Guilty Pleasures: George of the Jungle (1997)

By On August 10, 2010 · 6 Comments

Yes, that George of the Jungle.

Like WereGeek, I’m generally not embarrassed by my quirks in pop culture enjoyment. I might feel a bit guilty for loving really terrible vampire movies, but I’ll happily admit it.

But George of the Jungle is so utterly silly that I blush a bit when I admit that I love it. The Fanfiancé always snickers at me when I go on the hunt for it at used DVD stores, though he is the one who found a copy at the local library a couple of weeks ago. I hadn’t actually seen the movie in many years, so I was a bit afraid of watching it. Would it live up to my fond memories? I did first see it as a hormonally-charged seventeen-year-old.

Oh, it did. Case in point:

Brendan Fraser is just as hot as I remembered. ;)

The movie itself is pretty stupid, but what saves it is its tongue-in-cheek presentation. The characters and voice-over narrator are very self-aware and constantly break the fourth wall to chat with the audience, and the film revels in its silliness, squeezing in every bit of slapstick physical comedy they possibly can. It’s the kind of movie that you laugh that embarrassed little laugh at, like you know you should just roll your eyes and stop watching, but you can’t help yourself. It’s stupid and it’s funny.

And it’s Brendan Frasier in a buttflap. What can I say? I’m shallow. Mr. Fraser, I miss these days:

(As an aside, while searching for images for this post, I had a Rule 34 moment involving a recent cartoon version of George of the Jungle. AUGH, EYEBLEACH PLS.)

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About The Author

TDF Pamela

The Discriminating Fangirl, who is more likely to answer to Pamela if you shout it at her, is the proud owner of an MA in English, focusing on children's/young adult literature and popular culture. She's now not using that degree to work as a project manager for a mobile app company. She reads voraciously, loves geeky movies and tv shows, reads comic books as long as she's not pissed off at Marvel, and when she's procrastinating, she enjoys playing video games. She can be contacted at t.d.fangirl @ gmail.com and followed on Twitter @tdfangirl.

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  • WereGeek

    John Cleese as Ape really sold it for me back in the day. This was before I realized he had huge alimony payments to various ex-wives and would take nearly anything on offer, but back then it lent an air of…I dunno, distinction? Legitimacy? Cheese was the reason I watched it the first time, but every successive time it’s been because it’s a dopey movie that’s perfect for the Saturday afternoon slot where I usually find it. :D

  • Finn

    I am not ashamed to admit I’ve owned this movie for some time. Stupid funny movies like this do wonders for a bad mood and Brendan Fraser half naked for most of the movie helps too.

  • http://www.thediscriminatingfangirl.com TDF Pamela

    I think I still have a VHS copy in a closet at my parents’ house, but I can’t seem to find a DVD that’s cheap enough for me. The cheapest I’ve seen is $11, and… well, I love this movie, but I’m not going to pay $11 for it, haha.

    Brendan Fraser half naked makes pretty much anything better, IMO. I’m kind of bitter that he didn’t take his shirt off in The Mummy.

  • Jennifer

    …ah, yes, those were the days.

    We need to have a ManCandy post with early Brendan Fraser. I remember a magazine photo spread he did where he was portraying the Greek gods, and most of the photos were 95% naked. Ah, Hermes.

  • http://www.thediscriminatingfangirl.com TDF Pamela

    Jennifer, I just went googling, and… I don’t know how I’ve never seen those pics before. Oh my stars and garters… yes, we need that man candy.

  • Renee

    Thank you. Thank you so much. Because, honestly, I really don’t like George of the Jungle all that much. But holy hell was Brendan Fraser gorgeous in it. And that photo with the leaf… is one of my absolute favorite pictures of him EVER. He is gorgeous. Still is even with the weight and the thinning hair and the crazy-looniness. I don’t care. I still luffs him dearly.

    And I was having a crap-crap-crappity day when I opened this in my email. NOTHING better than starting your day with mostly naked Brendan Fraser!

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