The 6 Worst Movies to Watch on a Flight to a Tropical Vacation
From Jaws: The Revenge to Midsommar, here are the 6 worst movies to watch on a plane to a tropical vacation — as ranked by the Sunburnt Podcast, with trailers. A funny guide to what NOT to stream before you land in paradise.
What you watch on the plane sets the tone for your whole trip. Pick the wrong movie at 35,000 feet and you can talk yourself out of a good time before you even grab your bags.
On Episode 14 of the Sunburnt Podcast, hosts Chip Chantry and Thomas O'Brien each picked three movies you should absolutely not stream on the way to a tropical vacation. Here's the full countdown — with the trailers, so you know exactly what you're avoiding.
The Countdown
There's Something About Mary
1998
A beloved comedy — so why is it here? One character: Mary's next-door neighbor, Magda. As Thomas put it, she "looks like an old catcher's mitt" — the human worst-case scenario for too much sun, complete with a scene where she bakes the last of the elasticity out of her skin with a tanning reflector. Pop that on right before you head off to get baked yourself and you've traded vacation excitement for a cancerous thought cycle. A real bummer of a reminder at exactly the wrong time.
Midsommar
2019
You're flying somewhere new and unfamiliar — the last thing you need is a movie about a trip somewhere new and unfamiliar going horribly wrong. It starts beautiful: a vibrant outdoor summer festival, everyone happy. Then it curdles fast, in the same vein as Taken or Hostel. Chip's verdict: cliff diving is great in Acapulco… maybe not in northern Europe.
Turistas
2006
An organ-harvesting horror movie where backpackers on a dream vacation get targeted for their organs. Watch it on the way to your own getaway and suddenly every friendly local is a suspect — you'll be sizing up every new stranger wondering what the odds are they're after your kidneys. As Thomas said, you can't feed into the paranoia, and this one mainlines it.
Waterworld
1995
Kevin Costner's waterlogged epic about a planet that is nothing but ocean. If you're flying to Hawaii staring out the window at endless blue, you do not need a film imagining the land never coming back (or wondering whether the plane turns urine into drinking water). Bonus: it's one of the most famous box-office bombs ever — not the "spent a fortune, got garbage" energy you want heading into an expensive trip.
The Shining
1980
A masterpiece, and exactly the wrong vibe. You want your grand historic hotel plus a few vacation drinks to add up to the best week of your life — bringing friends and family together, forgetting your problems. You do not want "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" echoing in your head as you check in.
Jaws: The Revenge
1987
The worst, full stop. Chip's favorite movie of all time is the original Jaws — which is exactly why this fourth sequel is, in his words, sacrilege. You're about to spend a week near the water; you don't need the reminder of what's under it, and you really don't want your seatmate catching you watching a movie this bad. It's a banana boat of kids in the Bahamas getting eaten in the silliest way possible (pour one out for Mario Van Peebles). A few nice Caribbean beach-bar scenes aside, it's mostly just trash at 35,000 feet.
The bottom line
What you watch on that flight can dictate your whole trip — your mindset, your expectations, the kind of time you're going to have. So be smart, be careful, and save the sharks, cults, sunburn, and haunted hotels for when you're safely home.
Hear the whole bit
All the jokes, tangents, and trailers you can't print live in Episode 14. Pour something cold and press play.
Stay Burnt.