Ten Extremely Watchable Movies

There are movies that make you weep. Movies that make you think. Movies that make grand artistic statements. Chronicling history. People overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles in their struggles against.... These movies will have none of that.

Though they all come from the last ten years or so, they do not include personal favorites like Lost in Translation (some say it's slow) or Donnie Darko (too much work) or even Dumb and Dumber (too silly/over-the-top?). Those are each great in their own right, but they require that you be in the mood. If you are the type that regularly sits down and watches Saving Private Ryan, (a) you scare me, and (b) we have very little in common.

These movies are the sure-fire crowd-pleasers, boys and relatively cool girls alike, my default selections. You can happily watch parts of them if you pass them on cable, even though you likely own them on DVD. They are enjoyable, time and again, largely because of intelligent writing and little things revealed in repeated viewings. They're simply good fun...

10. The Bourne Identity.
An action flick that gives its audience some credit? Wha? It’s a mainstream movie certainly, but The Bourne Identity is the rare shoot-em-up that doesn't include unnecessary, overdramatic dialogue or a tired world-saving plot. And I love Franka Potente. I knew the sequel was not going to measure up when she died very early on. This movie is also the lynchpin in the post Good Will Damon-Affleck dichotomy--either Affleck can't read (his scripts), Damon is that much more likeable (very possible), or both.

9. Garden State.
Zach Braff’s writing in Garden State is perfectly designed for commercial success and, thankfully, repeated viewings. Though certainly the chickiest flick on the list, like the best romantic comedies, it’s watchable by the lords and ladies. The now-veritable Sarsgaard drives the humor, while Natalie Portman becomes the most kissable girl to hit the big screen since Julia Guglia.

8. Kill Bill, Vol. 1.
I’m going to make an argument that most people will find ludicrous—while Pulp Fiction is the clear-cut classic, Kill Bill Vol. 1 is the most “watchable” Tarantino flick. The Kill Bills are more genre-bending. Shoot me.

7. Ocean's Eleven.
I have talked to at least two people who cannot stand this movie, and I secretly suspected that they were terrorists. When we lived in our old house in D.C., we watched at least part of Ocean's Eleven every other day on HBO. It was like clockwork, as dependable as Greg having a drink after work. Actually, it was what Greg watched while he had a drink after work.

6. Dazed and Confused.
You want to get pumped for your own night on the town? You want reminisce about hazing, high school girls, and almost-legal hash, even though you don't remember it/weren't born yet? Dazed and Confused is all this and more to so many people, and don't you forget it. I've seen that other crowd you've been runnin' with. Don't think I haven't noticed.

5. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.
Criminally underrated. Sam Rockwell is spectacular, and Drew “I’m Penny!” Barrymore turns on the charm once again. Can't-go-wrong Charlie Kaufman is just that yet again (why isn't Eternal Sunshine on this list?) It has comedy, action, and mystery, and when you throw in the enigma that is Chuck Barris, Confessions is right up there. I can't believe I don't own this.

4. Sideways.
I think it’s a little strange that Sideways affects me the way that it does, because it so clearly involves a midlife crisis. What does that say about me? I dunno. The films included on this list tend to excel at comic timing, not only in the line’s delivery, but at the deliberate placement of humor at junctures within the storyline. Alexander Payne is fast becoming a master at this. I love the scene on the porch where Paul Giamatti breaks the romantic tension with “Yeah…. I like other wines, too, I like rieslings…” If they kiss there, I squirm. If they don’t, I think it’s brilliant.

3. The Big Lebowski.
The people's champion, the favorite movie of over half of the male population between 18 and 28. I myself have dabbled in Lebowski so many times that I now have distinct memories of watching it in numerous places, in the theatre, in college, and last year, when my brother and I watched it on his computer while we were in Europe. I saw a 14-year-old at a Nats game recently wearing this shirt from Lebowskifest. How long can a cult continue before it is a religion? Well, Dude, we just don’t know.

2. Rushmore.
I’ve decided that no other film makes me laugh this hard. Zero. And harder every time. But by the end, The Faces’ “Ooh La La” always gets me fighting back the tears. Wes Anderson’s idiosyncrasies and attention to detail are second to none, so that there’s always something new or something you had forgotten about on each viewing. Same goes for The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic, both of which should have been included here, but I will always be a Rushmore fan first.

1. Wonder Boys.
I’m sure that if I had readers, one of them would say, “Meh, it’s a good movie, but not a number one in anything.” He or she would be unable to comprehend, however, how inordinately attached to Wonder Boys I have become over the last five years. I am now friends with James Leer, in classes with Grady Tripp, and not-so-secretly in love with Hannah Green, and possibly even Antonia Sloviak. Like about five other tangible objects I have possessed over the course of my lifetime, it something so close to me that I treat it like family, dropping by every so often so as not to forget who I really am.

Any others I missed? Well, you can make your own crappy list in the comments. Adios for now...