10 Great Directors and the Guilty-Pleasure Movies They Love

UPDATE: I’ll go ahead and re-post this for the holidays.

Inspired by Michael Mann’s unadorned love for “Avatar,” not to mention Terrence Malick’s infatuation with “Zoolander,” I’ve decided to tackle movie guilty pleasures (not that “Avatar” should be seen as such, but you get where I’m going here).

Everyone has their own set of baffling films that they love. Some hide it, while others don’t, pronouncing their enthusiasm at any chance they get. There’s no shame in admitting it. Cinema is purely subjective, and we’re all here because we have our own opinions about this or that film.

I’ll just go ahead and out myself. I will vehemently defend the cinematic pleasures of “Mars Attacks,” “MacGruber,” “The Punisher” (2004), “Dumb and Dumber,” “Piranha 3D,” “That’s My Boy,” “Home Alone,” “Three Amigos,” “Police Academy,” “Weekend at Bernie’s,” “Beavis and Butt-Head Do America,” “The Ladykillers” (2004), “Taken,” “Crank,” “What About Bob?” and many more …

This is a safe space for readers to list their own guilty pleasures. We won’t judge.

A-list directors are no different. They all have movies they love that would shock and surprise you. I’ve compiled ten examples, and some of them might even get you to check these out.

I’m endlessly fascinated by the goofy comedies that notoriously serious auteurs gravitate toward. Stanley Kubrick was such a fan of “The Jerk” that he reportedly considered Steve Martin for “Eyes Wide Shut,” while Malick loved “Zoolander” enough that someone persuaded Ben Stiller to record a birthday message for him—in character, no less.

Alfred Hitchcock — "Smokey and The Bandit" and "Benji"

“Hitchcock’s daughter Patricia confirmed what some had heard offhand – that Hitch’s favorite movie was the massively popular but critically unbeloved 1977 Burt Reynolds backwoods chase flick, “Smokey and the Bandit.” “He made his films for the audience and for entertainment – not for the critics or for self-pleasure.” To drive the point home, the other movie she namedropped as a Hitch favorite was the canine tearjerker “Benji.”

Martin Scorsese — "The Exorcist II: The Heretic"

"The picture asks: Does great goodness bring upon itself great evil? This goes back to the Book of Job; it's God testing the good. In this sense, Regan (Linda Blair) is a modern-day saint — like Ingrid Bergman in Europa '51, and, in a way, like Charlie in Mean Streets. I like the first Exorcist, because of the Catholic guilt I have, and because it scared the hell out of me; but The Heretic surpasses it. Maybe Boorman failed to execute the material, but the movie still deserved better than it got.”

Paul Thomas Anderson — "Men In Black III"

“Did you see ‘Men In Black III’?” he continues. “It was [expletive] great … The time-travel stuff [made me] cry my eyes out. I’m a sucker for that stuff.

Stanley Kubrick — "White Men Can't Jump"

“No, that’s no joke. “White Men Can’t Jump” [was] indeed among Stanley Kubrick’s favorite films. Perhaps it was the budding chemistry between Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson that won him over. It’s no secret that Stanley Kubrick had a wicked sense of humor, but it’s always amusing to learn about the lighter side of the late auteur.”

Quentin Tarantino — "Psycho II"

"Psycho II was the best performance of [Anthony] Perkins’ career. I like Psycho II better than Psycho” Tarantino stated. He went on to say that he liked every remake of “Psycho,” including the Gus Van Sant version, better than Hitchcock’s original. In fact, he didn’t like the original “Psycho.”

Terrence Malick — "Zoolander"

“Malick's apparently so enamored with the film that he regularly watches it, quotes it to friends and organizes film festivals with “Zoolander” included in the line-up. Rumor has it that Stiller even once recorded a special birthday message for Malick in character as Derek Zoolander.”

Sofia Coppola — “Daddy’s Home”

In 2017, Coppola included it on her submitted list of The New York Times’ 25 Best Films of the 21st Century So Far, she elaborated: I love Will Ferrell, and this movie is sweet and fun to watch with cracking-up kids.” 

Christopher Nolan — “MacGruber,” “Talladega Nights” and “Tokyo Drift”

Where to begin with this man? He hasn’t been shy in his love for “Tokyo Drift,” the Fast and the Furious movie without Vin Diesel or Paul Walker, and I am somewhat in agreement with him: It’s fun. Same goes for Nolan’s unabashed take on “Talladega Nights” (“one of the great comedies”).

As for “MacGruber,” Anne Hathaway mentioned that Nolan would constantly quote the film while they were shooting “The Dark Knight Rises”. Nolan confirmed it with Business Insider “I’ve been outed as a ‘MacGruber‘ fan and I have to say there are a couple of moments in that film that had [me] howling uncontrollably. most of the laughs in "MacGruber" come from political incorrectness.”

Nicolas Winding Refn - "My Life as a Dog"

“I saw this film with my mother when I was very young. It’s the only movie aside from “It’s a Wonderful Life” during which I’ve cried because I was happy.”

Michael Mann - "Avatar"

“Upon the foundation of an entirely invented biosystem, “Avatar” is a brilliant synthesis of mythic tropes, with debts to Lévi-Strauss and Frazier’s The Golden Bough. It soars because, simply, it stones and transports you.”