by Joel G. Robertson

So, what, pray tell (my obnoxiously foo-foo way of saying explain) is a forgotten flick?

Well, that’s easy enough. A forgotten flick is simply any movie you remember but no one else does. I find that the older I get the more often this is happening. Most often it’s when I’m talking to some young whippersnapper and goes something like this:

Me: “Yeah, it’s like in ‘Over the Top’ when Stallone grabs the…”

Young Whippersnapper: ” ‘Over the what’?”

Me: “What? You never saw “Over the Top”?

Young Whippersnapper: “Saw it? Dude, I’ve never even heard of it.”

Eh, right.

Maybe that’s not the best example (watered-down, trailer park “Rocky” knock-offs from the mid-80s appeal more to the tastes of cineastes and ex-cons), but my point is that when I mention a movie from my childhood, I find it disturbing how many people give me that quizzical look. You know, the one that says, “You either made that up, or are just trying to compare what I said to some obscure movie to make yourself seem smarter.”

Smarter? I tried using “Over the Top” to make my analogy for Pete’s sake!

But I digress. And this doesn’t only apply to the young ones either. Nope. I’ve had people that were significantly older than me (you know, the incontinent-types who always misplace their teeth) give me that same look. Of course, that’s usually because I’m trying to tell them about “Cocoon” while I’m hiding their teeth.

So, what’s a forgotten flick? Any movie you loved (or hated for that matter), but find that the pop culture mainstream has forgotten about. It doesn’t have to be of a certain age or genre (there are certainly movies every year that fall off the map, or were never on it). It may even be a movie you’ve forgotten about, but when someone mentions a character or a scene, it triggers a sense memory that floods your synapses with that warm feeling of nostalgia.

Well, it’s either that, or you’re incontinent.