Mindless Yet Mindful Movies
Recommendations for two-track moviewatching
A coworker of mine sent me a message in the middle of reading my Barbie review expressing some incredulity that the movie was really going to be about something. I start with this anecdote absolutely not to shame this person but as a topical lead-in to today’s newsletter, which collects films I have deemed “mindless yet mindful.”
Barbie is an example of what’s increasingly being referred to as Trojan horse filmmaking. There’s no way Greta Gerwig’s analysis of how the patriarchy harms men and women alike would sell a billion dollars worth of tickets if she put them into a regular drama. The logic, or devil’s bargain, many people make with such efforts is that these flashy IP objects become the best way to smuggle intelligent ideas into the mainstream. I’m not opposed in concept, but lesser filmmakers than Gerwig often use the format as exoneration for doing the bare minimum.
With one notable exception, the films below aren’t necessarily working with a big franchise or overly familiar materials. Instead, they’re working to incorporate a layer of subtext underneath a film that can be consumed with relative straightforward ease. And I don’t think any of these filmmakers would judge you if you wanted to just take their films at face value! But there’s much more for you under the surface should you put down your phone and make it a single-screen viewing experience. You’ll find a lot of depth and interesting commentary waiting for you.
So below are ten of my favorite “mindless yet mindful” movies for you, broken out by what you’ll receive on each track of watching. I did mostly avoid satire here because the different layers of meanings are just too obvious — my hope is that some of these surprise you and make you want to go back and see that even a crowdpleaser might have more on its mind than simply making you feel nice.
Bad Grandpa, Paramount+
MINDLESS: Absurd pranks from the Jackass guys involving Johnny Knoxville in old-age makeup.
MINDFUL: I will be outsourcing this one to the Academy Award-winning filmmaking duo the Daniels, who wrote on their Tumblr back in 2013 — “Through a series of expertly orchestrated scenes with real people, Bad Grandpa explores generational angst, race relations, the battle of the sexes, and stereotypes in general. No really. And not in a preachy way. The film is like a cultural petri dish.”
Bernie, Hulu
MINDLESS: A true-crime comedy about a beloved figure in an East Texas small town who, in a disassociation moment, pops his elderly sugar mama.
MINDFUL: A cautionary tale about how justice functions in tight-knit communities and who people will close ranks to shield from consequences.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Paramount+
MINDLESS: Everyone’s hedonistic wish-fulfillment fantasy of pulling the ultimate day of hooky from high school.
MINDFUL: As I’ve written a few times now, the entire day is not about Ferris but actually Cameron as he needs to be pushed out of his comfort zone before he can go away to college. It’s a bit of a “conspiracy theory” read, but watch it with the idea that Ferris is not merely a master improviser but also a genius in constructing an obstacle course to break and rebuild his best friend.
Home Again, rental
MINDLESS: A light, pleasant rom-com where a Reese Witherspoon character must choose between two men who represent different courses for her life.
MINDFUL: After years of playing with this dynamic to the point of parody, it’s Reese Witherspoon recentering herself and rejecting the binary altogether. Choosing herself is the only choice she actually needed to make all along.
The House, rental
MINDLESS: Two suburban parents open an underground casino in their home to help pay for their daughter’s college education after a scholarship comes through.
MINDFUL: A borderline absurdist look at the lengths to which increased competitiveness fostered by economic insecurity has taken Americans — especially parents pushed to new extremes to keep the dream of upward mobility available for their children.
I Love You, Man, Max
MINDLESS: A recently engaged “girl’s guy” with few male friends begins a frantic search for someone to be his best man.
MINDFUL: An inversion of rom-com tropes to demonstrate how plots of courtship need not involve romance. This genius film burlesques its own genre by showing how the rules do and don’t apply to pairings of the same gender.
Josie and the Pussycats, rental
MINDLESS: A would-be franchise starter involving the Hanna-Barbera cartoon girl group rocking out and trying to make it big in the music business.
MINDFUL: This is the one satire I’m allowing on here (too easy otherwise!) but simply had to be included because it’s genuinely one of the most radical railings against corporate control over culture I’ve ever seen. And it’s smuggled into something that’s got a bubblegum-pop gloss, to boot! This may seem obvious to more cynical contemporary viewers, but this element was entirely lost on critics like Roger Ebert upon its release in 2001.
Magic Mike, Netflix
MINDLESS: Channing Tatum and male strippers at work.
MINDFUL: A brutal look at the post-recession economy and how aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners find themselves burning the candle at both ends in pursuit of their dreams. How can anyone start the next big thing if they’re having to pay the bills through stripping?
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, rental
MINDLESS: Another battle between a family with a young child and some rowdy college students who live next door — but this time, they’re girls!
MINDFUL: Through the Zac Efron character Teddy Perkins, we get quite a glimpse into the challenges of modern masculinity. What happens when the academic treadmill stops and manchildren are forced to figure things out for themselves? Shifting allegiances is what, as seen by his change of heart across the film.
Support the Girls, Prime Video and Hulu
MINDLESS: A day in the life of the comic misadventures at a Hooters-style “breastaurant.”
MINDFUL: A deeply perceptive look at all the additional emotional labor women must do in the workplace to cater to male clientele and management alike.
You can always keep up with my film-watching in real-time on the app Letterboxd. I’ve also compiled every movie I’ve ever recommended through this newsletter via a list on the platform as well.
I found this instructive on the quietly building Sound of Freedom box office phenomenon.
Also, Barbie and Oppenheimer scores are both dynamite. Headed to my Spotify Wrapped for sure.
If you’re looking for a new Substack to read about the intersection of cinema’s art and commerce, I really can’t recommend the quality newsletters Matt Goldberg has been cranking out at
highly enough.
For those who sit at the intersection of marketing and movie-loving as I do, this Variety piece on the Barbie marketing campaign is sure to give you some inspo.
If you thought I was crazy for doing Barbenheimer twice, keep in mind that my screenings were all within relatively normal hours. Friend of the newsletter Hannah Strong talked to people going to see a 70MM IMAX screening of Oppenheimer at … 4:20 A.M. in London.
Some other good writing I’ve enjoyed on the topic (you thought I was done, huh?)…
Big interview week for this weekend’s new releases on Slant Magazine: Danny and Michael Philippou about Talk to Me, D. Smith about Kokomo City, and six members of the creative team (including the great Riley Keough) about War Pony.
For Decider, I said stream it to Smoking Causes Coughing (on Hulu) and skip it to Happiness for Beginners (on Netflix).
You can keep track of all the freelance writing I’ve done this year through this list on Letterboxd.
Back next week with some good stuff!
Yours in service and cinema,
Marshall