Yoda's Overlooked Movies

Well, you could certainly start Prospero's Overlooked Movies. I love State & Main and think it got generally very good reviews and that few people actually saw it. You know, like most Mamet films. Whatareyougonnado?

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Oops, sorry I missed the Yugo reference in your review. I thought I read that all the way through, but apparently I skimmed a little.

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Does it help, Yoda, that I DID notice you misspelled "DeVito"?

Nice topic discussion Yoda, mate.

Yeah, there are quite a few films out there that are more overlooked than they should be.

Like you said, Peter Jackson's The Frighteners didn't get the attention it probably could have. I dunno how that happened, as well. But it had possibly the best SFX I had seen in the nineties until a certain Wachkowski vehicle popped up towards the end of the millenium.

Another film that I feel doesn't get nearly near the attention it deserves is Dead Man's Curve, a nice piece of dark comedy with an interesting concept and poignant social commentary on the academics of America. This film starred Matthew Lillard and should have been the film to have launched him into some more good roles. Could have at least been a decent Indie star.

Guillermo Del Toro's Mimic was one of the more disturbing and intriguing horror films that went criminally unnoticed too. I get chills even thinking about certain scenes from this genuinely scary film. It's definitely worth a look if you haven't seen it.

Gah! Not only have I seen it (several times), but I had it on the list to be reviewed here. Thanks for stealing my thunder.

Mimic is definitely an overlooked film, and I'll definitely be including it here before long. Good in its own right, my appreciation of it is admittedly enhanced by E. Michael Jones' book Monsters from the Id: The Rise of Horror in Fiction and Film, which details the link between horror in fiction and real-life sexual lib movements. I've mentioned the book in some other threads, usually in reference to the blatant sexual undertones of films like Alien.

The Impostors (1998)

"The time has come to act."



Stanley Tucci has certainly been around. His first acting credit came 22 years ago, and he's been very prolific, often landing at least bit roles in several productions virtually every year. I'd have to imagine he's established a lot of contacts in the industry, too, because when he creates his own films, he seems able to attract some very impressive ensemble casts. The Impostors is just such a movie.

Written and directed by Tucci (who also stars), it was released two years after Big Night, another overlooked film he wrote, directed and starred in. Set in the 1930s, it's a love letter to the entire industry; particularly, its history. There's at least one obvious reference to the Marx Brothers, and I'm sure more eagle-eyed viewers than myself will spot many more.

Tucci plays a struggling actor named Arthur, and lives with another struggling actor named Maurice (Oliver Platt). Neither of them are all that good; everything they do resembles a caricature, and it's always unintentional. Still, they love their craft, and seem to think of nothing else, except for maybe where their next meal is coming from. Naturally they combine the two, and in the earlygoing try to use their acting to con a local baker out of some pastries in one of the film's most hysterical sequences.

Long story short, they anger a more accomplished actor and find themselves as stowaways on a ship (The titlecard when they learn of this is: "An Ocean Liner?!"). To avoid detection they disguise themselves as baggage handlers. On this ship, we meet the rest of the cast, all of whom get to ham it up in roles well within their considerable talents. They don't just chew on the scenery; they swallow it whole.

"Do you know the gentleman who stole your wife?"
"He was my agent."
"Some agent!"
"He was a great agent. I loved him like a brother, I loved my wife like a mother and a hooker!"



The film is populated by an array of character actors. Other than Tucci and Platt, the cast includes (deep breath): Tony Shalhoub, Steve Buscemi, Alfred Molina, Isabella Rossellini, Billy Connolly, Allison Janney, Richard Jenkins, Hope Davis, Dana Ivey, and Lili Taylor, among others. Oh, and Woody Allen has a cameo.

The film never dares to take itself too seriously, even when a plot to blow the ship up is revealed. Every single character has an easily identified (and always fun) gimmick; Steve Buscemi plays a suicidal lounge singer, Tony Shalhoub plays a Communist revolutionary, and Billy Connolly plays a tennis pro with a somewhat ambiguous sexual orientation. Campbell Scott completely steals the show, however, as the utterly bizarre Meistrich, a bespectacled German ship officer with well-oiled hair. Believe it or not, all of these characters and situations weave together in some form, and everyone gets a chance to do their thing.



The film is alternatingly witty and slapstick, but it's always funny and, at times, surprisingly sweet. A couple of the jokes fall flat, but there's always another one coming down the pike, and all the intentional over-acting is fun to watch. There's actually a bit of a plot, too, that has a logical payoff and resolution.

This is one of my top ten favorite films of all-time. It's the kind of film that must have been as fun to make as it was to watch, and I smile every time I think of it.

It's funny, I almost invariably confuse Mimic with Relic. Not sure why I can't get those two films straight...

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Yoda, I realize I keep bringing up comedies (perhaps comedies are generally more overlooked...?), but how about Brain Donors? I think that's another homage to the Marx Brothers, and although it's not nearly as witty (perhaps) as some of the things in this thread, I seem to remember it being funnier than I thought it would be when I first watched it.

It might not hold up under a repeat viewing, though. Haven't seen it in ages.

Lol, it's cool mate. I'll steal your thunder and lightening as much as you want. Revenge for mentioning The Frighteners first! Perhaps I mentioned one too many films and should have given somebody else a chance. I'll be less selfish next time

Yeah, Mimic needs to be acknowledged more often than it is. That book sounds interesting from the title you have mentioned. I might have a quick look at it if I ever get the chance. There was a similar chapter of the link you mentioned in another book called The Monstrous Feminine or something like that. I think it's by Barbara Creed.

The book talks about how certain creatures in horror films mention the archaic mother and all that freudian talk. It was interesting though, despite the fact that most of the words contained more than 5 syllables....more than I can handle.

Also, I like that 'The Final Girl' is not exactly used to full effect in Mimic despite there being one. This is another thing that sets it apart from other coventional horrors. The link between violence and sex doesn't seem to serve that much of a purpose in this film compared to slasher flicks where the sexually experienced get hacked to death.

This thread is great.

I believe The Frighteners is the only movie I've seen out of the ones you've listed so far. It's one that I saw on TV years ago as I was flicking through (I didn't even know the title for a while). I remember laughing quite a lot, and being pleasently suprised to see Michael J. Fox in a leading role, who was one of my idols growing up (Teen Wolf and, of course, the Back to the Future trilogy).


Damn, Yods, you just keep coming up with these ways of listing movies I need to watch.

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Well Yoda nice review about "The Frighteners", I really like this one and I watched it a million times...

Nah, I'm not going to steal his thunder.

...although in my review thread I do try to review films that I think others may not have seen.

Thanks for the great reviw and recommendation. This is going on my Netflix queue.

I'm updating this thread to let you guys know that The Frighteners is scheduled to be on AMC tomorrow evening (Tues., Oct. 23) at 8 p.m. EDT. I know some of you dislike AMC, but it would be a quick way for some of you to get a peek at this overlooked movie without having to wait for a Netflix queue or renting it....

You just got to get that little kid from Mimic stuck in your head that's all... "Funny, funny shoes." and then go into your impersonation of Spoon man.


Great list Yoda, I've seen them all and I'm not sure I agree that they are over looked or underrated people like you and me seem to find these flicks just fine and maybe its a good thing that its that way.
I find Drowning Mona very funny the Wheel of Fortune thing is just hysterical. "I'm a wheel Watcher!" For anyone who hasn't seen these though they are all quite good.

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Hello everyone.
This is a great thread.
I hadn't thought about this movie in ages.
What I do recall, is that he was in the mode of Clint Eastwood as, Harry Callahan, and Charles Bronson, as Paul Kersey, and just tore people up.
Has anyone else seen this neat film?

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I haven't seen anything on your list besides The Frighteners (awesome, entertaining and weird little flick) but the rest I have heard of. Some of them I want to view, others I'd rather not even bother with.

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Bowfinger (1999)

"We're trying to make a movie here, not a film!"



Bowfinger is a movie about making movies. Bad ones. Like, really bad.

The film starts with small-time director Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin, who also wrote the film) reading a script called "Chubby Rain." The writer explains the title thusly: aliens invade the earth by coming down to earth inside the rain drops, making the rain "chubby." I'm not making this up.

Bowfinger is 49, and is running out of time. Hollywood won't deal with you after you turn 50, he says. "They can smell 50." Out of sheer desperation, he says he'll make "Chubby Rain" and embarks on a ridiculous quest to get megastar Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) to star in it. His efforts fail, of course, but he can't break the news to his patchwork cast and crew.

To reconcile his dreams with his reality and keep the production afloat, Bowfinger decides to follow Ramsey around and film him secretly. The film, he decides, isn't really going to be any worse on account of a little thing like its star not saying any of his scripted lines. He sells this to his cast as some sort of branch of method acting, helped along by the fact that none of them are terribly bright. He doesn't have much money, even for such a sparse production, but deludes himself into thinking he does:


"It's enough to get us started: $2,184."
"But movies cost millions of dollars to make."
"That's after gross...net deduction profit percentage deferment...ten percent of the nut....CASH, every movie costs $2,184."



Sound implausible? It is, a bit. But it's helped along by the fact that Murphy's character is basically insane. Like many Eddie Murphy characters, his dialogue comes fast and furious, and he's highly temperamental. He also belongs to a bizarre cult called "MindHead," presumably a jab at Scientology. The members wear pyramid-shaped hats and walk around what looks like a dot-com gardenesque office while a woman's voice repeats "Welcome to MindHead" over and over, with a different inflection each time. "Welcome to MindHead. Welcome to MindHead."

Ramsey, you see, is kind of screwed up in the head. He believes, among other things, that aliens are trying to get him. This fits rather conveniently with the film Bowfinger is secretly trying to film him in, but it's best not to scrutinize such plot details too closely.

The sequences involving Ramsey's affiliation with MindHead are rather bizarre, but always hysterical, especially his coaching sessions with one of the MindHead gurus, who tries to talk him down from his anxiousness by repeating "Happy Premises."

"Guru: Happy premise #1.
Kit: Happy premise #1. There are no aliens.
Guru: Happy premise #2.
Kit: Happy premise #2: There is no giant foot trying to squash me.
Guru: Happy premise #3.
Kit: Happy premise #3: Even though I feel like I might ignite...I probably won't."

Sound odd? It is. But Murphy throws himself into the weirdness and pulls it off. And, being that it's Eddie Murphy we're talking about, it's probably in his contract that he has to play at least one other character. In this case, it's Jiff, who Bowfinger finds while trying to round up Ramsey look-a-likes. Jiff works a menial job and can't really fathom being in a movie. "Getting a job running errands would be a major boost for me," he says during the interview process. His hairstyle is a bit different, though, which presents a problem. Bowfinger asks: "Would you be willing to cut your hair?" Jiff is hesitant "Well...yes. But it would probably be better if someone else did it. I've had a few...accidents."



Overall, the craziness works through its sheer ambition, and because everyone involved sells the living daylights out of it. The film's strength is largely in its ridiculous dialogue, though, which never really lets up. What's stunning is not the number of jokes, but how many of them actually land. Shotgun comedy usually means lots of bad puns and a very low joke-to-laugh rate, but Bowfinger is a notable exception.

"Oh I love the Flintstones too, that's so good, do you like that? Now, okay, do you like walks in the park?"
"In the rain!"
"Oh God, you know what, I want you to see the Music Man, because..."
"Isn't Robert Preston good?"
"He's so good! Do you LOVE Smashing Pumpkins?"
"Are you kidding? I love to do that!"

The film's resolution is not especially important, but things do eventually weave together in a way that, if not exactly likely, is at least consistent with the insanity that's come before it. Martin is surprisingly quick and energetic as the titular Bowfinger, and Murphy plays the movie star caricature of Ramsey extremely well. He does a surprisingly good job as the low-key Jiff, too, even though none of the characters are quite real.

I loved this film, but I don't have any trouble imagining someone disliking it. It's odd, and downright surreal at times. You've got to have an inherent affection towards zaniness for its own sake to enjoy Bowfinger, but if you do, you'll get to enjoy a film that's both witty and crazy, and, if nothing else, truly unpredictable.

I should add that, while I feel Bowfinger is somewhat overlooked, it was not by any means a bomb, and isn't really obscure. It made a fair bit of money, and received very strong reviews. It's just not a film I ever hear talked about, which I think says something, being the proprietor of this here establishment and all.

Also, on an unrelated note, everyone should read Roger Ebert's review of the film, which runs circles around my own (even if mine's meant to be fairly casual).

How about Raising Arizona... i was looking through the old movie section one day and discovered it and its one of my favorites. I love this movie and so many people i know have never heard of it before!