In keeping with the other article in this switcheroo series, today we’re taking a look at some movies that we wanted to hate, but after viewing, ended up enjoying. Everyone loves a good surprise at the movies, so we’re delighted to go back and take a look at some of the more pleasant surprises we’ve encountered in cinema. And while none of these are considered classics by any stretch (at least not yet, anyways…), they’re all measurably better than we would have predicted going in. Some of these films suffered from poor marketing, others suffered from the god awful trailers, and others still just never seemed to latch on with the appropriate audience or demographic. Whatever the case, most of these films are critically or commercially underwhelming, yet are astonishingly solid forms of entertainment when popped on and enjoyed under the appropriate circumstances.
With that in mind, here are 10 movies we wanted to hate (but ended up loving).
10. Hot Rod (2007)
Like many of the other comedies on this list, Hot Rod, which was released in 2007 and written and directed by the members of The Lonely Island comedy group (Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone), suffered from a poor trailer that portrayed the film as a humdrum comedy about an idiotic but well-intentioned young man with a silly (if admirable) dream. As it turns out, that’s exactly what the film was, but rather than play around in the mud with the other mediocre comedies of this type, Hot Rod succeeds in elevating itself above those films by being smarter, funnier and far more charming than your average idiotic fare. The film, which stars Samberg as a neighborhood daredevil who attempts to pull off his largest stunt ever in order to raise money for his step-father’s operation (and impress the wily redhead played by Isla Fisher), is legitimately hilarious and sees Samberg at the top of his game, with a strong supporting cast featuring Danny McBridge, Bill Hader and Ian McShane.
Source: Screenshot via Paramount Pictures
