Review
Film remakes often disappoint
October 21, 2011
In recent years, I have noticed that more and more movies are being made again. Why do good movies need to be redone? I am always hesitant to see movies that come out when that same movie was already made 20 plus years ago. The most recent movie that has come out is “Footloose”.
“Footloose” was a classic movie back in the 1980s, and even though it may have the same story line, it is a completely different film. Remakes of movies are just never the same. Since it’s almost time for Halloween, let’s look at the Halloween movie series. They were classic in the 1970s, but now they are just dark and gory. The original “Halloween” was scary in itself. I couldn’t even stand to watch the remake from 2009 because it was too bloody. Other scary movies such as “Psycho,” “The House of Wax,” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” are all movies that were great just the way they were. Sure, we all go to see them, but they never live up to their predecessor.
“Nightmare on Elm Street” is another movie that was super scary just the way the original was. Yeah, I understand that the definition of a “scary movie” has changed quite a bit since the 1960s and 1970s, but the remakes of scary movies now are just plain bad. There is a list of movies online that should have never been done again, and I agree with every single one of them. “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” was a classic that Gene Wilder starred in, and Tim Burton ruined it with Johnny Depp. It was too creepy for my taste. Okay, enough with the scary, it is time for some normal movies. The website www.imdb.com also has “Freaky Friday,” “The Pink Panther,” and “The Parent Trap” all listed as movies that should have never been remade. However “The Parent Trap” made in 1998 was actually really cute. Though, this was still when Lindsay Lohan was still adorable. But, there is something so classic about “The Parent Trap” movies made back in the 1960s. Everything was so innocent and pleasant. It will always be one of my favorites. “Freaky Friday” was remade in 2003, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, right before things went downhill for Lohan. It was a pretty good movie, but after seeing the 1976 original, nothing can compare. I think it was just the pure innocence of the times. It will always be a classic.
“Pink Panther” is another movie that was funny and silly in its hay day. It was just too weird with Steve Martin. I just do not understand why these amazing, classic movies need a facelift to fit the present audience. Maybe it has something to do with the need to see movies with actors that everybody has heard of, or maybe, the filmmakers just have to keep up with the times. Either way, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it! Like I mentioned in my article about Facebook, why can’t things just ever stay the same? Why do things constantly need to be redone or revived? Why do classic movies need to change?
Samantha Harkness is a journalism major at UW-River Falls. She loves reading, writing and watching movies.