Ridiculous Opinions #247
I Hate Everything!
Or at least, that’s what I assume that most people think about me. There’s a lot of stuff that I don’t like: people, movies, music, books, politicians, Republicans (I really hate them lately), etc. You could make a whole list and I could probably have a lot of fun actually ranking these things, because everyone likes to rank stuff.
However…Occasionally…Occasionally…something comes along that I actually like. Most of the time, it sneaks up on me. If we’re talking about entertainment, I would say that a show like The Bear snuck up on me. I wasn’t expecting the show to be as good as it was (and it was even better on the second go-round…though we will not speak of the awful second season). If you haven’t watched The Bear, then you should get on that right away.
But sometimes, you have a feeling. Something will come along that you just have this gut instinct that tells you you’re going to like it. Now, if I were to explain why this is happening, I could get into discussions about the quantum nature of the universe and how, according to quantum physics, all time exists simultaneously and thus we should be able to remember the future as well as the past, but that’s a whole other newsletter.
Today, I’m actually going to talk about remembering that I’m going to like a movie, then going to watch that movie and realizing that I’m glad I remembered to like that movie.
In 2019, a movie was released called Ready or Not. When I saw the previews for this thing, I thought, They actually made a movie about this? This is so stupid.
Here’s the preview, and keep in mind that this is a very not-safe-for-work trailer…
What a dumb idea!
But there was something about this film that intrigued me. I had this weird feeling that I had to see this movie. It looked bad; it was a dumb premise. Yet there was something there that made me want to see the film.
I’m so glad I did. For me, this film is pulp perfection. It ticks off all of the boxes for me: it’s funny, it’s scary, it’s gross…It’s also very dumb, but more importantly, it knows it’s dumb. It makes no pretense that this is reality and it deals with characters that the actors take seriously while simultaneously winking at the audience. And the end of the film is just absolutely glorious (no spoilers today).
The film is incredibly violent and while I abhor violence in films, there is not one instance in this movie where I was like, This is horrible because it could happen in real life. A lot of today’s films have a tendency to make their violence as realistic as possible, but nobody wants to see that. Violence in films is like sex in films. We only need the hint of it…we don’t need the real thing, because it’s not nearly as good as what you imagined it would be.
Ready or Not was a schlocky film that completely took me away from the real world for two hours. I had fun. I enjoyed myself. In my film classes, I talk about certain films that I refer to as “cupcake” films…Beautiful to look at, tasty going down, satisfying as a whole, but absolutely no nutritional value. That was Ready or Not. It really is one of my all-time favorites.
The film was directed by Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin. I have only seen two films from this directing duo, the second of which I watched last night with Tracey. It’s called Abigail.
I’m embedding a trailer here, but I wouldn’t recommend watching it, because it gives away WAY TOO MANY THINGS and it’s much better going into the movie cold.
I adored this movie. Sure, it has its problems (all movies do), but for me, this was just absolutely terrific. I knew where it was going, but I was still surprised in many spaces. I hate violent films, but I just loved all of the violence in this film. (For some reason, the directors love making people explode, and for some reason, I absolutely love every time they do it).
This is a popcorn flick. It’s not going to move the Earth. It’s wonderful escapism from the horrors of the world around us (because why not forget about real horror with a little bit of fake horror). It’s just a great haunted house movie that gets your blood pumping and gives you a few laughs. If I were making films, this (and Ready or Not) is the kind of film that I would like to make.
So, that’s your recommendation for the day. It’s just out for download now, so go find it, download it, and enjoy yourself.
It is definitely not for kids, though.
