Which cult classic film was a huge disappointment when you finally saw it?

BeAware@lemmy.world to Asklemmy@lemmy.ml – 18 points –
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Napoleon Dynamite. The main thing I got from the movie was that know I know where a meme comes from.

When this came out I went to the ends of the world to get a copy after missing out on all of the references... And then it was fine. I think it's kinda funny know but I don't understand how it blew up the way it did

The first Mad Max movie, just feels like a slog at times to get through and when you finally finish it there's no resolution it's just a cliffhanger into the next movie.

Mean Girls is ok. It has some good meme quotes, but it isn't really a good movie.

Heathers is better for that kind of movie

I may get a lot of hate for this, and I wouldn't say it was a huge disappointment because I actually really liked most of the movies but, Star Wars.

I thought they were great moviees, but when watching them after years of everyone telling me to and all the hype I was kind of disappointed even though I enjoyed watching them all. For me they just didn't live up to the hype I guess.

I tried twice to watch The Godfather and fell asleep both times. Nothing about it caught me at all.

I'm afraid to watch the Princess Bride because everyone I know loves it and begs me to watch it and I'm afraid it will be terrible and when they ask me how it was I'll have to lie

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Synecdoche New York. Every one of my friends who’ve seen it think it’s brilliant. I tried watching it and felt like I was losing my mind. I know that’s the point, but that doesn’t make it a good movie!

No country for old men. I get that it's supposed to be bleak and not resolve at the end. I still hate that it's bleak and doesn't resolve at the end. I didn't really get the "amazingness" of the coin flip scene either.

I also thought Blade Runner was ok, but the whole "tears in the rain" monologue is so hyped on the internet that it was a bit meh when it actually happened.

No country for old men. I get that it's supposed to be bleak and not resolve at the end. I still hate that it's bleak and doesn't resolve at the end.

Yes! I was expecting more, and was left feeling cheated at the end with no resolution. It felt like wasted time.

I always get hate for this but Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

For years I heard it be revered as the best comedy film of all time, it was hyped up so much, then I finally saw it.... And didn't even laugh once.

That taught me that hype is a powerful thing (look at Cyberpunk for instance), because whatever our mind comes up with, will never live up to the actual final product.

Donnie Darko.

Not a terrible movie, just an extremely odd film of which I have never understood the cult following.

I always recommend watching the director's cut. It's like a totally different movie and gives more context.

How is the sequel?

Lol, we don't talk about the sequel. If you watch his other movies and interviews, it's clear that Donnie Darko's director was actually terrible and just managed to accidentally make something amazing.

The Shining. I've seen so many parodies and homages before seeing the original, that I just kept laughing and couldn't get into the horror part of it whatsoever.

Almost all of them when I had read the book first.

The Hobbit

The latest (The Hobbit) I got my son to read the book, then watch the movies and he's like 'Whaaaaaa???' because they tried to amplify it into a blockbuster.

So yes, Great movie - but sucked after reading the book.

I had friends who actually preferred the Hobbit to LOTR because of more action (according to them) But then I slowly told them all the shit that they just added for no reason and now they hate me

The latest The Hobbit(s) were terrible, the old animated film was actually not bad.

Jupiter Ascending. It's just all around terrible, and not in the it's-so-bad-it's-good way. I don't get the appeal.

Rocky Horror has one of the weakest 3rd acts I've ever seen.

Ive never seen the live show so it might just be pains trying to fit a 2 act musical into a traditional 3 act movie

I have watched it a bunch. But saw it first a live cast and with people who were really into it. So any re-watch brings me back to that time. Being high helps lol

Maybe not a cult classic but the highly praised adaptation of Little Women (2019). It did not have the positive flow and feel compared to the 1994 version. Also, having a 22 year old actress playing the young version of Amy was not a good choice, her sitting between the other girls at school looked ridiculous.

Princess Bride

So dull, nothing funny, no redeeming feature

I can't stand the Fifth Element. On paper, it should be perfect for me but I just find it really obnoxious.

Same. So much non-sense. I remembered it epic. I watched a month ago and I regretted it to have wasted my time like that

lmao, I just recently realised I've seen that movie so many times and have no idea what it's about.

Breakfast club. It doesn't age well. Bender commits sexual assault, and he's the hero.

I had a little personal crisis when I watched The Big Lebowski for the first time and just hated it. I was so bored.

I'll have to give it another go and hope I get it .

Big Lebowski .. I mean I enjoyed it but not enough to join the cult

“That’s just, like… your opinion, man.

Give it another try, I was also confused during my first watch, but now it’s one of my favorite movies

Came here to comment this. I wanted to enjoy it but I just didn't. I can see myself having good fun with it if I watched it 10-15 years ago but when I did it just didn't hit where it should've

The inglorious bastards. It treats a very serious subject matter with too much quirky humor.

Also the Nazi slaughter group is basically like an Einsatz Gruppe, but for slaughtering German soldiers. Literally locking people in a building (often a church) and then setting it ablaze was a technique used against Jews.

Just reversing the roles doesn't make it an act that's worth cheering for, like people did in the cinema when I saw it. I couldn't detach myself from that, hence why I did personally not enjoy it.

Inglorious Bastards ain't your average war flick or history lesson, it's Tarantino doing his offbeat thing. The humor's not mocking the war, but poking at the villains. The Basterds are soldiers, not a hit squad against innocents. The cinema cheers? That's just folks enjoying seeing the Nazis get some comeuppance. If you didn't dig it, cool. But remember, Tarantino's all about pushing buttons and sparking chatter. If it got under your skin, maybe it hit the mark.

Inglorious Bastards ain’t your average war flick or history lesson, it’s Tarantino doing his offbeat thing

I can understand that, I like his style ususally. But that's point of my disappointment. As a historian I cannot see it apart from the historical events. But the crowd reaction is what really freaked me out, it's scary if you think of it.

But remember, Tarantino’s all about pushing buttons and sparking chatter. If it got under your skin, maybe it hit the mark.

It may have. I think the true brilliance of the movie is how the audience, due to framing, can be induced to condone the killing of innocents. I sincerely hope that wasn't actually Tarantino's intention.

For instance the soldier killed by the bear jew refused to give up military secrets under threat of death. He chooses te respectfully refuse and is then killed. Framed differently in lots of war movies this is a heroic act.

But here people then cheer when te bear jew comes out and finishes him off.

All of this is an actual war crime.

That’s just folks enjoying seeing the Nazis get some comeuppance.

Indeed and I know, it's all a bit of good fun. I just can separate it from the very real and very deadly seriousness of this part of history. That was what the main question of this thread was about.

This is such a weird take when... Why is it scary when the Nazis are obviously the bad guys? This movie is revenge porn against the most indulgent actors in one of the worst parts of European history. Chris waltz is never portraying his character as sympathetic in any way.

What innocents are being hurt in this movie? The movie goers that are participating it the propaganda screening?

"German soldiers"

Listen. It is one of the hardest cases to discern guilt in wartime situations. Membership of the nazi parti or being a german soldier is not per se a sign of guilt. Just like just being a jew is no reason to be killed, too. I'm all for sentencing war criminals, but the soldier killed by bear jew nor the people sitting in the cinema (aside from Hitlers direct circle) have been proven to be guilty of war crimes.

If you applaud them burning, you're basicly using the same system of dehumanising a group of people as the nazi party and the SS used for making people belief sloughtering jews, gypsies, gay people is ok. That is very, very wrong.

I find there are few cult classics that can be found by future generations and maintain their cult status outside of the truly timeless greats like Rocky Horror Picture Show or similar. There's a nostalgia associated with most cult films. I can't imagine GenZ glomming onto Better off Dead or Ferris Bueller's Day Off or The Goonies because so much of the camp and humor is tied to a time they don't have a reference for.

Funny you used Rocky Horror as a counter example when that is my answer to the post lol

Agreed. There are many that are definitely generational. I think Office Space transcends well. When it came out I was probably 10, I didn't have an office job until I was in my late 20s. It was sort of funny when I saw it as an adult, but after working in a cube farm for the first time I saw it in an entirely new light. Rolling Kansas is a good one too. Just a weird-ass, slow paced comedy about some potheads looking for their parent's long lost pot farm and running into Rip Torn along the way lol

I'm Gen-X and showed my Gen Z kids Better off Dead recently. They quite liked it. I think it's just so goofy anyone could enjoy it. I DON'T think they'd like Ferris Bueller's Day Off - too talky.

My 13-year-old enjoyed Better Off Dead too. Especially "I want my two dollars!"

Rocky Horror Picture Show was dumb as fuck.

Is supposed to be, it’s the essence of camp.

Pulp fiction.

I think, like most of his work, you got to be really into characters, storytelling, and the interactions between characters.

I didn't really like Kill Bill because of backstory. I like his films that just start and end. You know nothing about the characters, but by the end of the story you feel like you know a lot based on their actions and interactions. Reservoir Dogs and The Hateful Eight are my favourites for this. In-depth and complicated characters and story being told, but know little to nothing outside of the snapshot in time the film takes place.

That's a very specific style of film to enjoy, so I can see why people praise Pulp Fiction while others don't or just pretend to.

I dont know, characters and story were fine it also made me cackle a cuple if times. But all combined just didnt feel quite right, something was missing. I guess I should watch it againg, maybe I could pin point it better, but it just did not live up to the hipe it was and still is getting. Kill Bill is in my eyes more interesting because of cinematography

Clerks. Couldn't get over the shitty forced acting.

Clerks is easily one of my favorite movies.

Faces of Death (1978)

The first viewing was full of shock value.

After that it was not my cup of tea. Repulsive on many levels.

Now that subject matter is just a normal Tuesday on Reddit.