Movie watchers: what are your guilty pleasures?
Here are mine:
1. The Warriors (1979): This one is about a New York City street gang who, after a disastrous conclave with other gangs, has to run and fight their way back to their home turf, about fifty miles away, in the course of one night. The acting is awful and the dialogue is hilarious, but there's something about this movie, mostly the way it was photographed, that keeps me coming back to watch it.
2. Smokey and the Bandit (1977): This movie had Burt Reynolds at his peak. It is utterly implausible and ridiculous, but this movie, with its inane plot of bootlegging beer across state lines, still does it for me. The car chases are pretty good, and Jackie Gleason as the sheriff is great. I dare anyone to listen to "Eastbound and Down" without tapping their toe.
3. National Lampoon's Animal House (1978): This is the granddaddy of all the raunchy comedies that are popular today, such as "The Hangover" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin". The movie is crass and juvenile, to be certain, but it features the late, great John Belushi at his best, and I absolutely love the ending.
4. Heavy Metal (1981): As much as I hate to say it, this movie, more than any other, defined my generation. A series of violent, very adult cartoons based on a glowing, evil green ball from space, it featured metal music at its peak and all the faux-nihilistic attitude that went along with it. This is one of those movies you either love or hate, no middle ground.
5. Conan the Barbarian (1982): Yup, the one I'm most embarrassed to admit to. Good ol' Arnold Schwarzenegger at his sword-swinging best. Dismembered limbs and spurting blood galore. Arnold's dialogue is, as always, priceless. Nobody delivers as much cheese and campiness as he does. And I never fail to watch it if I catch it on TV.