Bad Movies. Good Times.

Most parents instruct their kids in skills and activities that can help them throughout their life. Art. Drama. Academic programs. Sports programs and exercise. You know, stuff a person could actually use throughout their lives.

So what am I teaching my kids? Well, you’ll be happy to know I’m teaching my kids how to appreciate the fine art of bad movies.

Now I’m not talking about just any bad movies. I’m talking about the worst of the worst. The really bad B movies that are shown on ScyFy. You know the ones. The movies with the bad names Movies like Piranhaconda (half piranha, half anaconda), Dinocroc, and Sharktopus (I somehow missed this one. Darn!)

And you can always find a good, bad movie on Lifetime. I think I’ve written about this before. It doesn’t matter when you turn on a Lifetime movie (10 minutes into it, or an hour and a half into it) you can pick up the plot in less than two minutes). There’s always a woman in trouble. There’s usually a bad man causing no end of problems, and a friend, usually a woman, but it can be a man.

Last month, ScyFy channel brought us the artistic creation that was Sharknado. In case you missed it, this movie was about a tornado that formed over the ocean, picked up shark, and deposited the sharks in various locales around Los Angles. Now you might think the sharks might be, well, you know, a bit disoriented after spinning around over a 100 miles an hour in a  tornado and being out of the water. Nope. Not the case. In stead, they landed and promptly ate any person within a one-block radius.

But what’s really great about these movies is laughing about them. And my son found no shortage of things to laugh at during Sharknado. We were both practically rolling on the floor with laughter. And for good reason. Like at the end of the movie when the hero took a chainsaw, started it while he was running, then leaped into the mouth of a large, man-eating CGI shark. Oh, then, of course, sawed himself out.

Yes, it was a great time for both of us. We finally convinced my daughter to watch part of it. But somewhere along the line she posted a Facebook status that read something like “Please someone help me! I’m being held against my will, and being forced to watch Sharknado.” Well, after Child Protective Services finally left our house, we were able to get back to the movie . . .

This week, we’re looking forward to watching a new ScyFy release called Ghost Shark. It has all the makings of an instant classic. If you need more convincing on how you should spend your Thursday evening, check out the trailer:

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVQDcKCINSM]

Sure, we could do something constructive Thursday night. But instead, we’re going to share some popcorn, share some time together, and share some laughs.

Yes, the movies are the worst. But these really are the best of times.