What is your favorite Quality Trash (tm) film? (1 Viewer)

[Jonathan DA]

Okay, a definition of Quality Trash (tm) may be in order first. I haven't pinpointed it exactly, yet, but QT movies usually contain the following items:

Decent production values; really bad direct to video B flicks need not apply

A reasonable plot and script acted out with a modicum of talent

Sex or considerable sexual inuendo, however they do not cross the line into the stuff you see on Scinemax

Violence is optional, and, if present, not excessive

I've heard some people refer to these a guilty pleasure flicks. A prime example of QT is Wild Things. American Pie also falls into this category but doesn't quite capture the essence of QT like Wild Things does.

So do you catch my drift as to what a Quality Trash flick is? Anyone care to offer a unified definition for QT? What are your favorites?

 

[Josh_Hull]

I would argue that because American Pie attempted to capture Teenage Angst™, it doesn't qualify. Sure, it had gratuitous nudity, and we all can applaud that, but it actually made headway with its plot, and was damn funny to boot. If I had to supply my QT list, it would probably include films like Porky's, Revenge of the Nerds, Debbie Does Dallas, (oh, wait...) and more recent attempts like Palmetto and Thomas Crown (oh Rene, if only you'd done this film 15 years ago...) Did I get the idea of QT, or am I off base as well?

 

[Michael Reuben]

No contest for me: The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (still shamefully absent on DVD, despite our pleas to Fox).
M.

 

[Josh_Hull]

Oooh, ooh, one more. The little-known but much loved British Sci-Fi flic Lifeforce. The full-frontal alien chick walking through London cannot be beat. A much deserved QT.

 

[Tim RH]

A classic QT film: Written on the Wind.

 

[Jonathan DA]

You make a good point with American Pie and TA™ (not to be confused with T&A), however this raises an interesting follow-up question: for a movie to qualify as Quality Trash™ are there thematic requirements? Must the primary focus of the movie be sex and the plot be secondary? I would think not as this would lend itself towards porn. Perhaps there specific plots or themes that are subservient to QT? I totally agree on Palmetto and Thomas Crown.

 

[Carlo_M]

Dream Lover (1994 or 1995) starring Madchen Amick and James Spader
Come on whoever has the rights (used to be Polygram, I wrote MGM and they said Warners had it, Warners hasn't responded to my letter) and RELEASE THIS FILM! The unrated cut, please!

 

[Steve_Corrick]

Videodrome !

 

[Rollie]

Michael, I'm with you 110%!

"Some people play hard to get, I play hard to want!"

 

[Terrell]

Mine would definitely be Leviathan and Deep Star Six.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

Showgirls, without a doubt (excellent sound mix!)

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Captain Ron, the unabashed king of quality trash.

 

[John Kilduff]

"Earth Girls Are Easy"...'tis QT...'tis my obsession.

Decent production values (great set design, good sound set-up)

A reasonable plot (Aliens crash-land in California and learn about Earth culture with the assistance of Valley Girls and Surfer Dudes...okay, maybe reasonable is stretching it)

Sex ("Brand New Girl", the tongue gag, a sight gag with a sex manual)

Violence (Comic 3 Stooges level violence, but still there)

Sincerely,

John Kilduff...

Does it count?

 

[John Spencer]

Deep Rising. Amazing production quality for a silly B-movie. And the acting never strays away from the silly premise.

 

[Jack Briggs]

One of my favorites:

The Car, from 1977: The sherrif of a small town in the Desert Southwest (James Brolin, formerly Dr. Steven Kiley on ABC-TV's Marcus Welby MD) must defend same from a demon-possessed, black Lincoln Continental. Its radiator grill was cool and menacing. And the DVD is 16:9-encoded, sourced from a scratchy print. What more could I ask for?

 

[Vickie_M]

Why, Starship Troopers, of course!
(and yeah, Showgirls too)
Older, worse movies that were horrible guilty pleasures: Peyton Place (which I saw on late-night TV) and Valley of the Dolls, which I saw at the Drive-In.
Even as a teenybopper, I knew they were terrible, but I liked them anyway. Such glorious trash!

 

[Agee Bassett]

Gone With the Wind.
Trash doesn't come any more resplendant than that.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Mine might not fit, and it's an odd choice. But it is a favorite, and it does meet said requirements
The Quick and the Dead
It's just so much fun. Gene Hackman looks like he is having fun, and it's a Sam Raimi western. The only negative is the star, and she's even fun in a trashy way!
Take care,
Chuck

 

[Anders Englund]

Species
--Anders

 

[Steve Christou]

Mmmmm the mad bad full-frontal Lifeforce does it for me, gorgeous and naked space vampire Mathilda May can suck my lifeforce anytime.
Species is also great trashy fun, stunning Natasha Henstridge as an alien supermodel hunting men for sex, def my favorite species of alien.