Movies for the Aficionados of BAD Cinema - Part 2

Perhaps you are a new kid on the block and missed my earlier article on  the best of BAD cinema – Part 1. So please, pause your smart phone for just a minute while I catch you up on yet another batch of movies that are So bad: It’s good!™ While these dozen flick are not quite as gloriously awful as Apartment Zero, or as hilarious as Johnny Guitar, they manage to come close. It hardly needs to be mentioned that you should keep the DVD or TV remote-control handy while enjoying Bad Cinema. In fact, I suggest you keep a trigger finger hovering over the fast-forward button on select movies in this list. Not to worry; I’ll cue you in. Enjoy! 

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1.    The Eyes of Laura Mars   1978   suspense thriller

The movie is about a fashion photographer (Faye Dunaway) and her psychic visions in which she sees her friends and colleagues being stalked by a killer. The moments of grim suspense are not the only reason to watch this flick. The high fashion photo shoots are particularly weird and fun to watch; in one scene, shot in midtown Manhattan, shapely models wearing only garter belts and fur coats, engaged in hand-to-hand fighting while a burning car crash blazes in the background. With Faye busy snapping photos, a crowd of NYC commuters watch the catfight in stunned silence. The casting of real life fashion model Lulu is brilliant. She naturally has that vacant look on her face that says to many people, “Does the elevator go all the way to top?” Lulu’s press conference is played totally serious, but is the funniest part of this strange movie. This movie is also an amusing time capsule of Seventies style: clothes, the hair, disco music, and décor.

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2.    1941      1979    comedy war

This movie is a diamond in the rough. After many viewings, I concluded that the movie has one major flaw: Poor Editing. A myriad of comical subplots mesh together cleverly, with the exception of one: Wally the dancer. Take my advice and fast forward thru the Wally scenes, you will not miss anything funny or interesting. Set in southern California, soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor, this movie captures the war jitters and media hysteria of the early days of WW2. This underrated flick features some of the best SNL comedians in their prime with strong support by Hollywood veterans Warren Oates, Slim Pickens, and Robert Stack. The opening scene parodies the director’s (Steven Spielberg) hit movie Jaws, and is well worth the price of admission. Also the climactic Battle of Los Angeles is one of the most bizarre battle scenes ever filmed. It has to be seen to be believed. Where else can you watch a submarine fighting a Ferris Wheel? This is a true collector’s item that would not be made today. 

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