Tell Us Now: 20 Movies That Just Don't Hold Up

Not all movies are timeless.
Tell Us Now: 20 Movies That Just Don't Hold Up

There are a lot of great movies out there. Classics that we all love and enjoy time and time again. But then there are those films that we watch once, maybe twice, and never think about again. Why is it that some movies just don't hold up? Is it the writing? The acting? The directing? 

There's no one answer to this question.

It's a universally acknowledged truth that movies age like milk. The longer they're out in the world, the more likely people are to find flaws with them. Sometimes it's because of changes in cultural context, or sometimes it's just because our standards for what constitutes a good movie have changed. Whatever the reason, there are some films that just don't hold up anymore, no matter how much we may have loved them when they were released. This week, Cracked wanted to take a look at some of those movies and explore why they don't work as well today as we once thought they did. 

Which movies do you think don't hold up anymore?

... TELL US NOW. SIXTEEN CANDLES Jeff H. says, When it isn't be horribly racist, it gets really rapey, playing up the 'we believe the drunk snobby girl deserves to get raped by someone she had already quite clearly rejected when she was sober' mindset. CRACKED.COM

Silence of the Lambs

... TELL US NOW. SILENCE OF THE LAMBS Diana Q. says, The anti-trans rant kinda kills what is otherwise a great movie. CRACKED.COM

The Matrix

... TELL US NOW. THE MATRIX Rodorick В. says the movie doesn't quite make sense anymore in a society without landlines or payphones. CRACKED.COM

Revenge of the Nerds

... TELL US NOW. REVENGE OF THE NERDS Merrit В. says, Lewis flat-out rapes Betty, and I was in my 30s when I suddenly processed that. CRACKED.COM
... TELL US NOW. SHALLOW HAL Jennifer K. says, The whole movie is just so cringe now. The movie is about a superficial man who is given the ability to only see people's inner beauty, so he unknowingly falls for an overweight woman. Fat jokes galore. CRACKED.COM
... TELL US NOW. XANADU Jacki L. tells us, Went back to the movies seven times to see it again and again when it first came out. And I wasn't even stoned. CRACKED.COM
... TELL US NOW. SHORT CIRCUIT David L. says, Loved that movie as a kid..buuuut Fisher Stevens in brownface... kinda cringy. CRACKED.COM

Garden State

... TELL US NOW. GARDEN STATE OLO JEANS Mike S. tells us, When I was in my 20s, Garden State really spoke to me. When I watched it again in my 30s, I saw it for the formulaic, pretentious indie crap that it is. CRACKED.COM
... TELL US NOW. MAC AND ME Annette C. says, Saw it in the theater when it came out, watched it again as an adult and realized I was watching a two-hour McDonald's commercial... also, I consider it to be the poor man's E.T. CRACKED.COM
... TELL US NOW. LADYHAWKE James В. adds, To be fair, it's more about the soundtrack not holding up; the synth music doesn't work with the medieval time period. CRACKED.COM
... TELL US NOW. JAMES BOND Diwa А. says the movies featuring Sean Connery or Roger Moore don't hold up, adding, The pacing is too slow and too many boring parts compared to our standards now. CRACKED.COM
... TELL US NOW. THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY Coke Tony R. says, Watched it in a theater and thought it was the funniest thing I had ever seen. Watched it again some years later and....WTF is this? CRACKED.COM
... TELL US NOW. NAPOLEON DYNAMITE G Terry L. says, Funniest movie ever when I was in college. Watched it a year or so ago and don't think laughed once. Oddly enough though I still randomly quote it. CRACKED.COM
... TELL US NOW. EMPIRE RECORDS Matt J. tells US, Used to be 'Yeah, stick it to the man!' Now it's 'How is this store still in business when the staff are constantly in the back room? CRACKED.COM
... TELL US NOW. DROP DEAD FRED Jessica S. shares, I loved Drop Dead Fred as a kid. I watched it a while back with my kids, and I found myself somewhat empathizing with the mother. CRACKED.COM
... TELL US NOW. BRAVEHART Chris N. tells us, It was a huge hit back then. It's so cheesy and hard to watch. It's embarrassing, really, it's very bad. CRACKED.COM

The Blind Side

... TELL US NOW. THE BLIND SIDE Chris C. says, I love a good corny sports movie, and The Blind Side hit all the right emotional beats when I was 17. But 12 years later, I find it very pandering and patronizing. An Oscar-begging, by-the-books, made- for-TV movie that somehow made it to the big screen. CRACKED.COM
... TELL US NOW. AVATAR Adam N. says, It seemed so revolutionary when it first came out and I saw it several times. But now? It's just... kinda bland. I watched it not that long ago, and I barely remember a single thing about it. And the 'wow-factor' of the effects no longer holds up because good effects are a dime a dozen these days. CRACKED.COM

American Beauty

... TELL US NOW. AMERICAN BEAUTY The award-winning movie stars Kevin Spacey pining after an underage person. Nina J. says it definitely doesn't hold up because it feels like, especially when you watched it as an underage girl, that those creepy guys are cool and if they assault you, you're going to be guilty. CRACKED.COM
... TELL US NOW. ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE Tonea W. quotes Jake on Brooklyn Nine-Nine on why it's outdated, Classic film, one of my childhood favorites. And it only gets overtly transphobic at the very end, so a win. CRACKED.COM
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