Guilty pleasure movies

In theaters Friday: An American Carol, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Blindness, The Express, Flash of Genius, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

New on DVD: Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Iron Man

If any faithful readers remember my playful bashing of Iron Man back in the spring, you may be interested to know that, yes, I will rent the DVD this week, and yes, I’ll give the film a fair shake. Months have passed and I’ve gotten that terrible second half of the teaser trailer with its ridiculous Black Sabbath song out of my mind. Time wounds all heals.

Another interesting item this week is that Russell Crowe will not only play Sheriff Nottingham but also Robin Hood in next year’s Nottingham. No, Ridley Scott’s re-imagining of the Robin Hood mythos won’t have Crowe wearing a fake mustache in one role and not the other. In this version the sheriff and the hood are one in the same. The Oscar winner can certainly play duplicitous and conflicted well, but it’s a risky gambit that could be interesting or embarrassing, depending on the screenplay. I hope it’s not some kind of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide thing (even though that book is a favorite of mine). It should be more like Nottingham changes his ways and realizes he needs to help the poor, in which case this movie needs another superior villain to despise once the sheriff becomes Robin Hood.

Coincidentally, I watched Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves on television Sunday afternoon. Maybe it’s because I was 11 when the movie came out, but it has always been one of my favorite guilty pleasures. I know some of the dialogue and all of the Bryan Adams song is cheesy, but Alan Rickman’s Sheriff of Nottingham is brilliant throughout (“Cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans, no more merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas!”), and when Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman storm the castle at the end to save their merry men from hanging, I still get a chill. Thinking back on it, most of my guilty pleasure movies are from my pre-teen era, movies like The ’Burbs, Dick Tracy and Overboard. So come on, I’ve opened up a little here. What are some of your favorite guilty pleasure movies?