Feb 21
About Last Night
62
Feb 14
Endless Love
30
Feb 14
Winter's Tale
31
Feb 14
RoboCop
52
Feb 12
The LEGO Movie
82
Feb 7
The Monuments Men
52
Feb 7
Vampire Academy
30
Feb 7
That Awkward Moment
36
Jan 31
I, Frankenstein
30
Jan 24
Devil's Due
33
Jan 17
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
57
Jan 17
Ride Along
41
Jan 17
The Nut Job
36
Jan 17

― You cannot interrupt his tea stirring because it is his holy trick (imago), Friday, 14 March 2014 20:14 (twelve years ago)

the critics' favourite wide-release movie is an hour-and-a-half product commercial

― You cannot interrupt his tea stirring because it is his holy trick (imago), Friday, 14 March 2014 20:14 (twelve years ago)

bomb hollywood

― You cannot interrupt his tea stirring because it is his holy trick (imago), Friday, 14 March 2014 20:14 (twelve years ago)

an awards season cycle just ended and many theaters are showing a second (or extended) run of award winners and nominees. isn't there a yearly lull right now?

― have a nice blood (mh), Friday, 14 March 2014 20:23 (twelve years ago)

late winter always sucks but... damn

― Vijay Zing (rip van wanko), Friday, 14 March 2014 20:25 (twelve years ago)

it's a week until spring, go out and plant some flowers or something

― have a nice blood (mh), Friday, 14 March 2014 20:25 (twelve years ago)

Lots of dece (not nec American) stuff in not-wide release tho.

― Eric H., Friday, 14 March 2014 20:26 (twelve years ago)

Am genuinely excited to see Under The Skin. Britain strikes back, yo

― You cannot interrupt his tea stirring because it is his holy trick (imago), Friday, 14 March 2014 20:35 (twelve years ago)

yea it's fucking dire. I have a toddler so i pretty much never get to go the cinema, but I had a chance a couple weeks ago to go by myself and it was so depressing trying to pick a movie. The best choice was non-stop, that tells you something. Weirdly this was right before the oscars but none of the nominees were playing in this enormous cinema I went to.

― marcos, Friday, 14 March 2014 20:50 (twelve years ago)

Sorry Britain doesn't have any awesome toy commercials. =(

― how's life, Friday, 14 March 2014 21:40 (twelve years ago)

around the last few aprils i think has been a dump ground for some ~interesting~ read: unmarketable things iirc

― johnny crunch, Friday, 14 March 2014 21:42 (twelve years ago)

nine years pass...

An Elon Musk biopic is reportedly in the works at A24 with Darren Aronofsky set to direct.

(https://t.co/4qCXV4fOz3) pic.twitter.com/fNnEYSeav0
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) November 10, 2023

― Dwigt Rortugal (Eric H.), Friday, 10 November 2023 13:10 (two years ago)

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