Was I a bad mom because I pulled all kinds of rank on my-then 13 and 15 year olds and told them they HAD to watch this movie I'd rented?

no
but
make them watch postal

You do right, everyone should see that film, it’s a classic.

Now you must show them The Blues Brothers

They caught that one with out me. Sniffs. Yes, I was on a mission from GAWD in making them watch Monty!

@Val123 it’s really weird, when I first met my wife we both realised that our favourite film of all time was The Blues Brothers but then we clicked that it was also both our Dads favourite films too….. I guess it was meant to be

@RareDenver Some things transcend all generations!

It’s high time for the Mel Brooks Trifecta Festival, wouldn’t you say? Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and Spaceballs.

I made my kids watch Holy Grail as well, and they loved it. It came in handy, later, because if I would ask them to do something they didn’t want to do, I would say “if you don’t do it, I will say ‘Nee!’ ”. They would laugh, and immediately do it.

@filmfann The funniest part was how surly they were about being “forced” to do something they just “knew” they’d hate! And to see the transformation of their faces….it was the BEST!

@aprilsimnel “Are we….black?” :)

I forced the kids to watch a lot of movies, now that I think about it.
I used to have Summer Movie Marathons. Each Summer I would pick a list of 10 movies on a theme, and we would watch them, and talk about them. The themes were often odd: Transexual Cinema (we watched “World According To Garp”, “Crying Game”, etc). 10 Worst Movies Ever Made (“Dracula vs. Billy the Kid”, “Plan 9 from Outer Space”, “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”). Chain Gang movies, Midget movies, all sorts.
In the end, my daughter went to a film history class, and the teacher admitted she knew more than he did.
It also got them to trust me on watching movies they thought would suck, and became favorites of theirs, like Lawrence of Arabia.

@filmfann evil parent….. I lurve it !! Can I be you when I grow up?

I think it’s great to encourage our kids to do things that stretch their comfort levels. BTW, believe it or not, my daughter watched Holy Grail in her 7th grade social studies class! She promptly downloaded it onto her iPod. :)

I think you would be a bad mom if you didn’t make them watch it!!
Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three!

How does everyone feel about The Life Of Brian because to me that is a more important film

At their ages? Perfect. I saw it at 12.

Yes, we are all individuals!
I’m not!

@aprilsimnel I am a shrubbery!!

My kids didn’t get Holy Grail but they absolutely adored The Blues Brothers.

“It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark, and we’re wearing sunglasses.”

I know I’m going to step on a lot of toes when I say this, but I don’t think “Holy Grail” and “Blues Brothers” belong in the same thread. They aren’t in the same friggin ballpark, they aren’t the same league, they aren’t even the same friggin sport.

Because of the music, Blues Brothers has a wider audience and is more accessible, but Holy Grail is a more subtle form of wonderfulness.

“Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries.”

“Listen, strange women lyin’ in ponds distributin’ swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.”

@Darwin ROFL!!! And, of course, _We are no longer the knights that say NE!— My son has that down pat.

“An African or European swallow? ”

A ‘Merican swallow!! (Just thought I’d throw a shrubbery in the works!!)

“Are you suggesting coconuts migrate? ”

A Duck!

”“Bring out your dead!””

I can’t really remember any of them!! Except shrubbery! OH! It’s just a flesh wound! Come here and I’ll bite your knees off!

@Darwin ”I’m not dead!”

“Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem…” SLAM! SLAM!

“She turned me into a newt!”

“I got better!”

“Don’t call me Shirley!” Oops. wrong movie!

Hey, my cat’s named Shirley He and his brothers Goodness and Mercy follow me constantly.

I used to work in an office with four women. Of the four, one was named Hope, and the other was named Faith. True story!

That only counts if the third woman was named Charity, and she was bigger than anyone else in the office.

1 Corinthians 13:13 – “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

ROFL! Trust me, Hope was the biggest one! Faith was…skinny. But damn. That was a nice poker pot, too @Darwin. Fine. You beat me with a 3 of a….something….

And Psalms 23:6 describes my cats: “Shirley, Goodness and Mercy will follow me all the days of my life.” And very accurate it is, too.

I SAID don’t call me Shirley!! quit! you’re makin me spit beer out my nose an it HURTS!! Is there any passage that refers to one’s three dogs, Rufus, Gufus and Stupidus, stealing your thawing Tamale’s off the kitchen counter?

Probably Ecclesiastes 3:1–8, especially verses 6 and 8.

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Or maybe 2 Kings 8:13:

Hazael said, “How could your servant, a mere dog, do this monstrous thing?”

“Let dogs delight to bark and bite, for God hath made them so.” – Isaac Watts

LOL! You know what is really ironic…my cat is sitting on the table here, and she suddenly started grabbing at the mouse cord when I moved it. I wanted to post a Q, “Why don’t cats understand why yanking on my mouse cord makes communication difficult for me!”
“Let cats delight to yank and claw, for God hath made them so.” – Val123

But, I didn’t post the q because I don’t want to waste my q’s on something frivilous PLUS, sure as hell, someone with no sense of humor would come on and say, “Because she’s a CAT, you idiot!” I ‘on’t like that.

“Why don’t cats understand why yanking on my mouse cord makes communication difficult for me!”

They do understand – that’s why they do it. It makes you pay attention to them, as you should always be doing.

At all times. Yes.