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Originally posted by dreamer:
List the movie titles that you think are either indescribably bad on general principle or simply ill-suited for the film they're representing:

Monster's Ball
Krull
The Pompatus of Love
Harry and Walter Go to New York
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
Johnny Mnemonic
Dick
Riding in Cars with Boys

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Titles that have always bugged me:
FRIED GREEN TOMATOS
SEXY BEAST
THEY SHOOT HORSES, DONT THEY?
NAKED LUNCH
FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE
AT PLAY IN THE FIELDS OF THE LORD (too long to say)
ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (ditto)
MY GIANT
OCTOPU$$Y
WHORE 2
MEXICAN SPITFIRE
GOOD WILL HUNTING
RESERVIOR DOGS

I can think of a few films currently in theaters with names that I don't care for:
1. Juwanna Mann
2. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
3. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (with the recent cases of child molestation by Catholic priests, this title immediately puts all kinds of images in my head)
4. Enough

I'm not a big fan of ...

Soldier of Orange (loses in the translation)

Flashdance (It's a part of the popular culture now but I never liked it ... It's meaningless.)

Speaking of which ...

Coyote Ugly

Also ...

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Originally posted by saabsista:
After all the "African Queen" was the name of the boat in the movie.

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Which brings to mind the misleading title of William Friedkin's The Exorcist follow-up, Sorcerer. Some unsuspecting folks only found out too late that it does NOT refer to an evil wizard but to the name of one of the trucks carrying the explosives on its perilous journey. The camera only briefly pans across the door bearing the name. Blink and you'll miss it. (The original French The Wages of Fear title is a poetic one and perfectly appropriate.)

P.S. Monster's Ball is an original screenplay and, I think that, even with the barely audible explanation of its meaning in the film, it's still a too-offputting (and confusing) title for a film about interpersonal relationships. Both too "artsy" (purposely obscure and abstract in relation to the entire film) and too "huh"-inducing/too easy to garble (for a general audience looking for a clue as to the film's content and tone).

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Originally posted by dreamer:
Which brings to mind the misleading title of William Friedkin's The Exorcist follow-up, Sorcerer. Some unsuspecting folks only found out too late that it does NOT refer to an evil wizard but to the name of one of the trucks carrying the explosives on its perilous journey. The camera only briefly pans across the door bearing the name.

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Originally posted by saabsista:
See kandyman's comments concerning the hillbilly violinist

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Originally posted by bams:
I'll gladly be the minority here - because I love those titles which aren't akin to spoon-feeding the audience. I *hate* being spoonfed. When the ubiquitous They changed the title of Animal Husbandry to Love Or Something Like It, I was too through. I applaud creativity, and depend much more on trailers and synopsis..ses...to clue me in on what a movie's about.

/bams (overreaching trailers burn my butt, though)

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To paraphrase the Bard the fault lays not in the titles but in ourselves. I loved the title "Things to do in Denver When you are Dead." I also thought "Monster's Ball" was appropos the movie.

Dreamer says it is

"Both too "artsy" (purposely obscure and abstract in relation to the entire film) and too "huh"-inducing/too easy to garble (for a general audience looking for a clue as to the film's content and tone)."

Yes, it required thinking beyond the immediate scenes to what else happens in the movie. So I would second "those titles which aren't akin to spoon-feeding the audience. I *hate* being spoonfed."

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Originally posted by kandyman1028:

Bams, I agree with you on many levels, however, sometimes a REALLY GOOD MOVIE does poorly at the box office because of an uninteresting, bland, lifeless, whitebread title. My choice above of "The Red Violin" is an illustration of this. If you've seen the movie, then you will probably agree that "The Red Violin" WAS in fact an appropriate title (maybe even a perfect title), but combined with a small promotional budget, this "uninteresting" title resulted in a low box office for a really fabulous film that almost no one saw.

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Originally posted by bams:
(and bad on you for not having read my Brilliant Review!)

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Originally posted by kandyman1028:

FORGIVENESS!!! I didn't know you then!

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Oh pish tosh. It's still on the site...no excuse!

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Originally posted by saabsista:
BAMS, that is what I was trying to say, in a different way.

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I know, hon; I didn't see your post until after I responded to Dreamer's.

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But, in this environment, as stated, you risk losing an audience, or never finding one.

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Originally posted by bams:
Bah; Kandyman's On Drugs.

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I don't know how much more straight-forward that movie's title could've been.

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Filmmakers (and studios) do have an obligation to their movies (and to us) to at least be "in the ballpark" when it comes to title-making. I'm not looking for titles that are "simple" or "dumbed down" but rather on-point (even if obscure), reasonably comprehensible and not too harsh on the ear or tongue.

Heck, Disney's The Kid is almost as bad as Can Hieronymous Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?

Some things work and others don't, for a variety of reasons. It's not just about "cultural brainwashing." That seems too simplistic and doesn't explain the many odd titles that are chosen by studios (and are accepted by the public). It's a crapshoot.

A few more unfortunate ones:

Legends of the Fall
Love Field
The Cider House Rules

8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (a bit too on-point)

Magnolia
As Good As It Gets
Mr. Holland's Opus
The Shawshank Redemption (actually like the title but it really hurt the movie)

The Sterile Cuckoo
Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon

(you can have a Liza Minnelli festival with the above two)

Whipped
Those Lips, Those Eyes
What's The Worst That Could Happen?
$ (Dollars)

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Originally posted by dreamer:
[B]List the movie titles that you think are either indescribably bad on general principle or simply ill-suited for the film they're representing:

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Has anyone else seen "Fear of a Black Hat" the parody/mockumentary on the Rap music business? I had never heard about it.

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No doubt it was a truly inspired This Is Spinal Tap-style satire. Well done and much needed at the time. I think it surpassed in quality the similarly-themed CB4, which came out at roughly the same time and was more of a mainstream flick - #1 at the box-office its first week. (By the way, CB4 also started the resurrection of Chris Rock from the oblivion he was seemingly headed towards. It's amazing how far he's come in ten years. No-one would have predicted it, least of all him.)

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Originally posted by bams:
... but "Whipped?"

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Originally posted by dreamer:
Well, I did say that titles could be too on-point or just plain trite, tacky and crude, as this one is (so's the film, unintentionally).

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I don't know what category this movie belongs but someone gave it to me to check out. Has anyone else seen "Fear of a Black Hat" the parody/mockumentary on the Rap music business? I had never heard about it. IT'S JUST SO SILLY, LOADED WITH PROFANITY, BUT FUN TO WATCH AND KIND OF INFORMATIVE ABOUT THE WORLD OF RAP MUSIC.

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I saw this!

Jazzy
"It ain't that kind of party!"

Okay,I know was off the subject--here's some titles I think could be construed as obscure or ridiculous. I admit that I like titles that are obscure and that sound intrieging--but only to a point. I do want a title that tells me what the heck the movie is about, at least.

THE CONQUEROR WORM--Good old-school horror flick, but you couldn't tell from that title, could you?

ALL THE PRETTY HORSES
ANGELS AND INSECTS
AND THE EARTH DID NOT SWALLOW HIM
THE GORILLA BATHES AT NOON
25 FIREMAN STREET
CELESTIAL CLOCKWORK
HARLEM ON THE RANGE

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Originally posted by film freak:
I also wonder what happened to an actress named Rose Jackson,who played a ruthless groupie in FEAR OF A BLACK HAT, had a supporting role in DEAD PRESIDENTS (as Larenz Tate's wife) and stole the show as a wisecracking airline stewardess in a short-lived FOX comedy series about a group of singles--forgot the name of it.

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Rose Jackson, yes!!! Thanks for reminding me about her. I thought she was terrific and headed for great things. She was all over the place for a year or two ('round '93-'94). She could play a spunky "street" character as well as a prom queen. Very pretty in an non-threatening "regular girl" way and smoothly confident in her delivery. I'll have to check IMDB for some info on what she's been up to. Thanks again for the reminder.

****Okay, after checking up on her, it seems as though "marriage" may have interfered with her career. She was credited as Rose Jackson Moye in a failed tv series pilot from 1997, The Good News. The tv show you're thinking of (and which I remember) was The Crew (from '95). She also appeared in a For Your Love episode from '98. That's the last thing listed. Her credits are really sparse. Amazing. I wonder what her story is. Hopefully, it's more about marriage, motherhood and other projects (maybe stage work) rather than the indifference of the showbiz world to her talent.

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Originally posted by film freak:
...ANGELS AND INSECTS...

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This was an excellent film, and the title gives no insight into the undercurrent of passion and sordidness running through it.

Life as a House - Literally accurate but too awkward and odd for a marquee.

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Originally posted by jazzy:
This was an excellent film, and the title gives no insight into the undercurrent of passion and sordidness running through it.

Jazzy

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I know. I recently saw this one. So many metaphors about human behavior as compared to insects. Now really, when you think about was Leticia Musgrove (Monster's Ball) all that bad compared with Eugenia in this movie.

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Originally posted by dreamer:
Two flicks I saw recently:

...K-Pax - Reminds me of call letters from a west coast radio station. Terrible...

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Now this is truly awful. It sounds to much like a brand of feminine products.

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Originally posted by Ordell:
The inclusion of Samuel L Jackson in the "Red Violin", was not for box office clout at all. The role was originally offered to Morgan Freeman, who referred Francois to Samuel. For some reason the director always saw the role as Black. Who knows who he would have gone to next. The film did garner an Oscar for music, but the low numbers at the boxoffice can be traced directly to Lions Gate, the company that released the film. They are just finding their advertising legs. They also dropped the ball on "The Caveman's Valentine". Both films however found audiences when reeleased on video, and enjoy a sort of cult status as lost gems. Oh, I guess the latter title would fit in the "what's that title about" category.

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Originally posted by john:
On the subject of titles, how about these two? "Frankenstein Conquers The World," and "Them!"

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Those two remind me of ...

Zapped! (Gotta love those exclamation points!!)

... and ...

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Originally posted by Ordell:
The inclusion of Samuel L Jackson in the "Red Violin", was not for box office clout at all.

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Hmmm. Blows that theory, then.

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The role was originally offered to Morgan Freeman,

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On the one hand, that makes "better" sense to me - I envisioned that role as a more "quiet" role, the type I see Freeman in moreso than Jackson. On the other hand, they are both good and smart enough actors that neither is, or at least should be, limited by what we envision them to be.

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Originally posted by dreamer:
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians ('nuff said.)

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Hurray for S-A-N-T-A
C-L-A-U-S

Hurray for Santy Claus!

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Originally posted by dreamer:
[/b]****Okay, after checking up on her, it seems as though "marriage" may have interfered with her career. She was credited as Rose Jackson Moye[/b]

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Moye. I knew that name rung a bell. I had forgotten this, but checked IMDB to confirm: she married Michael G. Moye, an African-American writer/executive producer. His credits include the Jeffersons (so he must be quite a bit older than her), but I remember him from "Married With Children".

Deesha

[This message has been edited by Dnice (edited 07-29-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Dnice (edited 07-29-2002).]

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Originally posted by c_los:
I think that the Shawshank Redemption was one of the most unfortunate titles. It was such a great movie and I think that it has appeal for such a wide audience.

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Stephen King's "The Body" novella was successfully retitled Stand By Me (maybe "too precious" a title-change, but still an improvement). Unfortunately, with the next novella adaptation, the studio decided to stick too-closely with King's original too-cumbersome and ambiguous Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption title and ended up being equally stuck with a ridiculously-low $28M box office for this much-beloved (#2 all-time at IMDB) and multi-Oscar-nominated film. God knows how much it would have made if they hadn't cut out the Rita Hayworth part. I guess they compromised.

Word-of-mouth popularity has allowed the film to blossom on video and somehow overcome its moniker (which rolls off the tongue much easier now), but the shamefully low box-office in its initial run is a good example of why title selection can be so important. Too many folks missed this fine film on the big screen. Isn't the idea to get folks to actually go see the movie in theatres rather than to confuse 'em? Unusual titles (be they original or from source material) are often just fine and worth taking a chance on but some just aren't very workable coming off of the printed page and into the competition of the commercial marketplace. This is a clear case-in-point. (I did go see the film in its initial run but I had also read the original story.)

The same filmmakers had no such difficulty with the more palatable King title that followed, The Green Mile, which easily multiplied the box-office of the earlier film by over 4, though it's arguably not as well-liked (#93 out of the top 250 at IMDB). The more accessible title was not the only reason for the difference in moviegoer turnout (hello Tom Hanks!!), but it was certainly a contributing factor.

what a suck butt name for what appears to be a war film.