There are two arguments presented here. The first is that watching bad movies is somehow boring and awful. The second is that people who say they enjoy bad movies actually enjoy the mocking of those movies and the people who made them.
The first argument can be true, but it depends wholly on the movie and the situation. Watching, say, Blood Freak by yourself is a pretty dire experience that I wouldn't recommend. Watching Blood Freak with some friends and a few drinks? That's a fun shared experience. Years later you can say, "Remember when we watched that movie about the guy who turned into a blood-thirsty turkey?" and have a good time reminiscing.
This isn't just true of bad movies, it's true of all movies, an art form that was designed for the communal experience.
JJHo and JT extend their second argument by joking about reading bad novels or listening to bad music, as if no one does those. So why would anyone do this for movies?
Well, people do do that. And they do so un-ironically and with love.
- In the art world there are collectors and appreciators of outsider art. John Waters is a good example here.
- In the music world there are people who unabashedly love 'bad' music. 90% of WFMU shows are some bit of odd, 'bad' outsider music that the DJ unabashedly loves.
- 'Bad' novels get the same love. I had a friend who devoured romance novels. She didn't do so to make fun of the content or the authors, she just loved them.
And so on. So why would movies be any different? When Ezra says that he's enjoyed these movies, why would you assume that he is lying and that he's secretly watching them to make fun of whoever is in Fantastic Four?
The Judge suggests that making fun of a movie is a crass act, because you are making fun of the work of all the people involved. There's a nuance here that I think the Judge has missed -- the difference between an amateur passion project and a commercial film. This distinction is frequently discussed on the very podcast the Judge recommended, The Flop House. The hosts of that show are frequently asked to watch movies like The Room and they demur, as mocking small, personal projects like that seems spiteful and pointless.
But bigger commercial films are a different story. No one who signed on to The Fantastic Four, a Roger Corman film could have had any illusions about the kind of film they were making. Let's not pretend they are naifs signing on only for projects that meet some sort of aesthetic ideal. They are working actors and taking jobs for experience, exposure and money. All of which they got, regardless of whether or not Ezra cracks a joke at their expense.
This is a straight-up bad idea. It's both bad for Ezra and it's bad for the party goers.
It's bad for Ezra because many of these movies are really only fun in a crowd. And many of them are only fun once. As mentioned earlier, cinema is communal art. Many films require a crowd to really work. So by watching these movies by himself, Ezra will cut himself off from the aspects that actually make them entertaining.
And it's bad for the party goers in two ways. First, it removes the element of surprise. Uncertainty is an excellent aspect of bad movie watching. Will DC Cab actually be hilarious? Only one way to find out. If Ezra watches all the movies first, you're going to lose that. He's stating that every movie achieves some standard.
But, more subtly, not only will the party goers lose uncertainty, they will also gain the certainty that they'll only be seeing movies that Ezra likes. You have to allow for personal taste. Erin might have hated Theodore Rex, but did everybody? When I showed the fairly-shocking Hanzo the Razor at a party, I did so knowing that it wouldn't be to some (ok, most) people's taste. But some people really liked it. I promptly had those people put on a watch list as they are weirdos who should be monitored.
The party goers are further harmed by Ezra having already seen the film. Ever watched a movie for the first time with a guy who has already seen that movie? It is awful. His body language telegraphs the entire film to you. Oh, he's looking excited, here comes a good part. Oh, he just left to get a drink, this part must suck.
I assume that Ezra is not keeping his movie choices secret beforehand. If that's true, then any party attendee can do their own curation. They are free actors with their own free will. Does Hanzo the Razor look like it will offend you (hint: it will), then let Ezra know that you won't be staying for that one. No harm, no foul.