- 2 days ago
Fiction is stranger than life in these movies that had no right being as good as they were.
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00:00Now, movies come in all shapes and sizes, from the crowd-pleasers to the arthouse darlings,
00:05the indies to the Hollywood blockbusters. They're generally made with an audience in mind,
00:10and usually, a trailer alone is enough to discern if that is you. But some movies,
00:14however, seem to be designed to alienate viewers before their bums have even touched the seats.
00:19Often, a bizarre high-concept premise mingles with the fear of the unknown to leave potential
00:23audiences with a feeling of bemusement rather than excitement. But you know what? Sometimes,
00:27they still absolutely worked. And that's what we're here to talk about today as I'm Jules,
00:31this is WhatCulture.com, and these are 10 movies that worked, despite their absurd premise.
00:3610. Crank High Voltage
00:38Now, the duology of crank movies have never ever claimed to be high art. The directors instead
00:43conceived of a premise perfect for facilitating non-stop high-octane action. The first movie
00:49saw Jason Statham's Chev injected with a drug that slowed his adrenaline to a crawl. On a vengeful
00:54tirade, he was forced to keep his adrenaline up by doing things such as getting into fights with
00:58policemen and having intercourse in public. But the sequel is where the writers really swung for
01:03the fences, though. Waking up in a daze following the previous movie's climax,
01:07Chev discovers that his heart has been replaced with an artificial one. He soon finds out that he
01:11must keep his new organ charged while he hunts for those who took his original beatmaker.
01:16And how does he do this? Well, jumper cables attached to a car battery, live wires atop a utility pole,
01:20and yes, having intercourse on a racetrack to generate static energy. And I know what you're
01:24thinking, that sounds really dumb. And it was. But it was also brilliant. And after a climax that
01:28has to be seen to be believed, Crank High Voltage cements itself as a deliriously silly movie that
01:34just wants the audience to have fun. And it succeeded.
01:379. Speed
01:39Get ready for rush hour, Speed's tagline reads. And if that coupled with the premise doesn't tell
01:44you everything that you need to know about this movie's tone, then nothing will. Keanu Reeves
01:48plays the role of Jack, an LAPD SWAT officer that finds himself in the middle of a high-stakes
01:53bomb plot aboard a speeding bus. The bomb, attached to the vehicle's underside,
01:58is rigged to detonate should the bus ever drop below 50 miles per hour. It's a plot that's
02:02designed around the idea of non-stop action and constant tension. And when considering the
02:07runtime of close to two hours, however, it is a miracle that such a simple concept managed to keep
02:12the audience entertained throughout. The movie does so with slightly silly developments such as a
02:16localized bomb that kills one passenger, along with very, very silly developments such as a
02:21freeway that is as yet incomplete, necessitating that the bus ratchet up the top speed in order
02:26to jump the gap. The director Jean de Bont, famous for Twister and a Lara Croft Tomb Raider cradle of
02:32life, truly understood the appeal of this potentially paper-thin concept and tapped into audience anxiety
02:38to create a fast-paced, endlessly enjoyable film that has since gone down in the pantheon of action
02:43great. 8. The Lego Movie
02:46Before anyone gets angry, it should be made clear that the absurdity of this movie lies in what it
02:50represents rather than what it is. For what it's worth, the film tells a sincere story of overcoming
02:55the odds, managing to subvert expectations along the way, and leaves audiences with an important
03:00message about conformity and having an individual voice. What's absurd about that then? Well, the movie's
03:06runaway success and genuinely great writing make it easy to forget that this is a Lego movie, a film
03:12about those unassuming little bricks that everybody wanted between the ages of 4 and, well, 99, has played
03:18with at some point in their life. Upon its reveal, it's easy to dismiss this as a shameless advertisement
03:22with a runtime of 100 minutes. But what audiences found, however, was a heartfelt, passionately made
03:28adventure with gags, both visual and verbal, being fired out at an impossible pace. Topped off with a
03:34beautiful message that captured the spirit of the source material and felt invaluable to the target
03:39audience, the Lego Movie was much more than an advert. What I'm trying to say is that this was not
03:44the Lego Ninjago Movie. Ugh.
03:477. Weekend at Bernie's
03:49Now, Weekend at Bernie's tells the story of two hapless employees who were invited to their boss's
03:54beach house for Labor Day weekend. But unbeknownst to them, the boss, Bernie, is conspiring to have them
03:58killed after they unwittingly uncover fraud within the company. This doesn't exactly go to plan,
04:03though, as Bernie dies before the two men can arrive. To abridge an exceedingly silly plot,
04:08the two decide to puppet the corpse of their former boss in order to enjoy their weekend of
04:13partying and cover up their fast-expanding web of lies. While the movie didn't set the world on fire
04:17upon its release with critics, the movie has since gone on to become a cult classic, fondly remembered
04:22by those who watched it at the time. With comedy geared towards a younger audience, the laughs were
04:27consistent enough and the slapstick silliness fun enough to keep audiences engaged throughout.
04:31Coming in at over 90 minutes, though, it can be, and was argued, that the premise would have been
04:36better suited to a comedy sketch. And that was definitely before the dubious sequels wheeled
04:40out four years later.
04:416. Hot Rod
04:43In 2007, hit internet comedy band Lonely Island came together to release their first movie.
04:48Hot Rod was a silly, subversive, and extremely funny movie that unfortunately bombed at the box
04:53office. However, time has been kind to it and its cast, becoming solidified as a bona fide classic
04:58and launching a movie career that is still going today. Nothing seemed innocuous at first. Rod is
05:03a helpless, drifting, amateur stuntman who wants nothing more than to earn the respect of his
05:07stepfather, played by the brilliant Ian McShane. In order to do that, he has one simple task – beat
05:13his new dad in a physical fight. Things quickly take a turn, though, as Frank falls seriously ill,
05:18and Rod vows to rack up enough cash with his stunts to pay for Frank's life-saging surgery,
05:23so that when he's better, he can then beat him half to death.
05:25It's a plot that perfectly matches the movie's light, surreal tone and sense of humour. It manages
05:30to simultaneously have stakes, both low and high, facilitating a consistent stream of absurd gags
05:36and laugh-out-loud slapstick. Filled with a great cast, unexpected sincerity and pacing that doesn't
05:41allow for boredom, Hot Rod was indeed a triumph.
05:445. Rubber
05:45What's left to say about a movie that has gained mass recognition purely due to the absurdity of its
05:51premise? By now, almost everybody has heard of Rubber and is familiar, at least loosely,
05:55with the movie's deranged concept. For those that aren't, however, Rubber is a French comedy
06:00horror about a car tyre that gains consciousness and soon discovers it has telekinetic powers.
06:05And what does it decide to do with these newfound abilities? Well, go on a murderous rampage,
06:09exploding helpless victims' heads on his path to pursue a woman who's become the object of his
06:13obsession, of course. Robert, and yes, the tyre does have a name, by the way, is followed by
06:19Lieutenant Chad, a sheriff who consistently ruminates on the idea of things happening for
06:23no reason in movies. When Chad isn't taking part in the events of Rubber, he's actually seen
06:28commenting on them, along with an in-film audience who are also watching things unfold.
06:32A subplot soon emerges about those audience members who are being murdered with poison food.
06:37Now, perhaps Rubber may have benefited from losing this bloat, with the general opinion being that
06:41the schlocky action is great fun, but the pretentious commentary on cinema serves only
06:45to hamper proceedings, but still, it is a fun ride throughout.
06:494. Swiss Army Man
06:51Swiss Army Man is a movie that made headlines upon its announcement, thanks in part to its
06:55ridiculous premise. It tells the story of a man marooned on a desert island. At the peak of his
07:00hopelessness, he discovers a corpse that washes up on the beach. His hopes for survival are renewed
07:05when he discovers that the body has a bizarre penchant for particularly strong flatulence,
07:10and proceeds to use it as a makeshift raft, propelled by its farts. Other odysseys include
07:15the corpse slowly regaining consciousness and the ability to talk in simple sentences,
07:19a swimsuit magazine being used to fuel an erection compass and a tussle with a bear that
07:24culminates in an ignited toot. It's as balls to the wall bizarre as it sounds, which makes for a
07:29sort of unhinged castaway for the modern age. Yet most impressively, despite how juvenile and strange
07:34it all sounds, the movie works. It's in turns laugh-out-loud funny, tender, and a surprisingly
07:40effective deranged romance. This is topped off with two lead performers that are giving their
07:44all to this seemingly unsalvageable concept. Much like Radcliffe's Manny, Swiss Army Man appears to
07:50be dead on arrival, but in reality is brimming with life.
07:543. Being John Malkovich
07:56With Charlie Kaufman penning the script and Spike Jonze taking on directing duties,
08:00it comes as no surprise that being John Malkovich is a surreal masterpiece. Helmed by two filmmakers
08:06known for their high-concept yet deeply intimate output, this was always likely to be a hit-and-miss
08:11affair, and definitely going to be strange. The movie tells the story of a puppeteer named
08:16Craig, played by John Cusack. Shortly after taking a job as a file clerk, he stumbles upon a hidden
08:21tunnel in the building. This tunnel, of course, happens to be a portal that leads directly into
08:25the consciousness of the real-world actor John Malkovich. What takes place following this is
08:30a mind-bending series of events that would be near impossible to coherently retell to you here.
08:35From monetizing the discovery for public use to a Malkovich-ception sequence in which the actor
08:40enters his own mind to be met with legions of John Malkoviches, the film takes the concept and
08:45runs with it, introducing new ideas at a breakneck pace. During all of this, though, it never leaves its
08:50characters behind and instead manages to be tragic, heartfelt, funny, and utterly mind-boggling.
08:56And you know what? There's not much more you can ask for from a cinematic experience, right?
09:002. Face Off
09:01Now, Face Off is so revered as a classic today that it's easy to have developed a sort of
09:05absurdity-blindness to its wild premise. After all, Travolta and Cage calling the shots in a zany
09:11action flick during the height of their careers, well, that's headline enough. Beginning as a standard
09:16cat-and-mouse fare, Travolta plays Sean Archer, an FBI agent with a personal vendetta, obsessively
09:21chasing Cage's caster, Troy, a ruthless terrorist. So far, so any number of action movies from the late
09:281980s to the 2000s, right? But it's when the literality of the title comes in that the movie
09:33kicks things up a notch. Following a plane crash with Troy aboard, Archer pursues the truth by taking
09:38the only logical step, undergoing mass surgery to have his face replaced with Troy's in order to go
09:44undercover and unearth answers. Troy awakens shortly after, forcing the surgeon to perform
09:49the same operation on him, giving him the face of Archer. And what ensues is a less traditional
09:54game of a, well, mouse and cat, with Travolta and Cage afforded the chance to characterize these
09:59personas before switching roles and then personifying one another. Unbelievably, it made for hugely
10:05entertaining viewing, with action that delivered and a tone that just lent into the ludicrousness of it
10:09all. 1. Bubba Hotep It's a tale as old as time. Elvis Presley
10:14teams up with a black JFK in order to stop an ancient mummy from stealing the souls of every
10:20resident of the retirement home in which they live. Almost every aspect of Bubba Hotep's plot
10:25seems meticulously designed to elicit utter bemusement. But the final layer of this bewilderment?
10:30It's a goofy, effectively funny screwball comedy that sees Bruce Campbell unironically portray one of
10:35the best depictions of Elvis there has ever been. The story goes that Presley, sick of life in the
10:40spotlight, swapped with an Elvis lookalike so that he could enjoy some peace and quiet. And why is JFK
10:46black now? Well, he had his skin dyed following an assassination attempt, obviously. Come on.
10:51The mummy stuff might take a bit more explaining, though. And if it all sounds silly, that's because
10:55it undoubtedly is. However, remarkably, Campbell and Ozzie Davis managed to stir up a believable
11:01chemistry amidst all of this chaos, with laugh-out-loud moments of plenty. While audiences
11:06lamented the ineffective horror elements, the rest was just too good and too bizarre of a time
11:11to dismiss or indeed ever forget.
11:14And there we go, my friends. Those were 10 movies that worked despite their absurd premise. I hope
11:18that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in the comments section
11:21below. As always, I've been Jules. You can go follow me over on Twitter at RetroJ, but the O is
11:26a zero, and it'd be great to chat to you over there. But before I go, I just want to say one thing.
11:30Sometimes in life, we can be told that we have absurd dreams, but you know what, my friend?
11:34Never give up on them. They are what make you you. They are the drive that makes that creative
11:38spark within us all emerge and hopefully blossom into something brilliant. And you deserve all of
11:43the best things in life, like love, happiness, and success. So don't let anything or anyone else
11:48tell you otherwise, alright? You're a massive ledge. Now go out there and utterly smash it today.
11:53I believe in you. As always, I've been Jules. You have been awesome. Never forget that,
11:57and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.
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