We all have “those movies” that we never get sick of, even after watching them twenty times. It probably started when we were little kids. I remember playing my Willy Wonka videotape until I wore it out. I think that playing our own movies over and over might have gotten old when we did — do you know an adult who sits there replaying his Lord of the Rings DVDs obsessively? (Don’t answer that.)
Even so, there’s something special about sitting down on the couch, turning on the TV to a random station, and seeing one of your “go-to” movies on the screen. It doesn’t really matter if you own it or not; it’s fun to see it “live.” And they’re not necessarily your favorites, either. One of my favorite movies is Lost in Translation, but that doesn’t mean I want to watch it every chance I get.
Here’s a list of movies I never turn off if I catch them randomly on TV. (And, yes, most of them happen to be chick flicks. I guess those are the type of “fluff” movies you can mindlessly watch over and over again!)
- Mean Girls. I love Tina Fey! And I used to think Lindsay Lohan was kind of cool, especially when she was in this movie. (Not anymore, though.) Plus, as my reviews from Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars would attest, I am really into movies (and shows) about privileged girls and how they lead strange and depressing lives despite a perfect exterior. Also, thanks to this movie, I have developed a new appreciation for the song “Jingle Bell Rock” as well as the term “grotsky little biotch.”
- Legally Blonde. I really enjoy movies about the underdog proving everybody wrong, as Elle Woods does here. Also, most of you know Jennifer Coolidge as “Stifler’s Mom,” but I really enjoyed her role as Paulette, the sassy yet shy nail technician in Legally Blonde.
- The Devil Wears Prada. Again, a sort of ugly-duckling-turned-swan story, who then realizes the error of her ways after screwing over her real friends. (Hmm, am I seeing a pattern developing?) This is one of the only Anne Hathaway roles I can bear to watch (Love and Other Drugs being the other). And I love me some Meryl Streep. The fact that this takes place in New York? Even better.
- Old School. What am I, a 22-year-old frat boy? But I always find this funny.
- The Breakfast Club. As I attended a high school that didn’t do Saturday detention, this movie always had a certain allure to it. Judd Nelson was sexy-ugly, Molly Ringwald made sushi seem utterly unappealing, and Ally Sheedy was … well … weird. I’ll always watch this band of misfits when it’s on TV.
- Pretty Woman. Yep, I’m a sucker for Richard Gere!
- Dirty Dancing. One of my favorite movies ever, and the first movie I remember seeing in the theater (with my mom … awkward!). The thing I never remember about Dirty Dancing is just how long it is! I think I’ve seen the first third about eighteen times, the second third about ten times, and the last third about a million times. Roughly.
- Love Actually. This movie plays more around the holiday season, but I’ll watch it any old time. This might be the time to admit that one of my favorite Christmas songs is “All I Want For Christmas is You,” and every time I hear it on the radio, I think of that scene where that cute little girl is singing in the school show.
What are some movies that you will not turn off if they appear on your TV?
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To Kill a Mockingbird and Sense and Sensibilities, though I own them both. If they come on, I still watch them. I have to agree with Legally Blonde and Breakfast Club. I can’t not watch those two.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (and which im watching on TV right now lol)
Armageddon. It just sucks me in every single time.
*POST AUTHOR*
Yeah, I know what you mean. Those apocalyptic movies do that. I don’t always keep Armageddon on, but I do usually do so with Deep Impact.
Yeah, I’ve seen the scene in Deep Impact with the astronauts speaking to their families many, many times … Yet often forget that Jim Cromwell is even in the movie :)
For me it is a really weird group: When Harry Met Sally, Citizen Kane, the first two Harry Potters (the others not so much), the original Harvey, the original Willy Wonka, and Terminator 2 (1 and 3 again not so much).
I love all the Bravo/Comedy Central/USA/TBS/TNT Saturday afternoon greatest hits – “While You Were Sleeping,” “Groundhog Day,” “Back to the Future” (1&2 – I can take/leave 3), “Dazed and Confused,” “Die Hard,” (“Die Hard 2″ is particularly ammusing when watching it on TV – the unique bad word replacements really make it an awesome time “Mr. Falcon”), any of the Harry Potter’s when shown all weekend on ABC Family, “Dave,” “Shaun of the Dead” (on Commedy Central all the time), any of the Indiana Jones on USA, “What Women Want” (Mel before complete insanity), “Ed TV,” “The Mummy,” “The Princess Bride,” “Grease,” “Dirty Dancing,” “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” “Ghostbusters” (I actually like both 1 & 2 on TV), “A League of Their Own,” “National Treasure,” “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Look Who’s Talking,” and any of the Bourne movies. The best is when you are flicking around and you know what movie it is just by the first few seconds of the production company’s logo coming on screen and you know you’ll be glued till the end no matter how many times you’ve seen it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched “While You Were Sleeping” from various points of the movie – it just sucks me in.
*POST AUTHOR*
The original Willy Wonka seems to be a popular one! Also, you reminded me of Ocean’s Eleven and Groundhog Day, two others I won’t turn off. When Harry Met Sally is one of my favorite movies, but I think I watched it one too many times so now every time it’s on I can’t help but quote every frickin’ scene … which is really annoying, even to myself. ;)