We all have them; a movie we always have to watch, a song we always turn up and sing a little louder to, a TV show that we indulge in whenever we can… Whatever it may be, we love out guilty pleasures. And we shouldn’t be embarrassed by what we like. We should relish in it. We should wear our guilty pleasures on our chest like a badge of honor. Embrace what you like and forget what others may think; because I assure you, they have a guilty pleasure or two in their closet.
To not be a hypocrite I am going to air my guilty pleasure laundry for all the world to see. Why? Because I don’t care who knows or what they think! I am proud to like what I like and I will tell you why I like what I like… Like for sure… like totally… like… Like… Ok, got stuck in a valley girl loop there, sorry about that…
So…
Here is a list, in no particular order, of my favorite Guilty Pleasures.
Dawson’s Creek
TBS is to thank for this guilty pleasure. Back in the early ‘Oughts’ I was working early in the morning for a few hours then I would have some time off till I had to go back to work. When I would get home there wasn’t much on TV. One day I was flipping through and stopped on TBS. I got distracted by something else and when I looked back up James Van Der Beek was drunk and standing on a table then face plants into his birthday cake. The name of the episode is ‘Be Careful What You Wish For’ (Season 2 Episode 16). There just so happened to be another episode on right after…. 3 more in fact.
They were playing 4 episodes every morning leading up to the series finally. I got sucked into it, which in turn got my roommate into it as well. He too would get off around the same time as I did. We started recording them on the good old VCR and watching them later if we were busy in the morning. Before there was a ‘Team Edward vs. Team Jacob’ there was ‘Dawson /Joey vs. Pacey/Joey’… My roommate and I were Pacey/Joey fans. We were hooked.
Then there was the finale.
I will set the scene. Two manly men in their mid-20’s sitting on a couch one morning, just having gotten home from their respective jobs, watching the series finale of a show who’s key demographic was tween and teenage girls. To say we were vested in the show would be an understatement. We were doing good… But then it got to the scene where Jen passes away and Grams says “I will see you soon child.” I heard my roommate sniff and it was downhill from there. Two grown ass men blubbering on the couch watching a TV show made for teenage girls. Now that, my friends, is a guilty pleasure.
Seriously… You try not to cry…
Hair Bands/Glam Rock
Poison, Warrant, Slaughter, Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Extreme, Ratt… Yep, I love ‘em… I will get in my truck, turn on my Sirius radio and tune it to ‘Hair Nation’ and rock out. One of my favorite concerts I have ever been to was when I was in high school. I got to see Trickster, Firehouse and Warrant. That was a good night. When I was a kid growing up on the farm, we had a HUGE lawn. I was tasked with mowing it. To pass the time I would pop Warrant’s ‘Cherry Pie’ cassette tape into my generic personal portable tape player and set to mowing. I knew where I was supposed to be in the yard by what song was playing on the tape. Yes… I am that big of a nerd 🙂
One of my favorite songs from the era of big hair and overindulgence is Slaughter’s ‘Fly To The Angels’. Mark Slaughter had a great glam rock voice; one of the best. That whole album was good. Check out the aforementioned tune…
Food Network/Cooking Channel
I refer to it as ‘porn for fat guys’, as I am one. I fancy myself an amateur chef and love to watch and learn. A quick list of my favorite chefs; Michael Symon, Mario Batali, Guy Fieri, and the professor Alton Brown… From ‘Iron Chef America’ to ‘Symon’s Suppers’ to ‘Diners, Drive-ins and Dives’ to ‘Good Eats’ I really enjoy watching and learning new techniques.
Romantic Comedies
Yes I am a man. Yes I have all the working parts. Yes I am straight. And Yes I love Romantic Comedies. The real question should be “Why don’t you?” Seriously, they are good. Granted there are a few actresses that I avoid because I dislike them as people. That fact aside there are tons of excellent Rom Coms out there to enjoy. I will have to do a ‘5 Or More’ to give you a good list. But if you need a starter Rom Com I recommend ‘Love Actually’. That is one of my all-time favorites. Watch and enjoy!
B Movies
Bruce Campbell is one of my heroes. He is the king of the B movies. But it isn’t just his films I like. Let’s put it this way… You know the movies that the fellas from MST3K spoof on the show? Yeah, I had seen the majority of those movies prior to them being lampooned on the Satellite of Love’s big screen. I can thank USA’s ‘Up All Night’ for introducing me to the most of those movies. If you too enjoy movies such as these, may I make a recommendation…? In 2001 a group of wonderful people set out to recreate the wonderment of the cheesy Sci-Fi classics of the 1950’s. What came of it is a fantastic movie called “The Lost Skeleton Of Cadavra”. You must find this. You must watch this. I SLEEP NOW!
Curling
During the last Winter Olympics I recorded, and watched, every minute of both the men’s and women’s curling that NBC and their affiliated networks aired. I even went online and watched some of the online coverage. I would watch curling every day if it was available. I just can’t stop watching it when it is on. I love it! (I may or may not have spent hours watching You Tube clips of curling) One of my favorite musicians, Jonathan Coulton, wrote a song about curling. You may enjoy that!
Big Trouble In Little China
You know what old Jack Burton always says… Watch this movie is what he says. Ok, Jack Burton never said that, but I am. This is a great flick and the true definition of a guilty pleasure. If it is on, I will always flip to it and watch it. I love this movie. And I still contend that this is where the makers of Mortal Combat got the idea for Raiden.
Honorable mentions go to Road House, Summer School, Independence Day, The Replacements, Howard The Duck, Wizard, Brewster’s Millions, Trading Places, House Hunters and House Hunters International.
There it is, for better or worse. That is my list of Guilty Pleasures.
Comments?
Questions?
Let me know…
The Average Movie Nerd 
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