As a film major, I think it’s crucial to be well-versed in bad movies. The terribly cheesy, nonsensical, and oftentimes pointless movies have so much to offer us, if you’re willing to open yourself to it. To laugh mindlessly or be transported to some place implausible for 90 minutes is an absolute treat. We can talk about The Godfather, Psycho, and The Shawshank Redemption until the sun goes down, but it will never be as fun as discussing the 2004 Hamlet retelling set at a Wisconsin university in which a Danish prince races a lawnmower. The Prince & Me is a particular favorite bad movie of mine because it has seen me at my lowest lows and highest highs. For some movies to win Academy Awards, others have to go straight to DVD—but that doesn’t mean they are useless pieces of media. I, personally, find it annoying when people cannot stand to watch bad movies. What else are you to do with them?
Many of my favorite movies are poorly acted, awfully written, or shot like a home video and I could not care less. The four listed below hold a special place in my heart because I know, time and time again, they will make me giggle and kick my feet.
The Prince & Me (2004)
As previously stated, I have a strange allegiance to this movie. One day, in my lofted bed, in the dorm triple I shared with my two best friends, I stumbled across The Prince & Me on Netflix. I was recovering from a rough bout of COVID and needed a pick-me-up, and it came in the form of a loose, loose Shakespeare adaptation (it took me three rewatches to figure out the titular Prince was supposed to be Hamlet). At its core, this movie is a corny rom-com about an edgy pre-med student who is forced to tutor an arrogant exchange student who is also secretly the prince of Denmark. Naturally, these enemies fall in love and the plot takes a sharp turn into Midwest wholesomeness, excising the suicide, murder, and general debauchery of Shakespeare’s original.
There is nothing spectacular about this movie except that it makes me smile every time I watch it. The runtime is a little too long, with a strange but fun fourth act; the supposed Danish prince has an English accent; and there are some blaring logistical incongruities. My favorite piece of The Prince & Me history is that there are three progressively-worse sequels. I refuse to watch these because none of the actors are the same. Nonetheless, I will stand by The Prince & Me no matter what people have to say. And if I have persuaded you to watch it, the movie can be found on Youtube (for free with ads) where all the best movies live.
In Time (2011)
I must have seen In Time as soon as it came out, when I was 11, because I feel like I’ve always known this movie, like it’s in my blood. It’s a sci-fi action story, starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried, from the minds behind The Truman Show, yet it received incredibly average, even some unnecessarily mean, reviews. One critic on Rotten Tomatoes wrote, “There’s nothing more precious than time. For that reason alone, I’ll encourage you not to waste yours this weekend and avoid In Time.” Perhaps this is a movie meant for 11-year-olds and not critical adults because it blew my mind. I would not have hesitated to give it a five-star rating if I had been allowed on the Internet then.
The plot is objectively great: in a dystopian future, everyone’s biological clock stops at age 25 and, from that point forward, a timer on one’s forearm dictates how much longer they have left to live. An all-star cast carries the movie and I’m on the edge of my seat every time I watch it. For the life of me, I cannot see what’s average about it. Justin Timberlake has a buzz-cut, Amanda Seyfried has an Edna Mode bob, and Cillian Murphy is playing himself! It is an obvious commentary on class and American consumerism, which might no longer be astute, but it sure was astute to me in 2011. Perhaps In Time’s fatal flaw was the audience it targeted—instead of aiming for the 18-35 age range, they should’ve gone for the jugular: the tweens.
Post-Grad (2009)
This is one of those movies no one else has heard about except for my father. I have never discovered where my father gets his information and I prefer it that way. Before I was really conscious of the world, he had me watching obscure rom-coms and chick-flicks, which set me on a path I’m still wandering down. Anyway, Post-Grad is about Alexis Bledel (Rory of Gilmore Girls) graduating college with no job, no plans, and no money. She returns home to live with her family, work at her dad’s company, and accidentally sleep with the new next-door neighbor. I can admit that much of this movie is floundering, silly, and doing nothing particularly special. Regardless, I recently rewatched it, as a college senior about to graduate, and felt heard. Nobody’s doing anything particularly special right out of college! Life is silly and we are often floundering. I respect when that’s explored in film.
It should also be noted that there’s one specific scene in Post-Grad that I’ve had etched into my memory since I was an adolescent. Upon this rewatch, I realize it’s only a minute and a half and quite inconsequential, but it’s a scene between Alexis Bledel and her guy best friend (played by Zach Gilford) in a closed grocery store at night. All they’re doing is sitting in lawn chairs eating Klondike bars, yet for some reason it revolutionized my world (this might have something to do with my crush on Zach Gilford from his Friday Night Lights days). Anyway, Rotten Tomatoes gave this movie a 8%, which just seems mean to me. Lighten up. Enjoy silly things. Eat a Klondike bar.
Sometimes the honest truth isn’t found on Rotten Tomatoes, but in the hearts of tweens.