On Second Thought

Maybe it's just me, but I have to see most movies more than once to really form a concrete opinion of it.  Of course in some instances, such as The Dark Knight, or The Shawshank Redemption, it was clearly apparent that they were immediate classics.  With some movies though, I find that multiple viewings really brings out the best in them. Here are some movies that at first glance didn't do that much for me, but have really grown on me the more that I watch them.

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
I have to admit that I hated this movie the first time that I watched it.  After I was done, I thought to myself what in the hell did I just watch?  Everything seemed so odd about it--the acting, the writing, the setting, etc.  Then it came on cable and I watched it again and it seemed a little funnier.  Then as it marinated in my brain awhile longer, it began to make me chuckle more and more just thinking about it.  Then by my fifth or sixth time watching it, I really got on board with this film's brand of humor!  The characters are definitely odd little people, but still funny. How fucking fantastic is Uncle Rico?  This is definitely one of those love it, or hate it movies.  There seems to be no in between here.

The Break-Up (2006)
I will watch anything with Vince Vaughn in it, especially after Swingers, Old School, and Wedding Crashers. So imagine my surprise when I left the theater with my girlfriend at the time (now my wife), and just shrugged my shoulders at this movie.  This one grew legs for me after I watched it for the second time--maybe you shouldn't take your girlfriend who then becomes your wife to a movie entitled The Break-Up anyway.  For what ever reason, I love this movie now and watch it every time it's on.  Vince is great and Jennifer is hot as ever, but John Michael Higgins steals the scenes that he has in the movie!  (forgive the video quality) How ambiguously gay can one man be?  This one gets a little better with each viewing for me.

The Girl Next Door (2004)
This flick has become as likeable as it gets with me.  I liked it the first time that I saw it because I was actually shocked that it didn't suck balls, but I still thought it was just OK at the time.  The film did have me on board early on with its storyline based around the porn industry, and it also helped that it stars one of my favorite blonds--the incredibly hot Elisha Cuthbert.  But as I have caught it a few more times on cable, I really think that it is a well made coming of age flick.  The movie has a great premise, a good cast, and some very funny scenes--Timothy Olyphant is classic as a scumbag porn director.  And it doesn't suck that there is some hot chicks thrown in there as well. A definite diamond in the rough for me.

Just Friends (2005)
Ryan Reynolds could be a comedic genius, if he would just take the right roles and embrace his genius (see: Van Wilder) and stay away from action movies and formulaic romantic comedies (see: Blade: Trinity and The Proposal).  I remember watching this for the first time on dvd and kind of dismissing it as an average comedy. Then I caught it on cable a few times after that and I finally realized how funny it really is.  Anna Faris is off her ass in this, as a Britney/Jessica type clueless pop star. She and Reynolds have a great comedic tandom going in this flick.  The movie truly gets better and better each time that I watch it.

Fight Club (1999)
This one is kind of like the girl that I didn't pay attention to in high school and then all of a sudden she gets hot in her college years (think Tanya Matis at juco, Rooster) and then we all notice her. When I first watched FC I was in college and kind of paying attention to it and writing a paper at the same time, and you really shouldn't do that with a movie like this. Then, when I actually paid attention to it while I watched it the second time--I was completely blown away by its creativeness. Personally, I think that the movie is brilliant, and I would place it in my overall top ten, but I think that the trailer is a bit misleading and doesn't do the premise of the movie much justice to the first time viewer.  It has a superb cast, fantastic writing and directing, and great story. The movie is part mystery, partly a dark comedy, and mostly a coming of age tale told from the point of view of a not-too-reliable narrator.  Pound for pound, one of my very favorite movies.