The Appeal Of Kitsch by Jacob Worwa

Have you ever watched a bad movie? More specifically, an awful movie? Maybe one that is considered so bad, it’s good? Many movies, such as Maximum Overdrive, Sharknado, many M. Night Shyamalan movies, many Ed Wood movies, the list goes on and on. These movies are bad, no doubt, but there is a certain appeal to them that many other bad movies don’t have. These movies, some say, are beyond criticism. One of the more famous ones is Jim Sharman’s Rocky Horror Picture Show, starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick. This movie holds an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, but virtually anybody who sees it realizes how “kitschy” it is. This and other types of films are called cult films, where they have a large fanbase despite their obvious badness. So what makes these films so appealing? Let’s take a look:

“No wire hangers, ever!”

Recognize that quote? That’s from Mommie Dearest, a movie starring Faye Dunaway as the titular Joan Crawford, and her performance is hammier that a pork farm. Another recognizable line is “You are tearing me apart, Lisa!” from Tommy Wiseau’s The Room. The Room is recognized as a film made by a funny foreigner with a very inhuman grasp of the human language, starring the director. These starring roles are known for very “narmy” acting, and that makes part of the appeal of these movies.

“So,” you may ask yourself, “what makes movies like those of Adam Sandler’s so different from movies like Reefer Madness?” Well, there’s a huge difference. Movies like Adam Sandler’s Jack & Jill and Son Of The Mask are supposed to be comedies. Movies like Reefer Madness or Birdemic are supposed to be dramatic. If a comedy fails, it creates a reversed effect that makes the viewer not happy. If a drama movie fails, it creates a reversed effect where it makes the viewer happy that such a failure could be made.

So, in conclusion, not all bad movies are bad, per se. Movies, like Jupiter Ascending, The Wicker Man, and ones mentioned on this list carry a form of comedy that cannot be replicated. So I invite you to check out some for yourself.

Mark Twain noted of the unintentionally funny book by Jose de Fonseca and Pedro Carolino, The New Guide of the Conversation in Portuguese and English; “Its delicious unconscious ridiculousness, and its enchanting naivete, are supreme and unapproachable, in their way, as Shakespeare’s sublimities… Nobody can add to the absurdity of this, nobody can imitate it successfully, nobody can hope to produce its fellow; it is perfect." That still applies today to these movies!