I love Netflix. As a movie buff, I could easily spend hours scouring through its library to find every little hidden gem. As such, Netflix’s suggestion algorithm can be quite useful. “Because you watched The Sting, you may also like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” it tells me. Most of the time it’s right on the nose and yet I seem to find that for every two accurate options, there is always a third oddball pick.
I get it. No such algorithm can be perfect. In many cases, shared actors, directors, and writers can imply that a viewer may also like their other work, despite any dissimilarity. Take Steven Spielberg for instance. If one liked Schindler’s List, for example, what other films might serve as good suggestions? What about another Spielberg movie set during the height of WWII? That wouldn’t be too far of a stretch…or would it?
With that said, over the last few weeks I’ve tracked some of the crazier Netflix suggestions, citing the top ten oddest choices.
1. Because you watched Star Trek: The Next Generation, you may also like:
Star Trek: Enterprise – another series within the same franchise. Of course.
Firefly – same genre involving futuristic space travel. It’s true, I do also like this.
Gilmore Girls – a CW drama about a single mother and her daughter living in Connecticut.
2. Because you watched Lethal Weapon, you may also like:
Beverly Hills Cop 2 – a buddy cop action film from the same decade. Seems like a good suggestion.
Bad Boys II – also a buddy cop action film.
Road Trip – huh? What the heck does a hyper violent police buddy film have to do with a crude sex comedy?
3. Because you watched To Catch a Thief, you may also like:
Alfred Hitchcock Presents – makes sense. After all, Hitchcock directed To Catch a Thief.
An Affair to Remember – another movie also starring Cary Grant with a romantic edge. So far so good.
Bob’s Burgers – um, really?
4. Because you watched Saving Private Ryan, you may also like:
We Were Soldiers – historical war drama. A bit of a drop in quality when compared to Private Ryan but it’s hard to compete.
Braveheart – historical war epic set in another era. Definitely different but not too far off the mark.
Man of the House – detective goes undercover as a cheerleading coach. The only thing this film has in common with any of the above is the bitter war waging in Tommy Lee Jones’ head of pride vs. paycheck.
5. Because you watched The Dick Van Dyke Show, you may also like:
Frasier – critically acclaimed sitcom that is as smart as it is funny. By those respects, it shares the best qualities with a classic like The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Cheers – Frasier‘s iconic predecessor. All three are sitcom legends.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – what the heck do pirates waging battle against cursed undead skeletons in the tropics have to do with a 60’s sitcom about a comedy writer and his New York suburban life?
6. Because you liked Jaws, you may also like:
Sharknado – enough said.
The Amityville Horror – a horror film from the same era.
Footloose – a musical starring Kevin Bacon set in a town where dancing is banned. Couldn’t have less to do with shark-inspired threats if it tried.
7. Because you watched The Princess Bride, you may also like:
Stardust – tongue in cheek fantasy romance. Almost an ideal double feature.
Once Upon a Time – fairy tale fantasy series. Good so far.
Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 – I could not cite two films off the bat on such opposite ends of the spectrum. The body horror in the Hellraiser films makes the R.O.U.S.’s in Princess Bride pale in comparison (and, frankly, I’m not so sure they even exist).
8. Because you watched Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, you may also like:
Sleepy Hollow – the umpteenth Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration but one that’s quite similar to Sweeney Todd.
Penny Dreadful – dark, bloody horror/fantasy series set in turn-of-the-century London. Not too far of a stretch.
Bob Ross: Beauty is Everywhere – those happy little trees would likely not remain so blissful when covered in unhappy quarts of bloods.
9. Because you watched The Color Purple, you may also like:
To Kill a Mockingbird – a gripping courtroom drama focusing on racism in the South during the Depression. Perfect suggestion.
Lee Daniel’s The Butler – a historical drama about a black man working as a White House butler. OK, I can buy that.
White Chicks – uuuuuuuuuuggggghhhh (sorry, there’s no word in the English dictionary that can adequately reflect the gut punch I feel for even typing that title on my now broken keyboard).
10. Because you like Back to the Future, you may also like:
Back to the Future Part II – could not make more sense.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit – a bit of a stretch but it was Back to the Future director Robert Zemeckis’ next immediate project and also starred Christopher Lloyd.
Re-Animator – what the hell? How can a gore-fest like the Re-Animator have anything in common with a family-friendly blockbuster like Back to the Future? After all, one is about a white-labcoat clad mad scientist conducting secret experiments in 1985 when…oh no…it can’t be…
