INTRODUCING... Movies in the Middle
Tired of scrolling through Netflix?
Sometime during the pandemic, I was going through a Hugh Grant phase (thank you, Paddington 2). I went to what you might call extreme measures to get my fix (Extreme Measures is the name of a ropily-plotted medical thriller in which the floppy-haired Brit plays a guy named Guy). One bottom-of-the-barrel-scraping vehicle that came up during this period was Mickey Blue Eyes, a film so stupid and transcendent that – IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes be damned – I adored. In fact, it has become iconic in my household due to a scene in which Grant gets a lesson in the pronunciation of “Forghedaboudit” from The Godfather’s most vicious Corleone, James Caan.
You have probably never heard of Mickey Blue Eyes unless you’re a die-hard fan of Hugh Grant and/or a late-90s rom-com completist. When it was released in 1999, it was neither a hit nor a box office dud. It was the 62nd highest-grossing film of the year, falling between the now iconic Spike Lee-produced comedy The Best Man and a thriller called Instinct in which Anthony Hopkins plays a jungle-dwelling anthropologist who might be a murderer. In other words, Mickey Blue Eyes wasn’t celebrated as a blockbuster, lauded by critics, or dragged for being a flop. It simply came and went with little fanfare. 25 years later, it isn’t even a cult classic. It falls somewhere in the middle, a place where countless movies – good and bad – are left to languish.
Mickey Blue Eyes is no masterpiece, but it’s a joy to watch and has several scenes that are more memorable and entertaining than most of the Oscar-winning movies I’ve seen since. And that got me thinking: have we Rotten Tomatoed ourselves to death? How many times have you thought about seeing a movie only to abandon it when you see that it gets below 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, a low Metascore score on Metacritic, or anything below a 7.0 on IMDb? I do this constantly, and yet, some of the movies that are supposedly must-see crowd-pleasers or critical darlings have been profoundly disappointing, while some of the ones I have enjoyed most are the ones that do not have stellar ratings, were not box office hits, and are still not considered cult classics. Movies like Son of Rambow (2007), The Last of Sheila (1973), Alan Partridge (2013), and Dead Ringer (1963) are some of my favorites of all time, and none of them got much attention one way or the other when they came out.
Movies in the Middle was born out of the desire to discover more movies like these – ones that fell through the cracks when they were released and have not been embraced as cult classics in the interim. Movies that, like The Last of Sheila and Son of Rambow, are unadulterated joys verging on masterpieces, as well as those, like Mickey Blue Eyes and Dead Ringer that may not be masterpieces by any stretch of the imagination but which have flashes of brilliance that will stick with you long after you’ve forgotten their shonky storylines. I’m tired of being underwhelmed by movies that everyone is talking about. I want to stumble upon my next favorite movie or be reminded that sometimes mediocre movies showcase career-best performances, unforgettable scenes, and jaw-droppingly ballsy ambitions.
HOW IT WORKS: I will be announcing a new movie for Movies in the Middle every so often (once a month at first and hopefully more at some point). After the title is announced, there will be two weeks for everyone who wants to participate (including me) to watch it. After those two weeks, I’ll post a debrief that will include a review of the film, any comments I’ve gotten from those of you who have watched it, and the context in which the film was made. What have the actors and directors done since? What were the filming conditions? Where did the idea come from? Why wasn’t it a hit? Think of Movies in the Middle as a virtual movie club where we are in a constant state of discovery rather than dutifully watching the films that everyone else seems to already have an opinion about.
THE PARAMETERS: Every movie for Movies in the Middle will follow these criteria:
I haven’t seen it (and hopefully you won’t have either)
It was a box office yawn. For movies that fall between 1980 and the present, this means that they must be no higher than the 50th highest-grossing movie of their respective release years. For movies made between 1960 and 1979, they must be no higher than 20th. For movies made between 1930 and 1949, they must be no higher than 15th. (There were a lot fewer movies being made pre-1980).
It isn’t a cult classic. This Is Spinal Tap ranked 117th at the box office when it was released in 1984, but, according to IMDb’s popularity ranking, it is now the 25th most popular movie of that year (and rightfully so). Cult classics are almost always worth watching, but they don’t need championing here.
Aside from these three pillars, everything is fair game. We’ll be watching thrillers, comedies, romances, horror, non-English language movies, old movies, new movies, and maybe even a few animated movies. They will be chosen largely at random based on a scan of a random year’s box office listings unless otherwise stated. For example, I heard about The Last of Sheila from an interview with Ryan Johnson in which he cited it as inspiration for Glass Onion.
THIS MONTH’S MOVIE: The first installment of Movies in the Middle is Upgrade, a 2018 sci-fi action thriller from Australia that ranked 135th at the U.S. box office and somewhere below 200th worldwide.
IMDb description:
“Set in the near-future, technology controls nearly all aspects of life. But when the world of Grey, a self-labeled technophobe, is turned upside down, his only hope for revenge is an experimental computer chip implant.”
I know nothing about this movie except that it looks dark, has a cyberpunk aesthetic, and was produced by arthouse alt-horror production company Blumhouse Productions.
WHERE TO WATCH: Netflix in the U.S., rentable in the U.K. from Amazon Prime, YouTube, etc.
Welcome to Movies in the Middle! I’ll be posting a debrief of the film on June 20th. If you watch it, send me your comments. See you in two weeks!
I watched it! I love assignments and deadlines, so it was last night (6/19). I was not disappointed, but also appreciated the caution that the first 40 minutes are pretty lame--agreed. It just doesn't quite come together. The futuristic technology is entertaining. The Ninja moves also. The gore was a bit much for me a couple of times. It surely is dark with the machine vs. human theme, but it was also a clever mystery with a surprise ending. I connected with the main character. A perfect beginning to Movies in the Middle! Not a perfect film, but much to admire and a good watch. Thank you!
OMG so excited for this. Will be an enthusiastic participant.