Guilty Pleasures: Jeff's Uncool Movie List - Vanity Movie Edition

Like a lot of people, I have movies I like that aren't generally well thought of - movies that were pretty much panned (or even outright reviled) but I seem to like them anyway. As I went through my list, I realized I was a big fan of vanity movies. You know the ones... a big star gets a lot of power and is able to get a personal pet project greenlit and made simply on the strength of their name. Heck, they may have even written the movie... and directed in it... and starred in it... Why do I like these movies? I don't particularly know, but here is Jeff's list of guilty pleasures - vanity movies edition:

Costner bringing home the mail in The Postman (above).

The Postman (1997) - Kevin Costner's post apocalyptic story of a drifter inspiring a desperate people by... delivering their mail. Very sappy, very heavy handed and very, very long. But as soon as that little girl starts singing, "Oh beautiful for spacious skies..." my heart lept a beat (right after my nephew and I got a giggle). Costner goes for all the anti-hero cliches and even manages to convince Tom Petty to play... himself. Wow.

That Thing You Do! (1996) - Tom Hanks wrote and directed this tale of the fictional 60's group 'The Wonders'. For some reason, I've watched it about 647 times. Every time it comes on TV I watch it. It's like the heroin of movies. I see it on the channel guide and I feel the need to click on it. Every time, I scream at the screen, "Just do the song in Spanish you moron, don't ruin it for the other guys!"

Look at all the stars in this flippin' movie.
It would $100 million just for the salaries if
this were made today. How could anyone resist
The Quick and the Dead?

The Quick and the Dead (1995) - This was the cowboy movie with Sharon Stone. I love this movie even though it seems to be universally reviled. I has like twelve big actors in this movies: Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Keith David, Lance Henriksen, Gary Sinise, Tobin Bell, Pat Hingle... This is another one I can't go past when it shows up on the channel guide.

Hudson Hawk (1991) - Nobody seems to like this movie. Nobody. But Bruce Willis was able to get it made. Bruce Willis did a lot of the writing on this. This was Bruce Willis' movie. I think I liked it because I was always under the impression it was more comedy than action. If I could explain it, I would explain it. It's stupid, I know. But when James Coburn said, "We blow up space shuttles for breakfast," I immediately shot my diet coke right out my nose. I wish I could explain it.