Top 5 Most Rewatchable Movies

scene from Addams Family

Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures/Scott Rudin Productions

Top 5 Most Rewatchable Movies
| published May 19, 2015 |

By Lori Garrett Thursday Review contributor

There are those days where you want to do absolutely nothing. The days where you might actually be off from work and you crawl out of bed, drag yourself to the living room and plop yourself on the couch for a day filled with junk food and reruns. Of course, all of our tastes vary as to what we can watch over and over again, but I’ve found that these beauties are just as delightful the ninth time as the first time. Your list may obviously vary greatly, but these are the top five most re-watched movies of my life.

  • Scene from Breakfast Club A&M Films/Universal Studios

    5. The Breakfast Club; 1985; starring Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevez and Judd Nelson. Written and directed by John Hughes.

    This is by far my favorite of John Hughes’ films. To date this stands as one of the greatest high school films, with good reason. For those who may have lived under a rock, or are perhaps too young to have experienced the awesomeness of this movie, here is a quick rundown:

    Somehow (ours is not to question the genius of Hughes, but to sit back and enjoy) a very distinct representative of each ‘type’ of kid pulls Saturday detention. One jock, one nerd, one goth, and so forth. They of course clash at first, but through a long series of shenanigans, various close calls with the dean of boys, and other attempts at avoiding boredom, they learn more about one another and become true blue pals. Sort of. Or at least they learn that they are all people with unique experiences and feelings and that maybe they should give each other a break…which is a good lesson to learn for everyone of every age. The film benefits from its setting: the entire movie was shot in a real Chicago high school. If you haven’t seen it yet, see it: you won’t be disappointed.


  • scene from Detroit Rock City New Line Cinema/Takoma Entertainment

    4. Detroit Rock City; 1999 starring Edward Furlong and Sam Huntington

    So, I fully admit that most people probably don’t remember this movie (likely because they’ve never heard of it), but I absolutely loved it. Perhaps it was due to the huge crush I had on Edward Furlong when I was a kid, maybe it’s because I love silly things-who knows?

    This is the classic tale of Boys Get Tickets to Kiss Concert, Boys Lose Tickets to Kiss Concert, Boys go on Crazy Adventures, among them giving a priest hallucinogenic mushrooms. The movie also features cameos with Ron Jeremy and Shannon Tweed, not to mention the band members of Kiss. You know, a wholesome tale of teenaged life in the 1970’s.


  • Scene from Addams Family Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures/Scott Rudin Productions

    3. Addams Family Values; 1993 starring Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci and Joan Cusack.

    This is one of the few dark family comedies out there. At turns sweet and saucy, it is the continued love story of the romantically macabre Gomez and Morticia Adams and their beautifully beastly brood. There is a new addition to the family, little baby Pubert, but try as they might older siblings Wednesday and Pugsly just can’t seem to kill him. (I promise it’s funnier and tamer than it sounds) In order to help care for the baby, the Addams’ hire a nanny who seems to actually enjoy the family’s peculiarities, but it turns out that she has some dastardly plans hidden up her sleeve. She seduces Uncle Fester, the lovable and insanely rich brother of Gomez, and quickly removes him from the family in an attempt to isolate and eventually kill him for his money. Of course, she has no idea of the constitution and resilience of the Addams Family. This is technically a sequel, but you really don’t have to watch the first one to get the second.

    Raul Julia and Angelica Huston are well-cast as Gomez and Morticia, and Christopher Lloyd and Carel Struycken are perfect as Uncle Fester and Lurch respectively.


  • Scene from Clue Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures/Polygram Pictures

    2. Clue; 1985 starring Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, Martin Mull and Lesley Ann Warren.

    As far as I can tell this was the first movie based on a game; at least it is for sure the first movie based on a board game. It also spawned a generation of people who yell “It was (person’s name) in the (room in which it happened) with the (item)!” to explain a faux pas….or something…at least I’ve heard other people besides me do it, so I assume the habit is widespread. Anyway, this film is delightful from beginning to end.

    Six people are invited to a dinner party. When their host arrives to announce why he had called the meeting, the lights dramatically go out and a shot is heard. The lights come back up and he is lying on the floor, dead. So…who did it? Was it the eccentric Mrs. Peacock? Or perhaps the disgraced Professor Plum? Or maybe….you be the judge. To keep in theme with the game, during the theatrical release theaters got one of three different endings. Lucky home viewers and Netflix lovers of today get all of them.


  • scene from To Wong Foo Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment

    1. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar; 1995 starring Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo.

    I will be the first to admit that this movie isn’t for everyone, but if you’re up for a heartwarming and hilarious tale of three drag queens whose car breaks down in a po-dunk town on their way to Hollywood, may I suggest this gem? I stand by it as being my favorite Patrick Swayze vehicle, and he definitely does not disappoint. His portrayal of the conflicted and somewhat sad Vida Boheme is spot on and his interactions with Wesley Snipes’ Noxeema Jackson are nothing short of comedic genius. John Leguizamo, whose career was still in its infancy when he starred as the young Chi Chi Rodriguez did a wonderful job portraying the hot mess of a newbie drag queen that the other two take under their wing. I know the subject matter may not appeal to everyone, but I’ve easily seen this movie 20 times, and continue to enjoy it, especially on days when I doubt myself. It’s an all around feel good, to thine own self be true kind of romp. Plus, anything Robin Williams cameos in is worth a watch.

    In addition to the principal performers, the film also features a great cast, including Blythe Danner, Stockard Channing, Melinda Dillon and Arliss Howard.


    • Well, folks, those are my Top 5 Most Rewatchable Movies. Let me know what yours are on twitter @Top_5_Reviews. I look forward to hearing from you, and maybe picking up a few more films to enjoy over and over again.


    Related Thursday Review articles:

    The Breakfast Club's Missing Script; Thursday Review; April 22, 2015.

    The Interview; film review by Lori Garrett; Thursday Review; January 11, 2015.