It's summer and I've spent a fair amount of my time watching movies, whether it be through Netflix, DVDs I own, or at the actual theater. I'm not sure how many people do this, but I'm the type of person who IMDb's basically every movie I watch, and read the critic reviews, their ratings, etc. I also often disagree with their ratings, particularly when they give a bad score to a movie I thought was rather good. Maybe I just like bad movies, but that's just my personal opinion. Here are some movies that received bad ratings from critics, but good reviews from the audience.
1. A Walk to Remember (2002)
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Now I don't know about you, but I've seen this movie a bunch of times and I always get a little emotional. A few nights ago, I stumbled across this movie on Netflix and realized it had been a couple years since I last watched it. Don't you love that feeling of practically experiencing a movie for the first time all over again because you barely remember it? Not sure if that's an offense to the movie or my memory (most likely the latter), but I quite enjoyed watching it again and most likely will another time in the near future when I have nothing else to catch up on. Another movie similar to this one that also received poor reviews is a favorite for many, 'The Notebook'. However, since these two films are both adapted from Nicholas Sparks novels, I'm just going to leave it here. I'm also still getting over the outrage of such a thing.
2. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016)
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I was honestly surprised by the reviews for this one. The first movie is an absolute masterpiece and honestly one of my favorite films, and it received astounding reviews. The second movie is literally as if at the end of the first movie they hit pause and flashed forward fourteen years. It's the same humor and fun that the first film was. Maybe that's what the critics disliked about it, perhaps they wanted a change up, but honestly I felt that if they changed the humor it would ruin it. I personally went to go see this movie to get more of the first movie that I loved, and that's exactly what I got. Perhaps the critics wanted something fresh, but I don't think that would have worked; at least not for the true lovers of the first film.
3. The Proposal (2009)
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I have probably seen this movie more times than I should be proud of, but that's okay. I don't regret a thing. Perhaps it's my infatuation with Ryan Reynolds or love for Betty White and Sandra Bullock that leaves me biased to this film, but I really enjoy this movie, as does everyone I've ever seen it with... which is a lot actually. There's just so many moments in it that make you laugh cry (yes that's a thing), no matter how many times you've seen the scene before. I'd watch it right now if Netflix wasn't torturing me by not making it available for streaming.
4. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)
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I'm still waiting for this movie to come on to Netflix, as well. Apparently it once was, and my selection list wasn't up to par enough to tell me, but that's another story. The whole idea of the movie is rather intriguing (just look at the title), and a step away from the typical formulaic rom-com while still kind of being so. They both play each other and it's really amusing to see how it all unfolds. Sure you may see some of it coming from a mile away, but who cares? It doesn't make it any less enjoyable to watch.
5. White Chicks (2004)
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Okay, I'm just going to start off by saying that this movie is really stupid... and that is what makes it so great. I can't tell you how many arguments I've had with people who've said, 'that movie was absolutely ridiculous' and I just say, 'That's the point!' because it is. Some movies are literally just made for the laughs and are based on the premises of being entirely ridiculous. I mean who doesn't want to see (or remember) Terry Crews singing "A Thousand Miles", the Wayans brothers horribly and unconvincingly dressed as girls, and the oh so many memorable quotes from the movie? It's honestly a classic in my book and always a go to, especially within my family, of a movie to watch when we don't know what else to see. It'll never get old, and it'll bring the laughs each and every time.
As you can see, most of these are rom-coms or something of the sort. I think my biggest disagreement with critic scores is that they seem to be looking for a certain quality in these films that might just not be meant to be there. Films like these are like those bubblegum pop songs that are just so bad in lyric quality but you can't stop singing them. They follow the same formula, and nothing is "life-changing" about it, but I think that's kind of the point. Not every movie has to be life altering or of Oscar-winning quality. Complex doesn't always mean better. Sometimes just a nice, simple movie that gets the tears flowing or laughs out of you is good enough to be enjoyable. Doesn't mean they deserve "rotten" scores. This is just my opinion, but I'm not alone on it.
