10 Movies That Worked Despite Their Absurd Premise
Fiction is stranger than life in these movies that had no right being as good as they were.
Transcript
00:00 Now, movies come in all shapes and sizes, from the crowd-pleasers to the art-house darlings,
00:05 the indies to the Hollywood blockbusters. They're generally made with an audience in
00:09 mind, and usually a trailer alone is enough to discern if that is you. But some movies,
00:14 however, seem to be designed to alienate viewers before their bums have even touched the seats.
00:19 Often a bizarre high-concept premise mingles with the fear of the unknown to leave potential
00:23 audiences with a feeling of bemusement rather than excitement. But you know what? Sometimes
00:27 they still absolutely worked. And that's what we're here to talk about today as I'm
00:31 Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are 10 Movies That Worked Despite Their Absurd
00:35 Premise.
00:36 10. Crank - High Voltage
00:39 Now the duology of crank movies have never ever claimed to be high art. The directors
00:43 instead conceived of a premise perfect for facilitating non-stop high-octane action.
00:48 The first movie saw Jason Statham's Chev injected with a drug that slowed his adrenaline
00:53 to a crawl. On a vengeful tirade, he was forced to keep his adrenaline up by doing things
00:57 such as getting into fights with policemen and having intercourse in public.
01:01 But the sequel is where the writers really swung for the fences, though. Waking up in
01:04 a daze following the previous movie's climax, Chev discovers that his heart has been replaced
01:09 with an artificial one. He soon finds out that he must keep his new organ charged while
01:13 he hunts for those who took his original beatmaker. How does he do this? Well, jumper cables attached
01:18 to a car battery, live wires atop a utility pole, and yes, having intercourse on a racetrack
01:22 to generate static energy.
01:23 I know what you're thinking, that sounds really dumb. And it was. But it was also brilliant.
01:27 And after a climax that has to be seen to be believed, Crank High Voltage cements itself
01:32 as a deliriously silly movie that just wants the audience to have fun. And it succeeded.
01:38 9. Speed
01:39 Get ready for rush hour, Speed's tagline reads. And if that coupled with the premise
01:44 doesn't tell you everything you need to know about this movie's tone, then nothing
01:47 will. Keanu Reeves plays the role of Jack, an LAPD SWAT officer that finds himself in
01:52 the middle of a high-stakes bomb plot aboard a speeding bus. The bomb, attached to the
01:57 vehicle's underside, is rigged to detonate should the bus ever drop below 50 mph. It's
02:01 a plot that's designed around the idea of non-stop action and constant tension. And
02:06 when considering the runtime of close to two hours, however, it is a miracle that such
02:10 a simple concept managed to keep the audience entertained throughout. The movie does so
02:14 with slightly silly developments such as a localised bomb that kills one passenger, along
02:19 with very, very silly developments such as a freeway that is as yet incomplete, necessitating
02:24 that the bus ratchet up the top speed in order to jump the gap.
02:28 The director, Jan de Bont, famous for Twister and Lara Croft Tomb Raider Cradle of Life,
02:32 truly understood the appeal of this potentially paper-thin concept, and tapped into audience
02:37 anxiety to create a fast-paced, endlessly enjoyable film that has since gone down in
02:42 the pantheon of action greats.
02:44 8. The Lego Movie
02:46 Before anyone gets angry, it should be made clear that the absurdity of this movie lies
02:50 in what it represents, rather than what it is. For what it's worth, the film tells
02:54 a sincere story of overcoming the odds, managing to subvert expectations along the way, and
02:59 leaves audiences with an important message about conformity and having an individual
03:03 voice. What's absurd about that, then? Well, the movie's runaway success and genuinely
03:08 great writing make it easy to forget that this is a Lego movie, a film about those unassuming
03:13 little bricks that everybody wanted between the ages of 4 and, well, 99 has played with
03:18 at some point in their life. Upon its reveal, it's easy to dismiss this as a shameless
03:22 advertisement with a runtime of 100 minutes.
03:25 But what audiences found, however, was a heartfelt, passionately made adventure, with gags, both
03:30 visual and verbal, being fired out at an impossible pace. Topped off with a beautiful message
03:35 that captured the spirit of the source material and felt invaluable to the target audience,
03:40 the Lego movie was much more than an advert. What I'm trying to say is that this was
03:43 not the Lego Ninjago movie.
03:46 7. Weekend at Bernie's
03:49 Weekend at Bernie's tells the story of two hapless employees who are invited to their
03:53 boss's beach house for Labor Day weekend. But unbeknownst to them, the boss, Bernie,
03:57 is conspiring to have them killed, after they unwittingly uncover fraud within the company.
04:02 This doesn't exactly go to plan, though, as Bernie dies before the two men can arrive.
04:06 To abridge an exceedingly silly plot, the two decide to puppet the corpse of their former
04:10 boss in order to enjoy their weekend of partying and cover up their fast-expanding web of lies.
04:15 Now, while the movie didn't set the world on fire upon its release with critics, the
04:19 movie has since gone on to become a cult classic, fondly remembered by those who watched it
04:23 at the time. With comedy geared towards a younger audience, the laughs were consistent
04:27 enough and the slapstick silliness fun enough to keep audiences engaged throughout.
04:32 Coming in at over 90 minutes, though, it can be - and was - argued that the premise would
04:36 have been better suited to a comedy sketch. And that was definitely before the dubious
04:39 sequels wheeled out four years later.
04:41 6. Hot Rod
04:43 In 2007, hit internet comedy band Lonely Island came together to release their first movie.
04:48 Hot Rod was a silly, subversive, and extremely funny movie that, unfortunately, bombed at
04:53 the box office. However, time has been kind to it and its cast, becoming solidified as
04:57 a bona fide classic and launching a movie career that is still going today.
05:01 Now, things seem innocuous at first. Rod is a helpless, drifting, amateur stuntman who
05:05 wants nothing more than to earn the respect of his stepfather, played by the brilliant
05:09 Ian McShane. In order to do that, he has one simple task - beat his new dad in a physical
05:14 fight. Things quickly take a turn, though, as Frank falls seriously ill. And Rod vows
05:19 to rack up enough cash with his stunts to pay for Frank's life-saving surgery, so
05:23 that when he's better, he can then beat him half to death.
05:25 It's a plot that perfectly matches the movie's light, surreal tone and sense of humour. It
05:30 manages to simultaneously have stakes both low and high, facilitating a consistent stream
05:35 of absurd gags and laugh-out-loud slapstick. Filled with a great cast, unexpected sincerity
05:40 and pacing that doesn't allow for boredom, Hot Rod was indeed a triumph.
05:44 5. Rubber
05:45 What's left to say about a movie that has gained mass recognition purely due to the
05:50 absurdity of its premise? By now, almost everybody has heard of Rubber, and is familiar, at least
05:55 loosely, with the movie's deranged concept. For those that aren't, however, Rubber is
05:59 a French comedy-horror about a car tyre that gains consciousness and soon discovers it
06:03 has telekinetic powers. And what does it decide to do with these newfound abilities? Go on
06:08 a murderous rampage, exploding helpless victims' heads on his path to pursue a woman who's
06:12 become the object of his obsession, of course.
06:15 Robert - and yes, the tyre does have a name, by the way - is followed by Lieutenant Chad,
06:20 a sheriff who consistently ruminates on the idea of things happening for no reason in
06:24 movies. When Chad isn't taking part in the events of Rubber, he's actually seen commenting
06:28 on them, along with an in-film audience who are also watching things unfold. A subplot
06:33 soon emerges about those audience members who are being murdered with poisoned food.
06:37 Now, perhaps Rubber may have benefited from losing this bloat, with the general opinion
06:41 being that the schlocky action is great fun, but the pretentious commentary on cinema serves
06:45 only to hamper proceedings. But still, it is a fun ride throughout.
06:49 4. Swiss Army Man
06:51 Swiss Army Man is a movie that made headlines upon its announcement, thanks in part to its
06:55 ridiculous premise. It tells the story of a man marooned on a desert island. At the
07:00 peak of his hopelessness, he discovers a corpse that washes up on the beach. His hopes for
07:04 survival are renewed when he discovers that the body has a bizarre penchant for particularly
07:09 strong flatulence, and proceeds to use it as a makeshift raft, propelled by its farts.
07:14 Other oddities include the corpse slowly regaining consciousness and the ability to talk in simple
07:18 sentences, a swimsuit magazine being used to fuel an erection compass, and a tussle
07:23 with a bear that culminates in an ignited toot. It's as balls-to-the-wall bizarre as
07:27 it sounds, which makes for a sort of unhinged castaway for the modern age. Yet most impressively,
07:33 despite how juvenile and strange it all sounds, the movie works. It's in turns laugh-out-loud
07:38 funny, tender, and a surprisingly effective deranged romance. This is topped off with
07:42 two lead performers that are giving their all to this seemingly unsalvageable concept.
07:47 Much like Radcliffe's Manny, Swiss Army Man appears to be dead on arrival, but in
07:51 reality is brimming with life.
07:54 3. Being John Malkovich
07:56 With Charlie Kaufman penning the script and Spike Jonze taking on directing duties, it
08:00 comes as no surprise that Being John Malkovich is a surreal masterpiece. Helmed by two filmmakers
08:06 known for their high-concept, yet deeply intimate output, this was always likely to be a hit-and-miss
08:11 affair, and definitely going to be strange. The movie tells the story of a puppeteer named
08:16 Craig, played by John Cusack. Shortly after taking a job as a file clerk, he stumbles
08:20 upon a hidden tunnel in the building. This tunnel, of course, happens to be a portal
08:24 that leads directly into the consciousness of the real-world actor John Malkovich. What
08:29 takes place following this is a mind-bending series of events that would be near impossible
08:33 to coherently retell to you here. From monetising the discovery for public use to a Malkovich
08:38 ception sequence in which the actor enters his own mind to be met with legions of John
08:42 Malkoviches, the film takes the concept and runs with it, introducing new ideas at a breakneck
08:48 pace.
08:49 During all of this, though, it never leaves its characters behind, and instead manages
08:52 to be tragic, heartfelt, funny, and utterly mind-boggling. And you know what, there's
08:57 not much more you can ask for from a cinematic experience, right?
09:00 2. Face/Off
09:01 Face/Off is so revered as a classic today that it's easy to have developed a sort
09:05 of absurdity blindness to its wild premise. After all, Travolta and Cage calling the shots
09:10 in a zany action flick during the height of their careers, that's headline enough.
09:15 Beginning as a standard cat-and-mouse fare, Travolta plays Sean Archer, an FBI agent with
09:19 a personal vendetta, obsessively chasing Cage's caster, Troy, a ruthless terrorist. So far,
09:26 so any number of action movies from the late 1980s to the 2000s, right? But it's when
09:30 the literality of the title comes in that the movie kicks things up a notch. Following
09:34 a plane crash with Troy aboard, Archer pursues the truth by taking the only logical step,
09:40 undergoing mass surgery to have his face replaced with Troy's in order to go undercover and
09:44 unearth answers.
09:46 Troy awakens shortly after, forcing the surgeon to perform the same operation on him, giving
09:50 him the face of Archer. And what ensues is a less traditional game of mouse and cat,
09:56 with Travolta and Cage afforded the chance to characterise these personas before switching
10:00 roles and then personifying one another. Unbelievably, it made for hugely entertaining viewing, with
10:06 action that delivered and a tone that just lent into the ludicrousness of it all.
10:10 1. Bubba Hotep
10:12 It's a tale as old as time. Elvis Presley teams up with a black JFK in order to stop
10:17 an ancient mummy from stealing the souls of every resident of the retirement home in which
10:21 they live. Almost every aspect of Bubba Hotep's plot seems meticulously designed to elicit
10:27 utter bemusement. But the final layer of this bewilderment? It's a goofy, effectively
10:32 funny screwball comedy that sees Bruce Campbell unironically portray one of the best depictions
10:36 of Elvis there has ever been.
10:38 The story goes that Presley, sick of life in the spotlight, swapped with an Elvis look-alike
10:42 so that he could enjoy some peace and quiet. And why is JFK black now? Well, he had his
10:47 skin dyed following an assassination attempt, obviously. Come on. The mummy stuff might
10:52 take a bit more explaining, though. And if it all sounds silly, that's because it undoubtedly
10:56 is.
10:57 However, remarkably, Campbell and Ozzie Davis manage to stir up a believable chemistry amidst
11:02 all of this chaos, with laugh-out-loud moments aplenty, while audiences lamented the ineffective
11:07 horror elements. The rest was just too good and too bizarre of a time to dismiss, or indeed
11:13 ever forget.
11:14 And there we go, my friends. Those were 10 movies that worked, despite their absurd premise.
11:17 I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in
11:20 the comments section below. As always, I've been Jules, you can go follow me over on Twitter
11:24 @RetroJ, but the O is a zero, and it'd be great to chat to you over there.
11:28 But before I go, I just want to say one thing. Sometimes in life we can be told that we have
11:32 absurd dreams, but you know what, my friend? Never give up on them. They are what make
11:36 you you. They are the drive that makes that creative spark within us all emerge and hopefully
11:41 blossom into something brilliant. And you deserve all of the best things in life, like
11:45 love, happiness, and success, so don't let anything or anyone else tell you otherwise,
11:48 alright? You're a massive ledge, now go out there and utterly smash it today. I believe
11:53 in you.
11:54 As always, I've been Jules, you have been awesome, never forget that, and I'll speak
11:57 to you soon. Bye.