Netflix Movie Mix-Ups That Could Happen to Anyone
Has anyone ever mistaken you for someone else? Not because you look alike, but because you have the same name? And you and this same-name person are so completely different, it’s actually really upsetting how anyone could confuse the two of you? There are only so many common human names to go around, so multiplicity is inevitable. But this very incident happens daily on Netflix. Two movies. One name. Completely different movies. But why? The English language is pretty vast. There are so many words to choose from. You would think that Hollywood could always come up with original titles.
Here are some Netflix movies that have the same title as other better-known movies, but are very very different (that doesn’t make them worse or better… just different):
Frozen
There are two movies named Frozen on Netflix that have absolutely nothing to do with magical snow queens and comical snowmen named Olaf, but have a lot to do with death and things that are cold. The 2010 film is about a group of friends who hit the slopes for a fun weekend of skiing and talk the chairlift operator into letting them do one last run before closing, then find themselves stranded mid-air, freezing to death.
The 1997 film is less about princesses and skiing, and more about a Chinese performance artist who stages ritual suicides and plans on taking his own life by melting blocks of ice with his body to protest a numbing existence. These two movies seem a little scarier than the cartoon.
Bad Boys
As it turns out, Martin Lawrence and Will Smith were not the original Bad Boys. Sean Penn and Reni Santoni already had it covered in 1983.
Twilight
Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Paul Newman and Reese Witherspoon were in Twilight? Yes! But probably not the Twilight you’ve seen. Their version is about an unsolved murder mystery in Hollywood. So, less vampires and werewolves and more… Hollywood.
The Avengers
Not the one with the all-star lineup of Marvel comic book superheroes, the one with Uma Thurman and Sean Connery that was adapted from the British TV series. Both have to do with saving the world, but only one of them has flying humans.
Crash
One version won 3 Academy Awards, including best picture, and the other version didn’t win 3 Academy Awards, including best picture. The two movies are similar, in that they both have cars in them, but the similarities stop when the non Oscar-winning version starts to focus on the eroticism and sexual violence of automobile accidents.
Gladiator
If you’re looking for an epic revenge period piece, you may want to steer clear of the Cuba Gooding Jr. version about illegal street fighting. Both entail a lot of fighting, but only one entails Russell Crowe wearing a little blue Gladiator dress.
Hide and Seek
Sounds like a fun movie for kids! But no. One version stars a 9-year-old Dakota Fanning who goes insane while hanging out with a creepy imaginary friend. The other version is about a childless couple who kidnaps a pregnant woman and abuses her while she’s chained to a bed. Both are about kids though.
The Kid
The Kid is considered to be one of Charlie Chaplin’s best films, but is not considered to be one of Bruce Willis’s best films.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Film students and Alfred Hitchcock fans probably aren’t looking for the version where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie fall in love. They’re probably looking for the one where Hitchcock directs his first romantic comedy. Both are available on Netflix under the same name.
Notorious
Carey Grant and Ingrid Bergman vs. Notorious B.I.G.. Two very different movies.
The Pianist
If you’re looking for an Academy Award winning Holocaust film, you may want to avoid clicking on the other The Pianist, a coming-of-age story that is laced with sexual tension and sibling rivalry.
Speed
There are few things I love more than a Bollywood thriller, but one thing I do love more is watching Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock save a Los Angeles bus from blowing up. That and cookies.
Featured images via Wikipedia, IMDB, Amazon, Fanpop, Blogspot, NPR
