Hey 'cawaps', we also use Meg's quote frequently and how about "I know he can get the job, but can he DO the job?"

We also love to repeat lines from Christopher Guest movies....

"Bratwurst and shillelaghs....paging Dr. Freud"

"We could not talk or talk forever and still find things to not talk about"

C. Guest movies are brilliant!!

i haven't seen a lot of the movies mentioned here, but have to say i loved 'enough said'! i liked walter mitty too! :)

i don't know if i would consider some of these listed 'off beat' tho... fargo is i would say! probably one of my favorite 'off beat' movies from my youth is the rocky horror picture show...

I love movies where scenery plays a role, or travel, so if that is what you liked about "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" here are some of my favorites:

"French Kiss" which is not quirky but revolves around traveling through France. Kevin Kline's French accent is barely passable, but who cares, it's France and Meg Ryan is at her most cutest. (Yes I know that is bad grammar!)

"The Electric Horseman" not new, quirky in a mainstream kind of way. See not for plot but for great scenery and to oggle it, and Robert Redford. Awesome soundtrack!

"A Wedding for Bella" which is definitely quirky. It stars Scot Baio, for starters. Hokey as heck. But it revolves around a restaurant in the strip district of Pittsburgh, which is not full of strip clubs, it's full of foodie and arty stuff. I am a very food motivated viewer, what can I say.

"I Know Where I'm Going." Perhaps one of my all around favorite movies. Done just after the war, it is centered around the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. It was "Local Hero" before there was "Local Hero." Stars Wendy Hiller, but the real star is the cinematography. Black and white with a vengeance.

"Leap Year" which is "I Know Where I'm Going" mixed with "French Kiss" but not as good as either one.

"Dear Frankie" which I think was filmed near Edinburgh. I have traveled a lot around Great Britain so I have a soft spot for movies shot there, you may have started to notice.

"Shirley Valentine" about a British woman who runs away to Greece.

"A River Runs Through It" everyone knows. Not new, not quirky, I just though I would mention it. But if you DID like that one, you might like, "The River Why" which is based on a book I loved. Movie a tad dull but not short on scenery!

"The Fisher King" which is another absolute favorite of mine, an homage to the seedier side of NYC. Quirky but old. If you want to love up on Jeff Bridges in a scenery movie, try "Starman." Talk about quirky!

"Seven Years in Tibet" which basically sums up that film.

"The Sapphires" which is about an indigenous girl group from Australia that goes on tour singing for soldiers in Vietnam. Now THAT'S travel!

Edited to add: "Dr Zhivago" for obvious reasons, and "For Whom the Bell Tolls." See them if you haven't yet.

Starman was a good one. Reminds me of another one I liked, Frequency, with Dennis Quaid. And how could I forget Big Fish? A good Tim Burton film, And my brother was an extra in that one in a scene near the end.

Dear Frankie is charming and I liked it a great deal.

KSWL, I have Lunchbox on my watchlist, it was just recommended to me when we were in India and saw the tiffin men.

I love Stanley Tucci too; and i have run into him a few times in our local market.

oh I am glad someone else said "Serial Mom" because I thought I must have a warped sense of humor

Agree with "the Gods must be crazy"

I also liked "the Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio" with Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson.

razamatazzy, I am the person who really liked Serial Mom and I do indeed have a wickedly warped sense of humor :-).

Probably not the same brand of quirky as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, but quirky all the same, is the New Zealand comedy/horror film Black Sheep. about a recovering ovinophobe who returns to the family ranch, only to find himself battling zombie sheep.

I'm not generally into horror films, but Zombieland is another very funny zombie film that I loved.

And then there's In Bruges, which is about Irish hit men lying low in a Belgian tourist town.

American Hustle is another quirky movie. Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale.

I love In Bruges, it is one of my favorites!

Mtn, I think you will like the lunchbox, it has an attractive gritty realism that would probably be even more interesting to someone who has just visited that part of the world. When we lived in New York I hardly noticed the celebrities, they were everywhere.....now I would probably gape at Mr. Tucci, lol.

Another vote for In Bruges -- saw it many years ago loved it. Will have to watch it again soon.

Being There and Welcome to the Dollhouse.

"Shirley Valentine" about a British woman who runs away to Greece.

********

"Shirley Valentine" pretty much saved me after my first marriage ended in divorce. I was literally rescued. And my male friend recommended it to me!!

Well "Lost River" sure qualified as off-beat. I got the DVD from my branch library, and stayed with it to the end. Somebody called it a colorful film-noir fantasy. It felt a little like that B&W movie from 1955, directed by Charles Laughton, & starring Robert Mitchum as The Preacher. Both Very Odd.

Two others that I think qualify as offbeat are both from the 1940ties---The Cat People & The Curse of The Cat People. Scary.

Four Weddings and a Funeral is quirky, although some may classify as just typical British humour. I loved it and have probably watched it 3-4 times. But then I'm crazy about Hugh Grant and Andie McDowell. Also loved him with Julia Roberts in Notting Hill and especially the quirky supporting cast & their crazy car chase scenes thru the streets of London.

The original, British film Death at a Funeral is a riot.

I'm literally overwhelmed at the recommendations! Overwhelmed in a good way! Next on my list will be In Bruges. I just watched the trailer and it's the sort of flick I'm currently in the mood to see. I love Colin Farrell.

Shirley Valentine was also wonderful. I'll have to see that one again, as it's been awhile.

Fun topic, TR. I'll put some of these films on my list. I never saw TSLoWM. I really like To Die For. Fargo was chilling. Read about the theme music and type of 'fiddle' (?hardanger spelling). Then listen to/read about that same instrument in the music of PBS's 'Wolf Hall'.

Here are some offbeat films. The first one is a doozie (Siskal & Ebert 4/4):

-- The Cook, The Thief, his Wife & Her Lover

Helen Mirren is in this.

-- Mullholland Drive (directed by David Lynch. I didn't care for Blue Velvet, but MD is very good. I've watched it - on TV - multiple times.

-- Amelie (French: Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain)

Keep them coming :)

Anything with Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith.

starsplitter, The Cook, The Thief, his Wife and & Her Lover is the only movie I ever walk out. There is something about cannibalism that ruins my appetite :-).

As shrubberies attacked us on our morning walk, DH offered to bring his hedgeclippers next time, and I suggested we bring Edward Scissorhands. So much quirky about that movie: the look of the neighborhood, the "snow", the story. Sweet and funny and sad all at the same time.

We've just finished In Bruges and the ending was so graphic that I feel a bit shaken. That said, we laughed at the dark humor and I thought Colin Farrell was just splendid. I would watch it again ... But not yet. Need some time to process the violence.

bpathome - ah....the infamous attacking shrubbery.....which immediately brings to mind one of my all time favorite quirky flicks - where the Knights who Say Ni demand that King Arthur bring them a shrubbery.

Month Python and the Holy Grail

For those who like the Coen brothers there's an older one: Blood Simple (1984) with Francis McDormand and Dan Hedaya.

I can also recommend 2 that have already been mentioned: Lars and the Real Girl and The Station Agent.

The Way, Way Back with Toni Colette and Steve Carell

In a World

Being Joh Malkovich (although it gave me a headache!)

Imdb has a listing of Quirky movies.

http://www.imdb.com/list/ls009277148/

Thanks, maire_cate, for the link. My next flick is going to be "Submarine" from the Imdb quirky list.

FWIW, I was actually in Bruges right after the movie was filmed and the locals were absolutely livid about the whole thing. They had to keep their Christmas decorations up for months and when they saw what they had helped create, they were not a happy bunch at all. They'd been told it would be a movie that would help Bruges tourism (not that it seemed to need any help). Evidently the stars (except for Brendan Gleeson) were not nice people to have around, either.

Nurse Betty.

And two that star Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace (the original "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"): The Drop (co-starring James Gandolfini) and Child 44.

I mentioned this thread to a friend and she reminded me of "Earth Girls Are Easy" with Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis (and Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans).

Writersblock, that's interesting about Bruges! I actually knew nothing about the place until seeing the movie. It looks like a real charmer - although the grisliness of the movie might not have helped much in that regard.

It's a very beautiful town with some amazing artwork. It was also in some of the exteriors for the "The Nun's Story" with Audrey Hepburn. At the time I was there right after the filming of "In Bruges" they were worried about the kind of tourist it would attract, but it didn't really have much effect one way or the other. Bruges is always swamped with tourists, but well worth a visit if you're ever in that part of the world.

The only grisly thing I can think of is that it's one of the few places where you can see the actual old municipal guillotine in one of the museums. (And the subjects of a few of the great paintings are pretty disquieting, too, of course.)

We watched "Submarine" last night and really enjoyed it. It's very quirky, set in Wales. Sally Hawkins is the mum, and I love her. Recommended.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1440292/

If you liked Juno you'll love Whip It -- made me happy to be a girl! Fun quirky movie about roller derby.

I also loved Being John Malkovich and Adaptation - both quirky to the max!

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - I was shocked how much I ended up loving this movie.

Ghost World - one of my very cult favorites but rough emotionally at times.

Safety Not Guaranteed - charming. "Three magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified advertisement seeking a companion for time travel."

My friends all loved Lars and the Real Girl - I haven't watched it yet but guess it is surprisingly amazing. "Lars and the Real Girl could've so easily been a one-joke movie. But the talented cast, a great script, and direction never condescends to its character or the audience."

Brick - I LOVE THIS MOVIE!! Amazing teen noir detective movie starring Joseph Gordon Levitt. Did I mention I LOVE THIS MOVIE? "A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend."

Bernie starring Jack Black as the murdering yet charming funeral director in a small Texas town - really Jack Black does such an amazing job with this character and Shirley MacLaine is a hoot. "In small-town Texas, an affable mortician strikes up a friendship with a wealthy widow, though when she starts to become controlling, he goes to great lengths to separate himself from her grasp."

Son of Rambow - "Set during an English summer during the early 1980s, the film is a coming of age story about two schoolboys and their attempts to make an amateur film inspired by First Blood."

Big Game - "A young teenager camping in the woods helps rescue the President of the United States when Air Force One is shot down near his campsite."

One of my all time favorites is The Invention of Lying staring English comedian Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey, Jennifer Garner and Rob Lowe. Very offbeat and funny.

I still laugh at the Airplane movies even though I have seen them a million times.

I will second Nebraska. Liked it more than I thought I would.

Ricky Gervais as Derek was one of my favorite shows.

As usual, I'm late to the party, but here are mine, including several not already listed here:

The Intouchables: a French foreign film. I usually avoid them, but this one is so fantastic. I've seen it twice and love it. Based on the true story of a French millionaire who is a quadriplegic due to an accident. He's angry and contrary and goes through caregivers very quickly in his Paris (?) mansion . . . until he hires, on a total quirk, a very out-of-the ordinary caregiver who doesn't kowtow to him. The story is really funny and very, very good.

Educating Rita: the 1983 movie starring Michael Caine and Julie Walters. This excerpt from Wikapedia about the movie sums it up: "A Liverpudlianworking-class young woman – hairdresser – Rita (Julie Walters) wants to better herself by studying literature. Her assigned Open University professor, Frank Bryant (Michael Caine), however, has long ago openly taken to the bottle, and soon develops misgivings about Rita's ability to adapt to student culture. Bryant is a jaded university lecturer, who describes his occupational ability as "appalling but good enough for his appalling students". His passion for literature is reignited by Rita, whose technical ability for the subject is limited by her lack of education but whose enthusiasm Frank finds refreshing." The movie is funny, refreshingly enjoyable and the ending oh so good.

Secondhand Lions: (2003) I flat-out love Michael Caine and Robert Duvall and this movie stars them both as two aging, very quirky brothers with a mysterious past, and their wonderful, funny attempts at raising their great-nephew (Haley Joel Osment) who was dumped unexpectedly on them by his undependable mother. So, so good. We love this movie!

Paul: (2011) a British science fiction road trip movie, starring Simon Pegg. About two sci-fi geeks visiting the U.S. for a Comic Con film fest and then rent a Winnebago to go on a road trip through the Southwest where they accidentally meet up with a foul-mouthed, chain smoking, lover of alcohol, sarcastic little alien, Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen). Their misadventures with him are hysterical.

Continental Divide: (1981) starring the late John Belushi and Blair Brown. This is a romantic comedy (seriously) and very funny. Belushi stars as a very popular, hard-hitting, very out of shape Chicago reporter, Ernie Souchak. His good friend and editor is forced to send him out of the state for his own safety, after he's almost killed by gangsters while investigating a corrupt city official. He (very reluctantly) heads off to interview a reclusive Dr. Nell Porter (Brown), who has been conducting research on bald eagles for several years way up in the mountains of Wyoming.

Others I love: Snow Falling on Cedars, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Hector and the Search For Happiness, The Gods Must Be Crazy

I'm not sure how I managed to miss "Paul" and "Hector" since I'm a Simon Pegg fan. Both of those are definitely on my watch list. Two nights ago we saw "Humble Pie", which was quite offbeat and enjoyable. It's about an obese young man who works at a grocery store but longs to become an actor. There were some funny moments, but the best line was delivered by the mother, who had both her adult children living at home with her, and her husband had left. The three of them sat down to dinner and she instructed them to bow for grace. She prayed, "Father ... I'm angry. I've been angry for a long time. In Jesus' name, amen." LOL! Now that's a prayer I can get behind! ;-)

Haven't thought of Being John Malkovitch in years but I loved that movie! Also another recommendation for The Invention of Lying, Educating Rita, Bernie (I saw that in a theater three times, Robo, love Jack Black, think he is more talented than most Hollywood actors and vastly underrated) and the British version of Death at a Funeral.

What About Bob was a family favorite, along with Drop Dead Fred and all the Problem Child movies (although the first is the best, especially the vomiting scene!). And Clifford, with Martin Short, was hilarious.

Our favorite "light" movie of the past year - The Big Year. With Jack Black and Steve Martin, neither of whom are particular favorites of mine, but who owned this movie! About bird-watching and about finding reality in one's life. Lovely!

Tonight we watched My Old Lady. which is gentle and funny, with some dealing with very heavy family history in the middle. Especially good are Kevin Kline and Maggie Smith trading zingers back and forth. The movie was filmed entirely on location in Paris and is beautiful to look at, even with gray skies, gray interior decor, and the characters dressed in grays (my least-liked color), all very chic. A winner for those who love Paris and love Maggie Smith.

Last week we saw L.A. Confidential for the first time; a story about police corruption in Los Angeles in the 1950s. Like Mad Men it perfectly captures the flavor of its period and has a great cast. I appreciated the fact that although it was violent, the violence was that of movies of several decades ago; in other words, not gruesome or hideous. I was able to watch without peeking through my fingers. Very highly recommended!

Writersblock mentioned The Nun's Story. That is one of my all-time most beloved films - Audrey Hepburn at her most powerful, IMO; I had to ask myself just how much I could give up for what I believe in.

Moonrise Kingdom

the Grand Budapest Hotel

I just re-watched TiMER, which is set in a future in which you can get an implant that will count down until the moment when you meet the one person you are meant to be with. But it only works if your "one" also has a timer. Oona is about to turn 30 and is getting increasingly desperate because her timer hasn't started counting down yet. Her sister is floundering because her timer did go off--but she won't meet her "one" for another 13 years. The technology is more fantasy than science, but it makes for an interesting backdrop to look at people's reactions to knowing/not knowing/wanting to know/not wanting to know.

Hey there,

I normally frequent the Kitchen Table and Cooking forum. I'm always on the lookout for movies and tv shows. We've got a good amount of favourite tv shows that we watch.

Because of this thread, we watched Paul on the weekend, and thought it was great! And, hilariously enough, the latest Canadian Tire commercials (I'm in Canada) feature the little alien! We laugh like crazy when we see it.

If you'd like a real quirky movie, check out The Grand Budapest Hotel. It's colourful, funny and witty. We loved it, and saw it twice.

The Best Marigold Hotel is also very good.

We watched "What We Do In the Shadows" on Sunday and really enjoyed it. Funny, silly, gruesome ... definitely quirky.

Red and Red 2 with Helen Mirren, Bruce Willis and John Malkovitch. Comedic and full of action, with lots of guns and fighting, but never a swear word. We love them!

The Straight Story. It is based on a true story, with the added bonus of being a "G" rated movie directed by David Lynch.

One of the first poster recommended the movie Something The Lord Made. I second that movie. While not quirky, it was different and a very good true story.

Movies I never would have thought I would like: This is the End and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

We were having dinner with friends Saturday evening and talked about the old Peter Sellers Inspector Clouseau movies and others. I happened to think about M.A.S.H., the movie, and we had several laughs over that one. Of course I enjoyed the TV series too, but the movie is a classic.

I agree with Jasdip about Red and Red 2.

I seemed to have missed the whole "quirky' part of the request!

I thought this was a new topic, but then saw it has over a 100 posts! I don't have time to read all of them, so forgive me if these two movies were already mentioned.

Interesting that Michael Caine is in both of them, can you tell I'm a fan?

The first one is Educating Rita. Not sure if you can still find it on video, but I watched it about 10 times back in the 80's

Along the lines of "To Sir With Love," and "Pretty Lady," but better.

Here is a short outline from Wikipedia: Educating Rita synopsis

The other is Secondhand Lions. Superb.

I'm gonna second "Continental Divide" with John Belushi and Blair Brown. Good film if you like films where scenery plays a role. A little contrived, but having lived in the wilderness myself, some great authentic touches. Totally dug Blair Browns wilderness cabin. Totally out of character for what we now think of for John Belushi and kind of sad now to think that he wanted to be an actor who took many types of roles. I saw it when it first came out and he was still alive, at that point he was an open book and yet to be typecast forever. He could have been my generation's Jack Black.