Movies that seem dumb but are actually smart

Everyone loves a good dumb movie right?

Some of my favorite movies of all time fall into the sub category of smart dumb movies.

Ironically, smart dumb movies are often completely dismissed by dumb people for being too dumb, but actually have a bit of depth to the storytelling/scenario. I'm talking about the Robocops and Starship Troopers of the world (shout out to Paul Verhoeven).

It seems like the smart dumb movie is a little bit of a dying breed these days. Most movies/TV shows take themselves WAY too seriously without having the quality to back it up which in turn makes everything shittier. You also have the other end of the spectrum with the Sharknados which are fine, but they don't scratch the same itch that something like They Live scratches.

GAF, got any favorite SDMs I should check out?
 
The main character in The Guard exemplifies this. He's portrayed as a low-brow, brash and insensitive police officer who ends up doing good police work. At one point he's told, "You know, I don't know if you're real motherfuckin' smart, or real motherfuckin' dumb." and he just has a shit-eating grin. Great movie.
 
The main character in The Guard exemplifies this. He's portrayed as a low-brow, brash and insensitive police officer who ends up doing good police work. At one point he's told, "You know, I don't know if you're real motherfuckin' smart, or real motherfuckin' dumb." and he just has a shit-eating grin. Great movie.
Just looked up the trailer. Hadn't heard about this film, but it looks pretty damn good.

 
ya from the title i knew this was going to be a Verhoeven thread, such a great director.

I havent seen it but Freddy got fingered gets mentioned from time to time about it being meta.
 
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Dammit HoodWinked HoodWinked mentioned it first ha
 
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Idiocracy


Excellent movie and a fine example

I remember kinda around when it came out I was working in the service industry and I overheard a server saying how her boyfriend made her watch this stupid movie idiocracy and two sentences later she mentioned how excited she was to see twilight that weekend.

For the record, her boyfriend was cool as hell and she was kind of a moron (but nice).
 
Just looked up the trailer. Hadn't heard about this film, but it looks pretty damn good.



Never heard of this but it looks fucking great.

It's great, well worth a watch. I haven't seen it in years but it's very funny for all the wrong reasons.

Ending is great too.

Also the Guard (Irish Police) in the film is the Father of Domnhall Gleeson (General Hux). He's in loads of things like 'In Bruges'.

Must watch it again myself.
 
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It's great, well worth a watch. I haven't seen it in years but it's very funny for all the wrong reasons.

Ending is great too.

Also the Guard (Irish Police) in the film is the Father of Domnhall Gleeson (General Hux). He's in loads of things like 'In Bruges'.

Must watch it again myself.
Great movie, and yes we should all watch it again.

I loved the scene where he talks to that adorable little boy about some smuggled guns and the boy's like "Shooting little protestants, that's funny" :messenger_beaming: - in his cute little hoodie and sweatpants and with the Irish accent. Gold!
 
Great movie, and yes we should all watch it again.

I loved the scene where he talks to that adorable little boy about some smuggled guns and the boy's like "Shooting little protestants, that's funny" :messenger_beaming: - in his cute little hoodie and sweatpants and with the Irish accent. Gold!

Yeah the film kinda came out of nowhere, on the list for this weekend so. Been too long since I've seen it.

Really shows the west of Ireland well with the scenery, beautiful areas. Was boring as a kid for holidays but can appreciate it now. ;)
 
Office space.
Guest house paradiso
Brain dead
Die hard

the running man.

many JCVD movie as no matter the problem the solution is the splits

Forget about fucking magnets.
that's the real miracle.

Best of all is Spy Kids series

"Do you think God stays in heaven because he too lives in fear of what he's created?"




I'm drawing a blank but I'm sure I'll think of others later

good topic for a thread.
 
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Everyone loves a good dumb movie right?

Some of my favorite movies of all time fall into the sub category of smart dumb movies.

Ironically, smart dumb movies are often completely dismissed by dumb people for being too dumb, but actually have a bit of depth to the storytelling/scenario. I'm talking about the Robocops and Starship Troopers of the world (shout out to Paul Verhoeven).

It seems like the smart dumb movie is a little bit of a dying breed these days. Most movies/TV shows take themselves WAY too seriously without having the quality to back it up which in turn makes everything shittier. You also have the other end of the spectrum with the Sharknados which are fine, but they don't scratch the same itch that something like They Live scratches.

GAF, got any favorite SDMs I should check out?

Idiocracy
 
Starship Troopers.

I remember seeing this in theaters when I was a teen and being disappointed. The trailers led you to believe this was going to be a hard as nails sci if war epic.

At my age though, I just "didn't get it".
 
Both Robocop and Starship Troopers beat you over the head with the message... and it's not exactly high brow / deep stuff.

Good movies though.
 
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Tucker and Dale vs Evil

At first glance it's just the typical dumb redneck/teen slasher movie, but in fact it's a very clever satire of the entire slasher genre. It deconstructs so many typical tropes and stereotypes in such a funny and smart way, that it's sad seeing how it went under the radar for the majority of its audience.
 
Starship Troopers.

I remember seeing this in theaters when I was a teen and being disappointed. The trailers led you to believe this was going to be a hard as nails sci if war epic.

At my age though, I just "didn't get it".
We watched it when we were still in grade school (3rd grade I think) and my entire class loved it.
 
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Comes across as a futuristic smart movie and could have been a lot worse and is actually dumb, the Theron factor alone makes it worth watching and the action scenes were perfectly executed. The cool ideas helped but were smart/dumb.
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Dude Where's my Car and Ace Ventura, if you watch them more than once you see clues for plot you might have missed. It's nothing crazy, but it sticks out because they're both silly comedies.
 
Ghostbusters (1984)

When I was a kid all the small business/private vs public sector stuff went way over my head. Seeing it as an adult, you see how beyond the "ghost shooting sci fi fantasy blockbuster" framework, it is working on a whole other level. Just about everything in this movie is smart.
 
Oh I thought of another one, thanks to Soltype for jarring it from my memory with the Dude, Where's My Car call.

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A great film, so dumb on the surface, but it provides a quality look into the mindset of fans of the sport.
 
Crank

Also, Crank 2 had the appropriate amount of move sequel-oneupsmanship.

GTA on the big screen (not a fan of the games tho). I once read, "Crank is a bad movie made by smart people," and I couldn't agree more.
 
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Freddie Got Fingered.

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Is actually one big joke on how Tom got the the movie industry to give him 15mil to make a movie, and he made an intentionally 'bad' movie to mock them.

The real 'joke' of the movie is the idea he got to make a movie.

The interactions with him and Dave Davidson, and his non-sensical spiel about the cartoon he wants to make, is a direct mention to that.

Just so many layers of brilliance. This is Andy Kaufman level.
 
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I would vote for a pair of Bakshi animated classics. Fritz the Cat and Wizards. At a glance, both are just (wildly) "out there" cartoons for the perpetually immature.

But in fact both have some deep and heavy commentary on humanity, society and (relative) morality.
 
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Who Framed Roger Rabbit

At first glance it's a silly cartoon/live action movie all kids can enjoy. But as an adult i appreciated a ton of things more about it.
 
Aliens is way smarter and thematically interesting than Alien despite being called a dumb action movie.
I never understood why it's called an action movie. I just saw it for the first time recently and it's an excellent science fiction movie, but its a character driven film. I really liked the whole mother/daughter relationship as well as the relationship between the main character and the company she worked for.

Alien is a good survival horror movie and all, but I much preferred Aliens.

T2 is an actual action movie and people diss it for not being a horror movie like the first one. Not sure why that's an issue, it's the king of action movies.
 
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Naked Gun Panic GIF
Serious Leslie Nielsen GIF by filmeditor


Any Leslie Nielsen flick. They are smart because they foreshadowed the existence of internet memes several decades prior.
 
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Who Framed Roger Rabbit

At first glance it's a silly cartoon/live action movie all kids can enjoy. But as an adult i appreciated a ton of things more about it.
I noticed as an adult all the alcoholism references in it. The MC has a certain tick whenever he wants a drink. I never noticed it before as a child.
 
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