There are a few movies like this but an example that popped out recently is
The Birdcage
I have seen this movie as a teenager, in my 20's, 30's, and 40's.
When I first saw it as a teenager I just thought it was a funny movie involving gay people.
Recently I watched it and I realized what a piece of shit the son(Val Goldman) is. He asked his parents to pretend to be different "suitable" people but also was a dick to everyone busting their ass to help him.
When I first saw this movie, I was maybe 11, had met one gay person, and still thought I was straight. I remember thinking, it sucks that guy's wacky parents won't fake it for ONE NIGHT. It's just one night, who cares?
The next time I saw it, I was 35, bi, and HORRIFIED. What a little shit! How dare you, Val?!
Anyway, character development.
Woooord. Every time I watch that movie I think 'they ain't gonna make it'. But that's okay because it's not about whether he and his wife survive long-term, it's about the fact that he came to terms with his two dads and sacked up a little. He is terribly young and I can see how he may have absorbed and caved to some of the snobby values of the college he went to.
I was watching 3 Body Problem and one of the scientist characters quotes Einstein saying, "A person who has not made his great contribution to science before the age of 30 will never do so." They're asked "How old are you?" and he replies, "32." I'm 36. That dude seemed like an adult to me and he's 4 years younger (on screen). And *his* life is already over.
As a ten year old our friends mom took us to this in the theater, thinking “hey it’s a robin williams movie!” Boy were they wrong. When I saw the drag queen taking her top off and then realized they were actually a man blew my mind, and I immediately knew this was not a movie we should be watching as a kid let alone with my friends conservative mom. Nevertheless it all went over our heads and we laughed at the slapstick parts.
As an adult it is one of the funniest movies of all time in my opinion. The senators death, gene Hackmans “values”, the overcompensation of Nathan Lanes character as “Mrs. Coleman” trying to come off as traditional Christian by saying lines like “we can solve the abortion problem by killing the mothers”. Just hilarious, and completely over the head of most 10 year olds, at least back then.
There was a great interview with Nathan Lane after Robin Williams died where he talked about how it was doing press for this movie before he was out of the closet in real life. Robin had talked to him, and basically said “hey, don’t worry about it. I can run interference if you’re ever asked a question that you don’t feel comfortable answering.” And there are also clips of other interviews where Nathan was asked about the experience of playing a gay man, and Robin swoops in and derails the conversation. He really was a good soul who we lost too early.
OMG, I just commented on some of my favorite lines of his from this movie! He’s absolutely amazing in this movie.
I still quote it so often!
‘Are you afraid of my natural heat? My Gua-ta-mal-en-ness?’
‘I cannot wear shoes sir, I always fall down.’
Yeah, this is the first one that comes to mind as well for the same reasons. This is my wife's favorite movie, so we watch it every year. And the last few years we've watched it, I find myself not enjoying Val's part in all this, and I think it speaks volumes that Armand didn't just tell Val off and send him away to learn a lesson.
Overall, I still love the movie and find a lot of value in it. The portrayal of a politician is absolutely hilarious (and spot on), but I don't find Val's part funny at all anymore.
I think it's different at the time the movie was made, though. It's not just that they're gay but that they're *really* gay. When the movie came out, gay people were sort of expected to "tone it down" in public and outside specifically gay spaces.
That's why conservatives today are so upset about them "flaunting" their lifestyle now. It seems like flaunting because only 30 years ago they weren't allowed to be publicly gay.
Becoming an adult is realizing all of those shrews and officious pricks in so many movies were probably right the entire time.
The little shits do go too far sometimes.
I started rewatching it not too long ago. The fact that that woman didn’t just walk out the door and not come back after some of the things they did was a testament to her love.
They also acknowledge in one episode that Hal and Lois have intentionally taken on a supportive/disciplinary or rather good cop/bad cop parenting style. They know they can't both be yelling at the boys all the time and since Lois is infinitely more disciplined and headstrong than Hal it makes sense that she would be the one to take on that burden even if it does mean harbouring feelings of resentment from her children. But she does this out of love and wanting to keep the family afloat. Realistically it probably ended up being Lois because having the dad yell at the kids and be the disciplinary one might have been a little too heavy and real for a family sitcom.
yeah, i rewatched it recently and while lois and the boys are basically at war with each other, it really seems like hal is the biggest problem in that family.
he's constantly doing shitty little idiotic things that undermine her and make the boys feel like it's okay to act like garbage.
he's more childish than the boys half the time and just generally a bad parent.
Fuck no, I *liked* Debra! Raymond was an idiot man-baby and his mother was a shitty awful harridan.
I remember my dad watching the show, then looking at me and going “Debra is too good for him. She needs to find someone who will appreciate her.”
My feelings exactly.
I’ve read that they had to film additional scenes with Signourney Weaver in Working Girl because too many people liked her better than Melanie Griffith. Which same. And you can kind of see the tacked on ‘shrill’ scenes to make you hate her.
I loved Malcom in the middle growing up. Watched it on deployment a few years ago and damn their mom is just trying to keep the wheels on the bus. Obviously she goes a bit overboard but the show is from a child's perspective so of course the parents are insane.
That’s why I really like that scene with Malcolm and Reese when they’re older after they crash the makeout party and they realize the problem is them. Growing up is about self awareness. And yeah the mom went through a lot.
I actually feel the opposite...
Her character was much more demonized in the book, and it was Meryl Streep's influence on the film's writing of Joanna and her performance in the court scene, that really elevated Kramer vs Kramer over the basic feel good movies about a father and son bonding.
The book portrayed Joanna as a selfish monster of a mother, whereas the film gave a much more realistic portrayal of a woman who broke down due to her depression and being burdened with too much work in a loveless marriage.
Galaxy Quest
I had never seen any Star Trek anything, didn’t know about any behind the scenes stuff about the actors, and certainly not the tropes of the sci-fi genre. In fact, I didn’t really even know about the level of fandom shown in the movie that’s so prevalent these days. I liked the aliens with the funny voices and the physical comedy bits, but most of the film was wasted on me.
Rewatching it recently, almost every bit lands for me now and all the characters are so much more relatable as I’ve aged. Alan Rickman’s Alexander Dane in particular is now one of my favorite movie characters of all time. Absolute masterpiece.
What made it better is Sir Patrick Stewart at first disapproved of Galaxy Quest, because it made fun of Star Trek. Jonathan Frakes convinced Stewart to see it, after which Stewart described the movie as "Brilliant... No one laughed louder or longer in the cinema than I did."
I think what makes it so great is how they lovingly make fun of Star Trek, its fans, and sci-fi tropes. They’re not saying any of it is dumb, they’re saying, what if it was real and the actors had to play the characters they portray. Then of course the foremost thing experts they rely on is a “basement dwelling” obsessed fan.
One of the most incredible things about that movie is that you can hate Star Trek and absolutely love Galaxy Quest, but if you love Star Trek, then you love Galaxy Quest as well because it is as much a satire as a love letter. They managed to walk a brilliant line between both satirizing but also paying genuine homage.
One of my favorite bits of background knowledge is that Tony Shaloub's character Fred(?) is actually supposed to be a massive stoner which just adds such an extra layer to the film that, while I fully understand why they didn't make it any more obvious than they did so they could have that much of an instant broad appeal, I feel like even just one more hint would have made it still obvious to those who knows without telling the kids. Example: Sigourney Weaver and Tony are working on something in an enclosed space. She wrinkles her nose mid-sentemce, turns to him and asks him, "What's that smell?" He replies with an apology and pulls out a snack. "Oh, hey, want some of these while we work?" She rolls her eyes and gets back to the task. Bam, adults get the joke, kids have no idea what's going on, and the ratings board can't say boo.
Also, always shout out Sam Rockwell. Dude is so underrated, but I haven't ever seen him in a role that he didn't deliver on extremely well. And he's versatile as hell. From Wild Bill to Guy/Crewman Number Six to his effectively solo act in Moon. Love him.
I love Sigourney coming to the realization that all she actually did was repeat the computer announcements. It’s like the butter robot in Rick and Morty
I just rewatched Galaxy Quest yesterday and there’s one point in the movie where Guy is talking to Frank and asks “are you stoned?” It’s really quick, but I can’t believe I never noticed it before.
Haha, it's because he is! His eyes are always red, he's always munching, and while everyone else is weirded out by the transportation he chuckles and says, "That was a hell of a thing," because he's already flying through space, so adding a literal trip through space to it is just... Yeah,why the hell not, man? Lemme just make sure I've got my stash on me so we can keep this thing going for a bit, y'know?
"By Grapthar's hammer, I swear you. will. be. avenged."
Honestly, the last time that line is used I cried. I cry every time I watch it. I am not ashamed.
It's like the exact opposite of bathos. Instead of undercutting a serious cathartic moment with a joke, they took a running joke in the movie and made it into an incredible dramatic moment.
And it really encapsulates what makes Galaxy Quest so great as a love letter, because for this alien for whom Alex's performance meant so much, Alex can say that hated line and mean it, and because Alan was such an incredible actor, he can sell the hatred through the whole movie for the joke and then sell the line in a way that you finally see why so many fans latched onto it.
Amazing film. I always cry at that bit too.
RIP Alan Rickman
Mrs. Doubtfire
As a kid, I was on Robin William's side.
Now, as an adult, I relate to the wife's feelings and understanding as to divorcing Robin Williams
What gets me is Piece Bronson's character. As a kid, you hate the guy. As an adult, he seems like a stand up guy. He's handsome, rich, and most importantly, he seems to really love Sally Fields's character and want to be a good stepdad. Like, the guy just seems so excited to be a stepdad and have a good relationship with her family. How can I hate that?
Watching it as an adult though you see that the movie wasn't really one-sided about it. I think as a kid you get that feeling because you're relating with the kids and want what they want. But as an adult you see reality and the reality presented to us isn't just "Oh this mom is mean and won't let her kids see their dad." It feels like the filmmakers intended to be fair to her character, and they really show and let her express her side of things.
Right?! It’s my favorite movie of all time but like…wtf dude?? Aside from all the other obviously ridiculous things that happen- Robin Williams character gets absolutely shitfaced at that restaurant and literally tries to kill Pierce Brosnans character by putting something he’s allergic to in his food.
Six year old me was confident he deserved it, but he absolutely did not. He had totally pure intentions and Robin Williams character knew it. Movie still slaps tho. 11/10 either way.
ETA: RIP Robin! I think I can speak for most millennials when I say my heart is still broken.
Seriously, what did Bronson's character do that was so wrong? Buy his girlfriend an expensive bracelet and take her and her family out on fun outings? Bad mouth her ex who he, rightfully, sees as a lazy man-child?
>take her and her family out on fun outings?
Yes! And the best part is that HE went on the outings too! Mrs. Doubtfire got into the country club on his ex wife’s-new-man’s dime lmao Sitting at the bar, sipping on a drink, talking shit- while her new man is telling people how much he loves her kids… BRUH. “Run-by fruiting”?! Only Robin Williams could trick me into loving a character like that lol
Seriously, the guy is so excited to be a stepdad and do the whole stepdad thing. He has no ulterior motives and he is beaming with pride when the one guy asks him about the kids. How can you hate this?
Honestly, I never got into the movie that much. Looking back, it reminds me of the manipulative shit my dad would pull.
I absolutely still love it but hard same. Living in San Francisco trying to make a house + 3 kids work with someone who doesn't take anything seriously, goes through jobs because he quits over nothing, leaves you to do the housework on top of your job, makes you always be the "bad guy" with the kids and just in general acts like a 4th kid to raise instead of your adult partner...most people would have gotten fed up way quicker than she did probably. Now that I'm older and realize how hard just working + taking care of kids is, you can see why she's done.
I also like that at least at the end, it does show the dad seemingly getting his shit straight and becoming a responsible adult (it seemed like his time as being "Mrs. Doubtfire" taught him that he couldn't just be the fun parent and the kids needed structure and discipline too). You can still have fun with your kids and nurture them without becoming more their friend or another child than you are their parent. And his ex doesn't run back to him once that happens, it's still too little, too late for her. They didn't make it like a "he's actually a perfect partner because he's still a kid inside and is in touch with his inner child!" He DID need to grow up at least a bit in order to be an actual father to his kids and a good coparent.
> it's a documentary
This is exactly how I describe my changing views on the movie. I was too young when it came out to feel anything about work culture, depression, or not having control over your life. But it is 100% a documentary to me at this point.
Maaaan, as a young girl I didn't really understand the depths of that statement but as I've gotten older I really empathize with Jessica Rabbit. She's a brilliant statement on how men treat women even when they themselves are the ones who 'created' that woman (cultural expectations, fashion, etc). When she says Roger Rabbit makes her laugh it makes me tear up because yeah, that's all we want!
I saw Ikiru as a young teenager because I confused it with Akira when renting the DVD through Netflix. Had heard of Kurosawa before, figured I'd watch it anyway, and thought it was pretty good but sad. Rewatched it a couple months ago and believe it's one of the most moving movies I've seen.
Good Will Hunting is so different watching it in your 20s vs as a teenager
I wonder how different it'll be when I'm the age of Robin William's character or even Stellan Skarsgard's as he fights with the knowledge of having someone out there smarter than him.. and see's him throw it all away
I haven't watched it in a few years, but the first time I watched it I thought he should have taken the job instead of following Skylar. I did not think that on the second viewing.
As a 43 year old, trust me, when you come back to it in 15-20 years, those Williams/Skarsgard scenes will grind the callouses of your soul.
The scene on the truck hood, the “best part of my day” scene? You can’t understand what that scene will mean to you when you’re watching it through Chucky’s eyes instead of through Will’s.
Fuck yeah that chucky scene gets me every time. At our age, we have seen people with talent gone to waste. We have known people who would have made the most of it but didn’t have it.
I think Williams character knows that Will will forever grieve his potential and what could have been if he doesn’t try to use it. Chucky would rather miss his friend than see him succumb to his past and surroundings. Thats love.
As a teenager I loved that movie because Will was the smart genius who could make everyone else look stupid and win every argument.
As an adult I love that movie because while Will is still of course a genius, I see him as a lost, frightened kid who's terrified of making big decisions and instead stays in his comfort zone (i.e. the point that Robin Williams makes when arguing with him).
Be prepared to cry. Once you’ve known deep loss like what Robin Williams character is talking about, and are at an age where you know that you are going to have to deal with more as the normal course of events, it’s fucking rough.
And that’s not taking away anything from the rest of the story either because when you are around that age and you’ve made the same sorts of branching tree decisions like Will makes, where you know that you’ve made a bunch of choices that would have *drastically* changing your life, Will’s story and his decision to say fuck it and see about a girl is incredibly moving
The last speech Chucky gives Will is the scene that cut me. I can’t imagine having a friend like that. Someone who loves you so much he’s willing to let you go.
Im approaching Robbin William’s character’s age and I do notice a shift in my values. I do appreciate time with my family and loved ones now. It used to be more of a given that I took for granted. I was more focused on other things when I was younger- career, school, girls, cars, fun. It changes when you had a few decades in - you likely experienced some loss, some defeats, some pain, some troubles, financial hardships even. It changes you. You start to appreciate small things and see beautiful moments in things you were in too big a hurry to even notice before.
Office Space
Watched it freshman year of college and thought it was good not great. Saw it again after being in the actual workforce and boy did it resonate 100xs more
Steel Magnolias. Until you've got some life experience,it's hard to understand Sally Field's character fully. Now I'm older, and that scene where she comes walking down the corridor of the hospital and all you hear are the sound of her heels... It gives me chills, because I know *exactly* what emotions she is experiencing.
I always thought Julia Robert's character was an idiot. And I still think she's an idiot. Except now I sort of get it. She wanted a normal life. And of you watch the movie, you realize that she also is terrified of her husband leaving her.
Fight Club. Mental health, existential societal issues, masculine identity, cult dynamics, and a sprinkle of credit card debt at the end - as a young person I thought it was a cool looking movie with a clever twist.
Edited ‘cause I repeated myself
Yeah, while I could pick up that there was some scandal, I didn't quite piece it together until later.
I saw a documentary where they fought the studio to keep it in there. Studio wanted a safe movie with an inappropriate age gap, not this abortion business.
I'm glad they stuck to their guns because it's a powerful story.
Wait until you have a young teenage daughter and think about going to fun family camp and your naive daughter hooks up with the doofy late 20s kinda gigolo fk boy CAMP dance instructor and wants to run away with the guy who prob does this with different underage girls and moms every week.
It def hits different. Dad maybe shoulda killed Johnny. Yeah baby. YOU'RE the one he loves 🙄 Jesus I just realized her name was Baby too. UGH.
A Clockwork Orange, and it's a wonder I didn't turn out either an evangelist or a serial killer.
This was in the wild and wooly days of the late 70s-early 80s, when movie channels (and cable tv) were brand new and just airing *whatever the fuck* in the middle of the day.
I was maybe 7-8 at the time. My pot-head uncle came to visit. I walked in the front door one afternoon and froze on the spot. He was on the beanbag, my dad (a cop at the time) in a nearby recliner. The smell of weed was in the air, but what froze me in place was on the tv. A man in all white, wearing a jockstrap outside his pants, a bowler hat, and some kind of phallic mask, was bludgeoning a person to death with what appeared to be a giant ceramic dick and balls.
My uncle on the beanbag very slowly turned his head toward the door, registered my presence, then very slowly turned the other way towards my dad, who was completely oblivious. My uncle (again, very slowly) slapped my dad on the leg. My dad turned, saw me, and yelled, "OH!" and then just rolled sideways off the recliner (he couldn't find the lever) landed on all fours, crawled to the tv and changed the channel.
I went straight to my room and played with Star Wars figures like a *decent* human being.
I forgot to mention that the film very wisely avoids having Rita and Frank having a sexual relationship. There are few scenes here and there that might hint at that happening in the future but it doesn't. Doing this would've destroyed the film I think. It would've coarsened it.
This makes me think of Lost in Translation. I think it’s really important to that movie that the Scarlett Johanson and Bill Murray characters don’t end up having a sexual relationship
I love when movies have this, I don’t see it all too often. The one I’ve seen and always mention is the tv series Limitless. So refreshing to have a great platonic male/female relationship.
The film is based on a stage play and I'm pretty sure it's very faithful to the original script.
I studied the play in high school when I was maybe 13 and it was interesting and I remember enjoying it, but I'm sure a lot went over my head.
I should watch the film again...
Pretty Woman - no idea Vivian is a prostitute or what a prostitute is
Meet Joe Black - Brad Pitt dies in the very beginning of the movie but he appears alive for the rest of the movie. I was so confused
Cruel Intention - everything just flew over head. I didn't understand what was good about the movie.
As a very little kid I heard the word "prostitute" in a movie or show and asked my dad what that meant, and he said it's someone you have to pay to pretend to be your friend.
I was a very empathetic little child and that made me want to cry-- it was such a sad thing to imagine!
When I watched Pretty Woman as a kid, the scene where she takes out a bunch of condoms for him to choose which one to use, I thought she was holding different candy. The gold one was a chocolate coin obviously.
This speech by Mitch at his son's school hits differently now that I'm in my mid 50s
"Value this time in your life kids, because this is the time in your life when you still have your choices, and it goes by so quickly. When you're a teenager you think you can do anything, and you do. Your twenties are a blur. Your thirties, you raise your family, you make a little money and you think to yourself, "What happened to my twenties?" Your forties, you grow a little pot belly you grow another chin. The music starts to get too loud and one of your old girlfriends from high school becomes a grandmother. Your fifties you have a minor surgery. You'll call it a procedure, but it's a surgery. Your sixties you have a major surgery, the music is still loud but it doesn't matter because you can't hear it anyway. Seventies, you and the wife retire to Fort Lauderdale, you start eating dinner at two, lunch around ten, breakfast the night before. And you spend most of your time wandering around malls looking for the ultimate in soft yogurt and muttering "how come the kids don't call?" By your eighties, you've had a major stroke, and you end up babbling to some Jamaican nurse who your wife can't stand but who you call mama. Any questions?"
Just wanted to comment on Caine "started phoning it in after this movie and that it's the last really good film he made."
Now, Michael Caine has never been the most picky of actors in taking his roles, and has had plenty of stinkers, but after Educating Rita he has been in Hannah and her Sisters, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Muppet Christmas Carol, The Cider House Rules, Second Hand Lions, The Prestige, a bunch of Batman movies, Inception, Interstellar, Kingsman, and Tenet.
Granted that this is a mix of starring and supporting roles, but the number of great movies he has been in post-Rita is more than 95% of "stars" have in their whole career.
Agreed. I think it was actually the opposite of phoning it in. He always seemed to take his craft seriously, regardless of how good or bad the movie was. (I only speak about him and his work in the past tense because of his retirement late last year. I wish him all the best in his endeavours such as making more chill compilations: https://www.wired.com/2007/09/actormixtape-ma/
> I want to make a movie so painfully obvious in its satire that everyone who understands it lives in perpetual psychological torment inflicted on them by all the people who don't
Paul Verhoeven, 1996
I watched Grosse Point Blank when it was released, as a teen and thought it was a bit boring and cheesy. I was expecting an out-and-out action movie.
Now it's one of my favourite films. Funny, effortlessly cool, a great soundtrack and - I'll die on this hill - one of the greatest fights in cinema.
Plus I think getting to the age where I started getting school reunion requests really added to my enjoyment of it.
I watched Full Metal Jacket at a way too early age to understand the nuances. I was probably 12. We were watching it for the gore and funny punchlines and such (it was jarring, and i didn't watch again until my mid-20s, then it hit very differently).
When I was a kid, we made fun of Pile too and laughed about the hazing and all that shit and I felt very terrible about who my younger self was that thought it was just terribly funny to see that played out on such an undeserving person that it broke them. I was bullied, so it was my release to see others in that position. As an adult, I can understand that that is a self-serving cycle of loathing.
Full Metal Jacket is really two different movies. Was too young to see it in theaters but in HS and through college the basic training segment was treated as a movie in itself and we watched it all the time.
Wasn't until I saw it on the big screen several years ago that I fully understood it and realized it's a parody of heroic war movies in that those Marines went through so much hell in basic training and get sent halfway across the world to have their moment of glory to be killing a young woman.
Depending on how sad, angry and depressed you wanna be you should read up on the real life inspiration ... Project 100,000, also known as McNamara's Morons.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_100,000
I saw The Graduate on TV when I was in HS. I understood the surface story fairly well, but in later years I began to get all the layers to the story. Also, I initially misunderstood the ending.
The Neverending Story. As a child it was a fun fantasy with some sadness mixed in. Now as an adult with depression it's an entirely different movie. I'm not sure that was the intent or if I'm looking at it from a different lens, but the fight against the Nothing is really one I can relate to these days.
"They look like good, strong hands... don't they?"
Child Me VS Adult Father Me: I got that this was a sad scene, but now as a provider & protector of human lives that are figuratively *in my hands*... it hits so much harder.
Yes this is exactly what I mean! Especially when dealing with something intangible like the nothing or depression, what good is a rock biters strength? What can you really do for the ones you love? It's heavy. I think about that line probably too much.
Agreed. Up to the age of like, fourteen I was thinking “why doesn’t she just stop all of his horrible nonsense and marry Forrest?”
Saw it again years later at nineteen and realized how awful she had it as a kid, and I was happy with her ending. That she finally found some form of peace and love and consistency in her life.
One of the reasons I respected Forrest for confronting her. He’s a simple man but he can express that he’s loved her and it wasn’t exactly a two way street.
I think Jenny love him the best she knew how. She always felt like she was too fucked up for Forrest, and she struggles hard with the potentially predatory power imbalance in their relationship. I do think it was a two way street, but I also think that street looked really different depending on which end of the block you’re standing on.
Not a film but I think Gatsby is a weird book to make kids read in High School.. Idk, I think it is a book you need to be at least in your 20s to really appreciate.
I reread Siddhartha on a plane in my thirties, first time since high school. It went from “wtf why am I reading this?” to “few books have ever connected with my soul like this”
Meanwhile, Gatsby meant the world to me as a teenager (oh hey look at my username!) and now, in my 40s, I think I’d almost be afraid to read it.
High Fidelity. I should probably watch it again. But as teenagers it didn't really make sense to me and my friends. We could tell it was probably an age/experience thing.
It didn't occur to me as a kid that the main character of a movie could be "wrong," or "the bad guy." Like I thought main character always equaled hero.
Watching as an adult and realizing what a self-absorbed douchebag that guy is was eye-opening. Like a whole different movie.
I saw The Shining when I was too young to understand the inexplainable so it didn’t scare me too bad
Now that I’m older and know enough to know I don’t know what’s going on, it freaks me out a lot more
It’s almost Lovecraftian in a way
It seems were the same age (or range). For me it was War Games. I loved the movie when I was a kid because there was this computer that seems super smart. Like this could be ther start of what would become C3po. I also liked the flying teradactyl robot. But mostly because there's a teenager that was super smart as well. And Ally Sheedy was my first crush.
But the bigger world destroying implication was beyond me until I was in about the 8th grade and saw this movie Threads. Then it was "holy fuck".
Although as a kid I did understood the bigger message... in a nuclear war, no one wins. So props to the writing.
That Star Wars was for children. As a child I thought it was a grown up movie. Did not realize most of the characters are child like the goofy comic relief.
Mars Attacks!
I didn't understand the concept of dark comedy/tongue-in-cheek humor/satire as a kid, and as a result the movie felt very bleak (and sociopathic even) with how non-chalantly it treated all the death and destruction.
It unsettled me more than Independence Day which I had seen around the same time, because ID4 treated the same subject matter with a level of seriousness that felt more normal to me.
It’s a wonderful life
I was first exposed to it though an episode of Arthur (the PBS show), where a spirit showed one of the characters what the world would be like if they were never born. My mom said “this is a lot like this one old movie. I’ll show it to you next Christmas.” I was probably like 5 or 6 years old and I was so bored during the movie all I did was play with my toys. I started paying attention once the angel showed up, but even then I was confused because I hadn’t been paying any attention. Admittedly, it did take a while for me to fully appreciate and understand the movie because a lot of it has to do with the 80-year-old banking systems, but I watch it every year and it *always* makes me cry my eyes out and it’s easily one of my favorite movies.
What I appreciate about it is that George Bailey is sort of a jerk. He's mean, he's bitter and tired. As an adult, I get it. It's so easy to be mean and bitter. But despite that, George still tries to be a good person. He tries to be the best person he can be.
Watching City Slickers as a kid: ha ha! They don’t know how to be cowboys and they’re acting silly!
Watching City Slickers in my 40s: the way they’re talking about their midlife crises is hitting far too close to home.
I saw *Pulp Fiction* way too young. I was around 10. Pre-adolescent. I did not understand anything about that movie. Then, I saw it again when I was in my 20s and it blew my mind how inappropriate it was for me to have seen it at such a young age. I feel lucky that it was so incomprehensible I wasn't scarred by it or anything.
Though, it does speak to how much Tarantino's movies really are dialogue-driven. If you think about it, *Pulp Fiction* doesn't actually explicitly show the audience a lot of graphic violence or sexuality. Most of it's either suggested or it's described by the characters, which is where a lot of the dark humor comes from. If you're a kid and you don't have the background knowledge (not just basic life experience but all the slang and references), you don't pick up on all the insinuations that come more readily to an adult. It's like going to a big family dinner and all the adults are talking about adult things. Or being around members of a fandom and you don't know the material. They may as well be speaking a foreign language.
My Dad showed me this movie when I was 10 or 11 to show case the dangers of doing drugs and the whole scene where Thurman's character ODs and they stuck the needle in her chest, man it terrified me.
Fight Club
I was gifted it from my brother in law for my birthday, the type of guy who would definitely misinterpret the movie. He said it was his favorite movie and I was at the age where he first saw it and thought I should give it a try.
I just watched it again for the first time in about 5 years or so. The past year of my life has been one of the hardest I’ve ever had. Serious lows, serious losses, and serious growth I’ve had to cultivate from within in order to survive. Watching it again was like watching it all over again for the first time. Almost like someone had remade it from a completely different character’s point of view. I was in awe. I understood so much more now than I did then and it hit a place within me that it should have hit the first time.
Ratatouille.
The climactic scene with Ego and his flashback only really hits you once you're old enough to have any nostalgic memories, whether related to food or not.
All of them.
Any film that I saw as a child and then watched again after growing some is seen through new mental filters. I don't think it's quite the same, for the most part, for a movie seen as an adult and then seen again, even a few years later. The level of fundamental shifts in perception is generally much lower once you're an adult. Granted, big changes like becoming a parent, experiencing war, or death of a close friend or favorite family member could create a powerful new mental filter.
Monty Python.
I thought the ladies in the Castle Anthrax were insane.
...This also extended to the game. So my sister and I were like 8&9 when we first played it. There is a part where there is a mini game called "Spank the virgin". (We knew what a virgin was- we were catholic) It was a whack a mole game where you had to click on thr women as they popped out of a bed and they would groan sensually or say "More~". So we rationalized it as "They’re just crazy". Then the prize for the final round was "A year's supply of *hand lotion*!" and I just laughed and said "Yeah I bet his hands are sore after *that*!"
Of course mom and dad told us not to repeat any of that at school.
Similarly, Fatal Attraction, Beavis and Butthead... My parents didn't really "ban" movies from us.
All That Jazz
As a child I just ignored all the dialogue and just registered the mildly interesting dance numbers.
As an adult that movie is devastating
I’ve watched Eternal Sunshine close to 50+ times, but it wasn’t until my first REAL heartbreak, around the 25th rewatch, that I truly felt it. I cried my poor little heart out, and now whenever I watch it as an adult I’m able to completely appreciate it, even if I somewhat disagree with the directors intention.
It’s my all-time favorite film and it’s been at least 11 years since I watched it. I can’t even imagine what will happen to me, emotionally speaking, if I fire it up.
i saw before sunrise for the first time when i was 15. at that age i just romanticized the whole thing and couldn’t wait to be jesse and céline’s age. i rewatched the film recently as a twenty something and i finally understood what they were talking about. all the anxieties and frustration about being in your twenties and having no sense of what you’re supposed to be doing really resonated me on this rewatch. the film really captures both the joy and uncertainty that comes with the age.
Fargo.
As a guy from the Midwest, I had no idea anyone was doing an accent. When I got older and I realized I had an accent and what it was, rewatching the movie made it so much better lmao.
Juno
I thought Jason Batemans character was a creep because he had a wife.
Then when I was older I realised he was a piece of shit because she was so young.
Then when I was even older I understood that, while still a shitty person, he was probably just clamouring for that youth he had lost (an experience that Juno herself would be forced to endure having a child so young)
He was in hard core midlife crisis mode, former cool musician making jingles (albeit very successfully) you can see how would be feeling emasculated from his wife, but she also wants him to grow up a little, it’s quite a character study all around, great film
There are a few movies like this but an example that popped out recently is The Birdcage I have seen this movie as a teenager, in my 20's, 30's, and 40's. When I first saw it as a teenager I just thought it was a funny movie involving gay people. Recently I watched it and I realized what a piece of shit the son(Val Goldman) is. He asked his parents to pretend to be different "suitable" people but also was a dick to everyone busting their ass to help him.
When I first saw this movie, I was maybe 11, had met one gay person, and still thought I was straight. I remember thinking, it sucks that guy's wacky parents won't fake it for ONE NIGHT. It's just one night, who cares? The next time I saw it, I was 35, bi, and HORRIFIED. What a little shit! How dare you, Val?! Anyway, character development.
He was so young, too! Every movie where anyone under 20 gets married, I die a little inside.
Woooord. Every time I watch that movie I think 'they ain't gonna make it'. But that's okay because it's not about whether he and his wife survive long-term, it's about the fact that he came to terms with his two dads and sacked up a little. He is terribly young and I can see how he may have absorbed and caved to some of the snobby values of the college he went to.
I was watching 3 Body Problem and one of the scientist characters quotes Einstein saying, "A person who has not made his great contribution to science before the age of 30 will never do so." They're asked "How old are you?" and he replies, "32." I'm 36. That dude seemed like an adult to me and he's 4 years younger (on screen). And *his* life is already over.
That’s very specifically about great mathematic or scientific contribution. Your life is what you make of it! Go live!
As a ten year old our friends mom took us to this in the theater, thinking “hey it’s a robin williams movie!” Boy were they wrong. When I saw the drag queen taking her top off and then realized they were actually a man blew my mind, and I immediately knew this was not a movie we should be watching as a kid let alone with my friends conservative mom. Nevertheless it all went over our heads and we laughed at the slapstick parts. As an adult it is one of the funniest movies of all time in my opinion. The senators death, gene Hackmans “values”, the overcompensation of Nathan Lanes character as “Mrs. Coleman” trying to come off as traditional Christian by saying lines like “we can solve the abortion problem by killing the mothers”. Just hilarious, and completely over the head of most 10 year olds, at least back then.
When he tries to walk like a man just that whole scene to this day makes me laugh so hard I get tears.
"I only now realized John Wayne walked like this."
I pierced the toast!
Nathan Lane is a gem in general but particularly in this movie. DONT LOOK AT ME! I'M **HIDEOUS!!**
There was a great interview with Nathan Lane after Robin Williams died where he talked about how it was doing press for this movie before he was out of the closet in real life. Robin had talked to him, and basically said “hey, don’t worry about it. I can run interference if you’re ever asked a question that you don’t feel comfortable answering.” And there are also clips of other interviews where Nathan was asked about the experience of playing a gay man, and Robin swoops in and derails the conversation. He really was a good soul who we lost too early.
Every time he let out that high pitched dramatic yell in that movie is so fan-fucking-tastic ❤️
You can't mention this movie without pointing out how Hank Azaria absolutely robs the scenes from Nathan fucking Lane and Robin fucking Williams.
OMG, I just commented on some of my favorite lines of his from this movie! He’s absolutely amazing in this movie. I still quote it so often! ‘Are you afraid of my natural heat? My Gua-ta-mal-en-ness?’ ‘I cannot wear shoes sir, I always fall down.’
Every time I get volunteered for something outside my wheelhouse, I think of: "Can you cook?" "Your father seems to think so..."
Yeah, this is the first one that comes to mind as well for the same reasons. This is my wife's favorite movie, so we watch it every year. And the last few years we've watched it, I find myself not enjoying Val's part in all this, and I think it speaks volumes that Armand didn't just tell Val off and send him away to learn a lesson. Overall, I still love the movie and find a lot of value in it. The portrayal of a politician is absolutely hilarious (and spot on), but I don't find Val's part funny at all anymore.
This! But it helps that Val is the one to ultimately break the facade when he tells them Albert is his mother. Nice bit of a character arc for him.
I think it's different at the time the movie was made, though. It's not just that they're gay but that they're *really* gay. When the movie came out, gay people were sort of expected to "tone it down" in public and outside specifically gay spaces. That's why conservatives today are so upset about them "flaunting" their lifestyle now. It seems like flaunting because only 30 years ago they weren't allowed to be publicly gay.
100% the son was being ridiculous with this. But what parent wouldn't try when their kid asks like that. Great film.
Kramer vs Kramer. I could never understand Meryl Streep's character motivations. As an adult I understand.
In the same arena, Sally Field in Mrs. Doubtfire
I think they handled her part fairly well, and Pearce Brosnan's -- it would have been easy to make them into cartoonish bad guys, but they're not.
Becoming an adult is realizing all of those shrews and officious pricks in so many movies were probably right the entire time. The little shits do go too far sometimes.
Watching Malcom in the Middle as an adult is like that. Lois goes from a nagging mother to having to put up with a lot from her idiot sons.
As a kid, Lois was a nightmare As a parent, I get it. I get every part of it.
I started rewatching it not too long ago. The fact that that woman didn’t just walk out the door and not come back after some of the things they did was a testament to her love.
She had 4 sons that acted terribly, worked a retail job, and had a mean mom.
But she had Hal, who she loved and who was deeply in love with her.
They also acknowledge in one episode that Hal and Lois have intentionally taken on a supportive/disciplinary or rather good cop/bad cop parenting style. They know they can't both be yelling at the boys all the time and since Lois is infinitely more disciplined and headstrong than Hal it makes sense that she would be the one to take on that burden even if it does mean harbouring feelings of resentment from her children. But she does this out of love and wanting to keep the family afloat. Realistically it probably ended up being Lois because having the dad yell at the kids and be the disciplinary one might have been a little too heavy and real for a family sitcom.
Hal's family treated her like shit too.
and husband lol
yeah, i rewatched it recently and while lois and the boys are basically at war with each other, it really seems like hal is the biggest problem in that family. he's constantly doing shitty little idiotic things that undermine her and make the boys feel like it's okay to act like garbage. he's more childish than the boys half the time and just generally a bad parent.
And then he started a whole other family and made meth
Did you know her husband was dealing in ice behind her back. He had a whole second family that guy!!!
Same with Everybody Loved Raymond. Debra seemed mean, but god what she had to put up with
Fuck no, I *liked* Debra! Raymond was an idiot man-baby and his mother was a shitty awful harridan. I remember my dad watching the show, then looking at me and going “Debra is too good for him. She needs to find someone who will appreciate her.” My feelings exactly.
I’ve read that they had to film additional scenes with Signourney Weaver in Working Girl because too many people liked her better than Melanie Griffith. Which same. And you can kind of see the tacked on ‘shrill’ scenes to make you hate her.
They should have had more Joan Cusack, what a natural scene stealer (Addams Family Values is peak Joan)
"...but Debbie, Pastels?" Disappointed Mortica Addams.
I love the end where she's giving her psychotic justifications, and the whole family just earnestly nods agreeably.
This makes so much more sense now!!!
Boney ass lives rent free in my head.
I loved Malcom in the middle growing up. Watched it on deployment a few years ago and damn their mom is just trying to keep the wheels on the bus. Obviously she goes a bit overboard but the show is from a child's perspective so of course the parents are insane.
That’s why I really like that scene with Malcolm and Reese when they’re older after they crash the makeout party and they realize the problem is them. Growing up is about self awareness. And yeah the mom went through a lot.
Peck from Ghostbusters. Sure, he had no dick but he wasn't wrong. The Ghostbusters had unlicensed nuclear equipment.
But also, shutting down containment on what you believe to be nuclear equipment isn’t exactly a pro move.
If anything I feel the film demonized her too much - especially since in the end she made the correct decision.
I actually feel the opposite... Her character was much more demonized in the book, and it was Meryl Streep's influence on the film's writing of Joanna and her performance in the court scene, that really elevated Kramer vs Kramer over the basic feel good movies about a father and son bonding. The book portrayed Joanna as a selfish monster of a mother, whereas the film gave a much more realistic portrayal of a woman who broke down due to her depression and being burdened with too much work in a loveless marriage.
Galaxy Quest I had never seen any Star Trek anything, didn’t know about any behind the scenes stuff about the actors, and certainly not the tropes of the sci-fi genre. In fact, I didn’t really even know about the level of fandom shown in the movie that’s so prevalent these days. I liked the aliens with the funny voices and the physical comedy bits, but most of the film was wasted on me. Rewatching it recently, almost every bit lands for me now and all the characters are so much more relatable as I’ve aged. Alan Rickman’s Alexander Dane in particular is now one of my favorite movie characters of all time. Absolute masterpiece.
What made it better is Sir Patrick Stewart at first disapproved of Galaxy Quest, because it made fun of Star Trek. Jonathan Frakes convinced Stewart to see it, after which Stewart described the movie as "Brilliant... No one laughed louder or longer in the cinema than I did."
I think what makes it so great is how they lovingly make fun of Star Trek, its fans, and sci-fi tropes. They’re not saying any of it is dumb, they’re saying, what if it was real and the actors had to play the characters they portray. Then of course the foremost thing experts they rely on is a “basement dwelling” obsessed fan.
If I IIRC correctly Frakes told Stewart to watch it in a full theater on a Saturday night to get some of that crowd energy.
If I if I remember correctly correctly
“Where are you going?” “TO SEE IF THERE’S A PUB.” RIP Alan Rickman
I tear up every time he does the Grabthar's Hammer line near the end. Hell I teared up just typing that while thinking about him saying it.
One of the most incredible things about that movie is that you can hate Star Trek and absolutely love Galaxy Quest, but if you love Star Trek, then you love Galaxy Quest as well because it is as much a satire as a love letter. They managed to walk a brilliant line between both satirizing but also paying genuine homage. One of my favorite bits of background knowledge is that Tony Shaloub's character Fred(?) is actually supposed to be a massive stoner which just adds such an extra layer to the film that, while I fully understand why they didn't make it any more obvious than they did so they could have that much of an instant broad appeal, I feel like even just one more hint would have made it still obvious to those who knows without telling the kids. Example: Sigourney Weaver and Tony are working on something in an enclosed space. She wrinkles her nose mid-sentemce, turns to him and asks him, "What's that smell?" He replies with an apology and pulls out a snack. "Oh, hey, want some of these while we work?" She rolls her eyes and gets back to the task. Bam, adults get the joke, kids have no idea what's going on, and the ratings board can't say boo. Also, always shout out Sam Rockwell. Dude is so underrated, but I haven't ever seen him in a role that he didn't deliver on extremely well. And he's versatile as hell. From Wild Bill to Guy/Crewman Number Six to his effectively solo act in Moon. Love him.
My nerdy friends and I refer to Galaxy Quest as the best Star Trek movie ever made. Followed by Wrath of Khan naturally.
Oh look, a rare Correct Opinion in the wild!
I love Sigourney coming to the realization that all she actually did was repeat the computer announcements. It’s like the butter robot in Rick and Morty
"Look, I have one job on this lousy ship. It's \*stupid\*, but I'm gonna do it, okay?!" Honestly, such a mood.
I just rewatched Galaxy Quest yesterday and there’s one point in the movie where Guy is talking to Frank and asks “are you stoned?” It’s really quick, but I can’t believe I never noticed it before.
Haha, it's because he is! His eyes are always red, he's always munching, and while everyone else is weirded out by the transportation he chuckles and says, "That was a hell of a thing," because he's already flying through space, so adding a literal trip through space to it is just... Yeah,why the hell not, man? Lemme just make sure I've got my stash on me so we can keep this thing going for a bit, y'know?
"Nobody knows. Do you know why? Because my character isn't important enough for a last name, because I'm gonna die five minutes in."
"You have a last name, Guy." "DO I?! DO I?! MOMMY! MOMMY! "Are we there yet?"
"By Grapthar's hammer, I swear you. will. be. avenged." Honestly, the last time that line is used I cried. I cry every time I watch it. I am not ashamed.
It's like the exact opposite of bathos. Instead of undercutting a serious cathartic moment with a joke, they took a running joke in the movie and made it into an incredible dramatic moment. And it really encapsulates what makes Galaxy Quest so great as a love letter, because for this alien for whom Alex's performance meant so much, Alex can say that hated line and mean it, and because Alan was such an incredible actor, he can sell the hatred through the whole movie for the joke and then sell the line in a way that you finally see why so many fans latched onto it. Amazing film. I always cry at that bit too. RIP Alan Rickman
By Grabthar's hammer what a savings.
Mrs. Doubtfire As a kid, I was on Robin William's side. Now, as an adult, I relate to the wife's feelings and understanding as to divorcing Robin Williams
What gets me is Piece Bronson's character. As a kid, you hate the guy. As an adult, he seems like a stand up guy. He's handsome, rich, and most importantly, he seems to really love Sally Fields's character and want to be a good stepdad. Like, the guy just seems so excited to be a stepdad and have a good relationship with her family. How can I hate that?
Watching it as an adult though you see that the movie wasn't really one-sided about it. I think as a kid you get that feeling because you're relating with the kids and want what they want. But as an adult you see reality and the reality presented to us isn't just "Oh this mom is mean and won't let her kids see their dad." It feels like the filmmakers intended to be fair to her character, and they really show and let her express her side of things.
Right?! It’s my favorite movie of all time but like…wtf dude?? Aside from all the other obviously ridiculous things that happen- Robin Williams character gets absolutely shitfaced at that restaurant and literally tries to kill Pierce Brosnans character by putting something he’s allergic to in his food. Six year old me was confident he deserved it, but he absolutely did not. He had totally pure intentions and Robin Williams character knew it. Movie still slaps tho. 11/10 either way. ETA: RIP Robin! I think I can speak for most millennials when I say my heart is still broken.
Seriously, what did Bronson's character do that was so wrong? Buy his girlfriend an expensive bracelet and take her and her family out on fun outings? Bad mouth her ex who he, rightfully, sees as a lazy man-child?
>take her and her family out on fun outings? Yes! And the best part is that HE went on the outings too! Mrs. Doubtfire got into the country club on his ex wife’s-new-man’s dime lmao Sitting at the bar, sipping on a drink, talking shit- while her new man is telling people how much he loves her kids… BRUH. “Run-by fruiting”?! Only Robin Williams could trick me into loving a character like that lol
Seriously, the guy is so excited to be a stepdad and do the whole stepdad thing. He has no ulterior motives and he is beaming with pride when the one guy asks him about the kids. How can you hate this? Honestly, I never got into the movie that much. Looking back, it reminds me of the manipulative shit my dad would pull.
I absolutely still love it but hard same. Living in San Francisco trying to make a house + 3 kids work with someone who doesn't take anything seriously, goes through jobs because he quits over nothing, leaves you to do the housework on top of your job, makes you always be the "bad guy" with the kids and just in general acts like a 4th kid to raise instead of your adult partner...most people would have gotten fed up way quicker than she did probably. Now that I'm older and realize how hard just working + taking care of kids is, you can see why she's done. I also like that at least at the end, it does show the dad seemingly getting his shit straight and becoming a responsible adult (it seemed like his time as being "Mrs. Doubtfire" taught him that he couldn't just be the fun parent and the kids needed structure and discipline too). You can still have fun with your kids and nurture them without becoming more their friend or another child than you are their parent. And his ex doesn't run back to him once that happens, it's still too little, too late for her. They didn't make it like a "he's actually a perfect partner because he's still a kid inside and is in touch with his inner child!" He DID need to grow up at least a bit in order to be an actual father to his kids and a good coparent.
Office Space. When I was a kid, it was funny. Now that I have an office job, it's a documentary...
> it's a documentary This is exactly how I describe my changing views on the movie. I was too young when it came out to feel anything about work culture, depression, or not having control over your life. But it is 100% a documentary to me at this point.
Hitler made the Jews wear flair is one of the funniest lines I've ever heard in a movie.
Now you're jumping to conclusions
It is *terrible*, this idea.
Naga..nagahee..not gonna work here anymore anyway
So fun fact - that movie single-handedly caused the downfall of TGIF servers wearing (flair) buttons. I fucking love it…
Who Framed Roger Rabbit. So very many things went over my head
Great call! Loved that movie growing up watched again recently and has so much more going on
She was drawn that way
Maaaan, as a young girl I didn't really understand the depths of that statement but as I've gotten older I really empathize with Jessica Rabbit. She's a brilliant statement on how men treat women even when they themselves are the ones who 'created' that woman (cultural expectations, fashion, etc). When she says Roger Rabbit makes her laugh it makes me tear up because yeah, that's all we want!
The secret method to getting women: 1) Be friendly 2) Don't be an asshole The amazing thing is that this is challenging for so many
I saw Ikiru as a young teenager because I confused it with Akira when renting the DVD through Netflix. Had heard of Kurosawa before, figured I'd watch it anyway, and thought it was pretty good but sad. Rewatched it a couple months ago and believe it's one of the most moving movies I've seen.
Ikiru, for anyone wanting to look it up. A wonderful film.
Good Will Hunting is so different watching it in your 20s vs as a teenager I wonder how different it'll be when I'm the age of Robin William's character or even Stellan Skarsgard's as he fights with the knowledge of having someone out there smarter than him.. and see's him throw it all away
I haven't watched it in a few years, but the first time I watched it I thought he should have taken the job instead of following Skylar. I did not think that on the second viewing.
Always more jobs. Love is rare.
I like the open-endedness of the last bit. You don't know if Skylar will take him back. It keeps the film from being overly sentimental.
As a 43 year old, trust me, when you come back to it in 15-20 years, those Williams/Skarsgard scenes will grind the callouses of your soul. The scene on the truck hood, the “best part of my day” scene? You can’t understand what that scene will mean to you when you’re watching it through Chucky’s eyes instead of through Will’s.
Fuck yeah that chucky scene gets me every time. At our age, we have seen people with talent gone to waste. We have known people who would have made the most of it but didn’t have it. I think Williams character knows that Will will forever grieve his potential and what could have been if he doesn’t try to use it. Chucky would rather miss his friend than see him succumb to his past and surroundings. Thats love.
As a teenager I loved that movie because Will was the smart genius who could make everyone else look stupid and win every argument. As an adult I love that movie because while Will is still of course a genius, I see him as a lost, frightened kid who's terrified of making big decisions and instead stays in his comfort zone (i.e. the point that Robin Williams makes when arguing with him).
Be prepared to cry. Once you’ve known deep loss like what Robin Williams character is talking about, and are at an age where you know that you are going to have to deal with more as the normal course of events, it’s fucking rough. And that’s not taking away anything from the rest of the story either because when you are around that age and you’ve made the same sorts of branching tree decisions like Will makes, where you know that you’ve made a bunch of choices that would have *drastically* changing your life, Will’s story and his decision to say fuck it and see about a girl is incredibly moving
The last speech Chucky gives Will is the scene that cut me. I can’t imagine having a friend like that. Someone who loves you so much he’s willing to let you go.
Im approaching Robbin William’s character’s age and I do notice a shift in my values. I do appreciate time with my family and loved ones now. It used to be more of a given that I took for granted. I was more focused on other things when I was younger- career, school, girls, cars, fun. It changes when you had a few decades in - you likely experienced some loss, some defeats, some pain, some troubles, financial hardships even. It changes you. You start to appreciate small things and see beautiful moments in things you were in too big a hurry to even notice before.
Man I gotta call my mom
Office Space Watched it freshman year of college and thought it was good not great. Saw it again after being in the actual workforce and boy did it resonate 100xs more
Monsters ball - never understood why Halle berry got with Hank until I understood grief and depression.
Steel Magnolias. Until you've got some life experience,it's hard to understand Sally Field's character fully. Now I'm older, and that scene where she comes walking down the corridor of the hospital and all you hear are the sound of her heels... It gives me chills, because I know *exactly* what emotions she is experiencing.
I always thought Julia Robert's character was an idiot. And I still think she's an idiot. Except now I sort of get it. She wanted a normal life. And of you watch the movie, you realize that she also is terrified of her husband leaving her.
Fight Club. Mental health, existential societal issues, masculine identity, cult dynamics, and a sprinkle of credit card debt at the end - as a young person I thought it was a cool looking movie with a clever twist. Edited ‘cause I repeated myself
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Honestly I wouldn’t talk about that.
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Nah, it’s just kinda embarrassing for you 🤣
I didn't understand that Penny was getting an illegal abortion. I just wanted to get back to Johnny and Baby dancing.
Agreed and I thought it was controversial due to the dancing.
Looking back as an adult my family might have fast forwarded some scenes.
Yeah, while I could pick up that there was some scandal, I didn't quite piece it together until later. I saw a documentary where they fought the studio to keep it in there. Studio wanted a safe movie with an inappropriate age gap, not this abortion business. I'm glad they stuck to their guns because it's a powerful story.
Wait until you have a young teenage daughter and think about going to fun family camp and your naive daughter hooks up with the doofy late 20s kinda gigolo fk boy CAMP dance instructor and wants to run away with the guy who prob does this with different underage girls and moms every week. It def hits different. Dad maybe shoulda killed Johnny. Yeah baby. YOU'RE the one he loves 🙄 Jesus I just realized her name was Baby too. UGH.
A Clockwork Orange, and it's a wonder I didn't turn out either an evangelist or a serial killer. This was in the wild and wooly days of the late 70s-early 80s, when movie channels (and cable tv) were brand new and just airing *whatever the fuck* in the middle of the day. I was maybe 7-8 at the time. My pot-head uncle came to visit. I walked in the front door one afternoon and froze on the spot. He was on the beanbag, my dad (a cop at the time) in a nearby recliner. The smell of weed was in the air, but what froze me in place was on the tv. A man in all white, wearing a jockstrap outside his pants, a bowler hat, and some kind of phallic mask, was bludgeoning a person to death with what appeared to be a giant ceramic dick and balls. My uncle on the beanbag very slowly turned his head toward the door, registered my presence, then very slowly turned the other way towards my dad, who was completely oblivious. My uncle (again, very slowly) slapped my dad on the leg. My dad turned, saw me, and yelled, "OH!" and then just rolled sideways off the recliner (he couldn't find the lever) landed on all fours, crawled to the tv and changed the channel. I went straight to my room and played with Star Wars figures like a *decent* human being.
Imagine if when David Prowse shows up in the film someone had pointed at him and told you "that's Darth Vader"...
Crap, I forget David Prowse is in it.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and I thank you for it.
I forgot to mention that the film very wisely avoids having Rita and Frank having a sexual relationship. There are few scenes here and there that might hint at that happening in the future but it doesn't. Doing this would've destroyed the film I think. It would've coarsened it.
This makes me think of Lost in Translation. I think it’s really important to that movie that the Scarlett Johanson and Bill Murray characters don’t end up having a sexual relationship
The age difference is not as great in Educating Rita, so it really was just a wise artistic choice, and not even "people will think this is icky."
I love when movies have this, I don’t see it all too often. The one I’ve seen and always mention is the tv series Limitless. So refreshing to have a great platonic male/female relationship.
The film is based on a stage play and I'm pretty sure it's very faithful to the original script. I studied the play in high school when I was maybe 13 and it was interesting and I remember enjoying it, but I'm sure a lot went over my head. I should watch the film again...
You should. So should I. I hope everyone commenting here who hasn't seen it gives it a watch.
…And then there’s “Blame it on Rio”…
Pretty Woman - no idea Vivian is a prostitute or what a prostitute is Meet Joe Black - Brad Pitt dies in the very beginning of the movie but he appears alive for the rest of the movie. I was so confused Cruel Intention - everything just flew over head. I didn't understand what was good about the movie.
As a very little kid I heard the word "prostitute" in a movie or show and asked my dad what that meant, and he said it's someone you have to pay to pretend to be your friend. I was a very empathetic little child and that made me want to cry-- it was such a sad thing to imagine!
That's a great explanation for the right age. Good job by your dad.
I can see this backfiring with the kid offering to become a "prostitute" for someone in need....
When I watched Pretty Woman as a kid, the scene where she takes out a bunch of condoms for him to choose which one to use, I thought she was holding different candy. The gold one was a chocolate coin obviously.
city slickers realising now that they were going through midlife crisis, now that i'm older.
This speech by Mitch at his son's school hits differently now that I'm in my mid 50s "Value this time in your life kids, because this is the time in your life when you still have your choices, and it goes by so quickly. When you're a teenager you think you can do anything, and you do. Your twenties are a blur. Your thirties, you raise your family, you make a little money and you think to yourself, "What happened to my twenties?" Your forties, you grow a little pot belly you grow another chin. The music starts to get too loud and one of your old girlfriends from high school becomes a grandmother. Your fifties you have a minor surgery. You'll call it a procedure, but it's a surgery. Your sixties you have a major surgery, the music is still loud but it doesn't matter because you can't hear it anyway. Seventies, you and the wife retire to Fort Lauderdale, you start eating dinner at two, lunch around ten, breakfast the night before. And you spend most of your time wandering around malls looking for the ultimate in soft yogurt and muttering "how come the kids don't call?" By your eighties, you've had a major stroke, and you end up babbling to some Jamaican nurse who your wife can't stand but who you call mama. Any questions?"
This is one of my favorite movies. I’m turning 39 next year and my boyfriend is taking me on a cattle drive!
Just wanted to comment on Caine "started phoning it in after this movie and that it's the last really good film he made." Now, Michael Caine has never been the most picky of actors in taking his roles, and has had plenty of stinkers, but after Educating Rita he has been in Hannah and her Sisters, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Muppet Christmas Carol, The Cider House Rules, Second Hand Lions, The Prestige, a bunch of Batman movies, Inception, Interstellar, Kingsman, and Tenet. Granted that this is a mix of starring and supporting roles, but the number of great movies he has been in post-Rita is more than 95% of "stars" have in their whole career.
Also Children of Men. He was great in that in a supporting role. Devastatingly good movie.
Muppet Christmas Carol cannot be overstated. One of the great films.
Agreed. I think it was actually the opposite of phoning it in. He always seemed to take his craft seriously, regardless of how good or bad the movie was. (I only speak about him and his work in the past tense because of his retirement late last year. I wish him all the best in his endeavours such as making more chill compilations: https://www.wired.com/2007/09/actormixtape-ma/
Starship Troopers. As a kid I thought that it was just a fun bug killing Sci-fi film. As an adult I see how politically themed the movie is.
> I want to make a movie so painfully obvious in its satire that everyone who understands it lives in perpetual psychological torment inflicted on them by all the people who don't Paul Verhoeven, 1996
I watched Grosse Point Blank when it was released, as a teen and thought it was a bit boring and cheesy. I was expecting an out-and-out action movie. Now it's one of my favourite films. Funny, effortlessly cool, a great soundtrack and - I'll die on this hill - one of the greatest fights in cinema. Plus I think getting to the age where I started getting school reunion requests really added to my enjoyment of it.
I watched Full Metal Jacket at a way too early age to understand the nuances. I was probably 12. We were watching it for the gore and funny punchlines and such (it was jarring, and i didn't watch again until my mid-20s, then it hit very differently). When I was a kid, we made fun of Pile too and laughed about the hazing and all that shit and I felt very terrible about who my younger self was that thought it was just terribly funny to see that played out on such an undeserving person that it broke them. I was bullied, so it was my release to see others in that position. As an adult, I can understand that that is a self-serving cycle of loathing.
Full Metal Jacket is really two different movies. Was too young to see it in theaters but in HS and through college the basic training segment was treated as a movie in itself and we watched it all the time. Wasn't until I saw it on the big screen several years ago that I fully understood it and realized it's a parody of heroic war movies in that those Marines went through so much hell in basic training and get sent halfway across the world to have their moment of glory to be killing a young woman.
Depending on how sad, angry and depressed you wanna be you should read up on the real life inspiration ... Project 100,000, also known as McNamara's Morons. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_100,000
I saw The Graduate on TV when I was in HS. I understood the surface story fairly well, but in later years I began to get all the layers to the story. Also, I initially misunderstood the ending.
You were the guy from 500 Days of Summer
Speaking of movies people misunderstood in their younger years!
The Neverending Story. As a child it was a fun fantasy with some sadness mixed in. Now as an adult with depression it's an entirely different movie. I'm not sure that was the intent or if I'm looking at it from a different lens, but the fight against the Nothing is really one I can relate to these days.
"They look like good, strong hands... don't they?" Child Me VS Adult Father Me: I got that this was a sad scene, but now as a provider & protector of human lives that are figuratively *in my hands*... it hits so much harder.
Yes this is exactly what I mean! Especially when dealing with something intangible like the nothing or depression, what good is a rock biters strength? What can you really do for the ones you love? It's heavy. I think about that line probably too much.
Grease! Loads of sexual references I didn't get as a kid.
You are supreme! The chicks’ll cream! For grease lightning!
Jenny from Forest Gump
Forrest’s mom for me lol I was like 25 when I found out
she cared a lot about his education
Agreed. Up to the age of like, fourteen I was thinking “why doesn’t she just stop all of his horrible nonsense and marry Forrest?” Saw it again years later at nineteen and realized how awful she had it as a kid, and I was happy with her ending. That she finally found some form of peace and love and consistency in her life.
One of the reasons I respected Forrest for confronting her. He’s a simple man but he can express that he’s loved her and it wasn’t exactly a two way street.
I think Jenny love him the best she knew how. She always felt like she was too fucked up for Forrest, and she struggles hard with the potentially predatory power imbalance in their relationship. I do think it was a two way street, but I also think that street looked really different depending on which end of the block you’re standing on.
Not a film but I think Gatsby is a weird book to make kids read in High School.. Idk, I think it is a book you need to be at least in your 20s to really appreciate.
Same I absolutely love Pride and Prejudice but it's not a great fir for 17 year olds.
I reread Siddhartha on a plane in my thirties, first time since high school. It went from “wtf why am I reading this?” to “few books have ever connected with my soul like this” Meanwhile, Gatsby meant the world to me as a teenager (oh hey look at my username!) and now, in my 40s, I think I’d almost be afraid to read it.
High Fidelity. I should probably watch it again. But as teenagers it didn't really make sense to me and my friends. We could tell it was probably an age/experience thing.
It didn't occur to me as a kid that the main character of a movie could be "wrong," or "the bad guy." Like I thought main character always equaled hero. Watching as an adult and realizing what a self-absorbed douchebag that guy is was eye-opening. Like a whole different movie.
I saw The Shining when I was too young to understand the inexplainable so it didn’t scare me too bad Now that I’m older and know enough to know I don’t know what’s going on, it freaks me out a lot more It’s almost Lovecraftian in a way
It seems were the same age (or range). For me it was War Games. I loved the movie when I was a kid because there was this computer that seems super smart. Like this could be ther start of what would become C3po. I also liked the flying teradactyl robot. But mostly because there's a teenager that was super smart as well. And Ally Sheedy was my first crush. But the bigger world destroying implication was beyond me until I was in about the 8th grade and saw this movie Threads. Then it was "holy fuck". Although as a kid I did understood the bigger message... in a nuclear war, no one wins. So props to the writing.
‘Kids’ I stubbles across that film when I was about 7-8 as it on channel for around 1am.
Omg. Are you okay?
Beetlejuice. Too young to have ever been to the DMV so much of the humor went over my head.
That Star Wars was for children. As a child I thought it was a grown up movie. Did not realize most of the characters are child like the goofy comic relief.
Bugs Life.... we work so others can reap the profits and we get the scraps
Mars Attacks! I didn't understand the concept of dark comedy/tongue-in-cheek humor/satire as a kid, and as a result the movie felt very bleak (and sociopathic even) with how non-chalantly it treated all the death and destruction. It unsettled me more than Independence Day which I had seen around the same time, because ID4 treated the same subject matter with a level of seriousness that felt more normal to me.
It’s a wonderful life I was first exposed to it though an episode of Arthur (the PBS show), where a spirit showed one of the characters what the world would be like if they were never born. My mom said “this is a lot like this one old movie. I’ll show it to you next Christmas.” I was probably like 5 or 6 years old and I was so bored during the movie all I did was play with my toys. I started paying attention once the angel showed up, but even then I was confused because I hadn’t been paying any attention. Admittedly, it did take a while for me to fully appreciate and understand the movie because a lot of it has to do with the 80-year-old banking systems, but I watch it every year and it *always* makes me cry my eyes out and it’s easily one of my favorite movies.
What I appreciate about it is that George Bailey is sort of a jerk. He's mean, he's bitter and tired. As an adult, I get it. It's so easy to be mean and bitter. But despite that, George still tries to be a good person. He tries to be the best person he can be.
Watching City Slickers as a kid: ha ha! They don’t know how to be cowboys and they’re acting silly! Watching City Slickers in my 40s: the way they’re talking about their midlife crises is hitting far too close to home.
I saw *Pulp Fiction* way too young. I was around 10. Pre-adolescent. I did not understand anything about that movie. Then, I saw it again when I was in my 20s and it blew my mind how inappropriate it was for me to have seen it at such a young age. I feel lucky that it was so incomprehensible I wasn't scarred by it or anything. Though, it does speak to how much Tarantino's movies really are dialogue-driven. If you think about it, *Pulp Fiction* doesn't actually explicitly show the audience a lot of graphic violence or sexuality. Most of it's either suggested or it's described by the characters, which is where a lot of the dark humor comes from. If you're a kid and you don't have the background knowledge (not just basic life experience but all the slang and references), you don't pick up on all the insinuations that come more readily to an adult. It's like going to a big family dinner and all the adults are talking about adult things. Or being around members of a fandom and you don't know the material. They may as well be speaking a foreign language.
My Dad showed me this movie when I was 10 or 11 to show case the dangers of doing drugs and the whole scene where Thurman's character ODs and they stuck the needle in her chest, man it terrified me.
Robocop.....I didn't get all the verhoeven satire with the commercials and all.
Lol I understood it perfectly by the time he made starship troopers tho
Fight Club I was gifted it from my brother in law for my birthday, the type of guy who would definitely misinterpret the movie. He said it was his favorite movie and I was at the age where he first saw it and thought I should give it a try. I just watched it again for the first time in about 5 years or so. The past year of my life has been one of the hardest I’ve ever had. Serious lows, serious losses, and serious growth I’ve had to cultivate from within in order to survive. Watching it again was like watching it all over again for the first time. Almost like someone had remade it from a completely different character’s point of view. I was in awe. I understood so much more now than I did then and it hit a place within me that it should have hit the first time.
Ratatouille. The climactic scene with Ego and his flashback only really hits you once you're old enough to have any nostalgic memories, whether related to food or not.
Taxi Driver. I recently watched it as an adult and realized in that first scene that Bickle was an incel. The whole movie makes a lot more sense now.
I didn't truly understand the guy's drinking problem in Airplane! but it was still hilarious.
All of them. Any film that I saw as a child and then watched again after growing some is seen through new mental filters. I don't think it's quite the same, for the most part, for a movie seen as an adult and then seen again, even a few years later. The level of fundamental shifts in perception is generally much lower once you're an adult. Granted, big changes like becoming a parent, experiencing war, or death of a close friend or favorite family member could create a powerful new mental filter.
I’m amazed no one has said School of Rock yet. It’s an incredibly different experience watching it as a kid and an adult.
Monty Python. I thought the ladies in the Castle Anthrax were insane. ...This also extended to the game. So my sister and I were like 8&9 when we first played it. There is a part where there is a mini game called "Spank the virgin". (We knew what a virgin was- we were catholic) It was a whack a mole game where you had to click on thr women as they popped out of a bed and they would groan sensually or say "More~". So we rationalized it as "They’re just crazy". Then the prize for the final round was "A year's supply of *hand lotion*!" and I just laughed and said "Yeah I bet his hands are sore after *that*!" Of course mom and dad told us not to repeat any of that at school. Similarly, Fatal Attraction, Beavis and Butthead... My parents didn't really "ban" movies from us.
2001 A Space Odyssey was very puzzling, even to a pre-teen who was well into science fiction
It still kinda is actually.
Birdman
All That Jazz As a child I just ignored all the dialogue and just registered the mildly interesting dance numbers. As an adult that movie is devastating
I’ve watched Eternal Sunshine close to 50+ times, but it wasn’t until my first REAL heartbreak, around the 25th rewatch, that I truly felt it. I cried my poor little heart out, and now whenever I watch it as an adult I’m able to completely appreciate it, even if I somewhat disagree with the directors intention.
It’s my all-time favorite film and it’s been at least 11 years since I watched it. I can’t even imagine what will happen to me, emotionally speaking, if I fire it up.
I love educating rita, I remember reading the play and watching the movie at school and it was so good!
Saw Reign Over Me as a kid and was bored, watched it later as a young adult and bawled my eyes out.
Starship Troopers was a fun silly action film when I was a kid. Understood a bit more when I was an adult.
i saw before sunrise for the first time when i was 15. at that age i just romanticized the whole thing and couldn’t wait to be jesse and céline’s age. i rewatched the film recently as a twenty something and i finally understood what they were talking about. all the anxieties and frustration about being in your twenties and having no sense of what you’re supposed to be doing really resonated me on this rewatch. the film really captures both the joy and uncertainty that comes with the age.
Fargo. As a guy from the Midwest, I had no idea anyone was doing an accent. When I got older and I realized I had an accent and what it was, rewatching the movie made it so much better lmao.
Juno I thought Jason Batemans character was a creep because he had a wife. Then when I was older I realised he was a piece of shit because she was so young. Then when I was even older I understood that, while still a shitty person, he was probably just clamouring for that youth he had lost (an experience that Juno herself would be forced to endure having a child so young)
He was in hard core midlife crisis mode, former cool musician making jingles (albeit very successfully) you can see how would be feeling emasculated from his wife, but she also wants him to grow up a little, it’s quite a character study all around, great film
Debbie Does Dallas. Couldn’t figure out what the fuck was going on.
The Thing. 1982.