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By now you may know me.  If you’ve read Boiling Point frequently or have read a few of my reviews, you’ve probably picked up that I can enjoy a straight to DVD horror movie as much as a summer blockbuster and that in turn as much as any Academy Award winning film.  Hell, sometimes, no, oft times, I’ll enjoy some entertaining cheeseball slasher or shoot ‘em up more than all of the Best Picture Nominees.  You might go as far as to say I’m a fan of fun – and when did that become a bad thing?

The other day I was talking a friend about going to see the movie GI Joe, something I’ve managed to put off again and again, possibly out of an immense fear of suckage, despite fairly positive reviews from my online colleagues.  When I asked for his recommendation, he said I shouldn’t see it because it was “light PG-13 action bullshit, just some fun explosions” type deal.  Normally I think I would phrase something like that along the lines of “action, fun and explosions” which is pretty much an A grade right of the bat.  Why was “fun” listed as if it were a bad thing?  It’s like fun has become a looked down upon genre.  Maybe The Dark Knight ruined “fun” for everyone.  Sure, it was a good movie, but I don’t think one would ever call it fun.  In this new online world, everything is seemingly compared to The Dark Knight. Do we want a dark vision of the GI Joe universe?  Should Megatron and Optimus Prime teach us life lessons about good and evil and the price we pay for living?  Or should they blow shit up and jump across the screen swinging future laser swords?  Call me nutty, but I’m leaning towards the latter.

I’m all for dramas and Nolan’s Bat-universe and whatever else.  I like all movies.  I’ll give anything a chance.  One thing I won’t do is write a film off for not being too serious.  Well, unless it was trying to be.  If you try to make a scary movie or a dramatic one and it’s silly, then you blew it and it sucked.  But if you want to make something that is light and fun and full of fireballs, then hell yeah, let’s check that out.  If you see a movie and the word “fun” comes into your mind, it’s probably good.  There is no need to censor yourself.  Don’t feel guilty for enjoying a movie that was specifically written, filmed, and designed to be enjoyable.  Some films want to change your lives, others want to brighten your day.  That’s awesome.  You can walk out of a movie and talk about it and think about it or you can walk and pump your fists and then want to go kick some ass.  Why can’t I get excited by entertaining movies?

You can like whatever movies you want.  You can hate what you want.  But don’t change your expressed opinion based on what others think.  It’s alright to think Slumdog Millionaire sucks or that Schindler’s List isn’t worth watching a second time.  It’s ok to want to watch GI Joe or Transformers or I Love You, Man every weekend.  I think a lot of people are forgetting that movies, while they can be art, are primarily entertainment.  Entertainment that’s supposed to make us feel good or be entertained or whatever.  If fun is a genre, fucking sign me up.  So go watch what you will and say what you must, but if I hear one more person use “fun” as some sort of derogatory word, I’m going to go past my boiling point.

Do you prefer “fun” movies or “serious” ones?