Why do Americans love pure cheesy films?

Some do.
Many don't.

This film is actually a great example of that.
It will flop... Hard.

To bump off of Josh - many like cheese-fests, just as many don't. To be more precise, cheese-festers in America in this day and age are in fact cheese-connoisseurs and are picky about their cheese-fests being well-made-- i.e. Braveheart. Braveheart plucked at all the stereotypes but it was well-made and well-acted so the cheesiness actually made it better for the general audiences that like cheese. However, poorly made movies that JUST rely upon their cheesiness are poorly received and do poorly at our box offices. But plenty of these movies are still made because a lot of people in the country can't afford the rather *expensive* tickets (10-15 bucks a pop nowadays! outrageous! it was ~5 when I was a kid, and I'm not even middle-aged). And movies like this, that go straight to RedBox or InstantVideo, are faintly entertaining enough to pass the time for the people that can't afford movie-going but that CAN afford cheap rentals. OR they are faintly entertaining enough for children or teenagers who are being brought up by parents who are more traditional and are opposed to the violence/maturity of most movies that have some realism in them nowadays.

But generally speaking movies that are THIS cheesy without having good acting, good directing, or SOMETHING good about them, are for the most part poorly received. Hence why the forums on IMDB are already casting stones at it - we can TELL it's going to be godawful. More movie-goers actually prefer semi-cheesy but more realistic movies like Christopher Nolan's movies (hence why Dark Knight was so well-received) or they like cheesy but very well made/acted/funny movies like Joss Whedon's takes on Marvel movies (hence why the Avengers was so well-received). I actually found to my surprise that other cultures are in fact far cheesier in their movie-preferences than us. Having traveled to the Mid-east - the people there who were part of the upper-echelons that had been Westernized may have been reflective of our preferences, but the normal people who would watch a Western film now and then ONLY watched SUPER SUPER cheesy stuff, like cartoons or our WORST blockbuster movies that were made for Redbox, etc. I'd imagine because they're looking for mindless, wholesome entertainment, and you can't get wholesome and still get realist/gritty.

But if you're remarking generally on why American films in general are so much more light-hearted than other, say, European films, or why so much of them seem to fall into predictable patterns - well, then, that's just you shrewdly discerning Hollywood film! It's a legacy that's been around since before the 1920s, that has set itself up based on expected characters, archetypes, plots, etc. As America has a preference for the plot triangle and certain character archetypes, most movie-makers will follow those lines. And unless you are actually good at making stories and characters, which most people are not, American audiences will get uncomfortable if you deviate from it. We enjoy deviations that are well done. It's like modern art - if you are an ACTUAL artist, by all means have fun with it and make modern art that rebels from the normal structure. But if you don't know what you're doing and just decide on a whim that you're mature enough to make an abstract painting without understanding it at all, you will be rejected.

But yes, in general, the American populace prefers more cheerful films because we as a culture collectively look at film as escapism more than as art. We understand it can be art, and allow it to be so for capable movie-makers, but since most movie-makers aren't necessarily GOOD at making movies, we just regard movies in general as an entertainment ESCAPE from reality. As an escape, we expect it to be a happy, joyful alternative to glum reality of life. And for 10 bucks and 2 hours of our time, I don't think that's necessarily shallow of the populace. They're just looking to be entertained is all.

But I understand your complaint, as I am one who prefers the more artistic films. :D Hope that helps.

Is it an American film? It's a Chinese, Canadian and French co-produciton, targeting a Chinese and international audience. It's not that easy to get a co-production done in China so that in itself is an achievement but still just a crack in the door at this time within the Chinese film industry.

If you look at Chinese films that are historical or fantasy, they all seem to have similar components. Romance, emotional drama and action. Outcast seems to fit that.

~Barbara~
http://haydenfannews.com

the only people who make generalizations about a widespread group of barely connected people have simple minds and are unable to comprehend anything beyond themselves and black & white hypocritical morality. =]

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