Welcome back to the Mutant Roundtable, where our staff of experts roused themselves long enough from their second mid-afternoon siesta to answer this question: What guilty pleasure flicks or comfort films have we watched the most?

Chad: For me, I have three particular movies that I revisit over and over. I’m not sure my choice reveals any unique insight into my mindset, but two feature Harrison Ford in his youngish prime. The first is Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Doom, the bastard stepchild of the Jones franchise. From the musical opening of “Anything Goes” (in Mandarin, no less!) to the cool as-hell James Bond-style prologue, the film may not be the best in the series, but it is the most fun.

Then Ford appeared in Working Girl, the Wall Street workplace satire that co-starred Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver. The film features all three actors in top comedic form, especially Weaver, whose yuppie villain must be seen to be believed. It’s an outdated ’80s relic but has that witty repartee missing from our modern screen comedies.

The final and most surprising is Basic Instinct, the early ’90s erotic thriller directed by Paul Verhoeven. It has one of the most ludicrous scripts ever written, but Sharon Stone delivers the cartoon dialogue with such skill that she should’ve won the Oscar that year. The movie is basically an erotic version of Hitchcock’s Vertigo, and Stone would’ve been right at home with Hitch’s vintage blonde stars like Grace Kelly, Tippie Hedren, and Janet Leigh.

Tom: Obviously the entire Star Wars saga has been a comfort my whole life, but outside of those films, my wife and I watched Happy Gilmore a bunch of times when we were in the first couple years of our marriage. I know a lot of people can’t stand Adam Sandler, but something about that hit the right time and place for us. Likewise, we also watched Teen Witch several times back in the day because it was truly our favorite train wreck, and we had to share that beautiful disaster with our friends.

Finally, Shawshank Redemption, and that one isn’t by choice. It’s just because for some reason that movie was always playing on the standard cable channels 10-15 years ago. It’d come on, and you just couldn’t help yourself from watching it.

Justin: I have too many to count, but three hold a special place in my heart. PCU, because it embodied the college experience for me — and serves as a perfect flashback to the ’90s today. Then there was Can’t Hardly Wait, which was like a best friend during a rather lonely year after college. I swear, I think I watched it once a day every day for weeks. And I’ve probably seen Army of Darkness enough to quote the script verbatim, a fact that netted me zero dates over the years.

Drake: I’m not exactly sure what a “comfort movie” is. Every time I sleep on my pile of DVDs I wake up stiff. But if we’re talking those movies that you can throw in and watch to cheer yourself up after being chased by angry neighbors wielding pitchforks and torches (long story), then I definitely have three of those that have seen a high number of repeat viewings.

The first one has to be Tombstone, a true Western classic chock full of outstanding performances, inspired production design, great music and thrilling shoot-outs. Sure, they take a few liberties with history here and there, but the filmmakers were wise enough to know what elements to drop and which to keep for a pulse-pounding good time at the movies. Staying on the Kurt Russell bandwagon for a moment, movie number two is Used Cars, a criminally under-seen Robert Zemeckis comedy that stars Russell as a sleazy used car salesman who uses every trick in the book to lure in customers, including hiring strippers, pirating television broadcasts and literally blowing up the competition. Cap it off with an insane race through the desert by hundreds of used cars and an insane stunt gag by actor Gerrit Graham, and this is one highly re-watchable comedy.

For movie number three, I have to go with The Road Warrior (Mad Max II). Whatever you want to call it, this George Miller masterpiece is not only a thrill ride through post-apocalyptic Australia, it’s also a master class in storytelling. I honestly don’t know how many times I’ve seen it, but every time I watch it I’m pulled right into Miller’s carefully created world of desperate survivors, marauding bandits, and high-speed mayhem. Which reminds me: I have to go grocery shopping…

Skip: This might be a cop out, but I’m going to go with Jackass 1, 2, and 3. These films never fail to make me laugh, even when I’m having a bad day. As I grow older, I always recall renting Jackass 2 on pay-per-view and absolutely heaving with fits of laughter watching this film with my brother as a teenager. Of course something so juvenile became a symbol of delight for my childhood.

Sitting Duck: Back in the Day I obsessed over The Incredibles. At that time, I would normally see a particular movie no more than twice at the theater. I saw The Incredibles at the late, lamented Hillside Cinema a total of FIVE times (twice by myself, twice with my sister, and once with my sister and parents). During one of the post-movie trips to a nearby ice cream parlor, we had an interesting discussion concerning how Elastigirl’s powers must have come in quite handy during her three pregnancies. Needless to say, I had been really champing at the bit for the DVD release. Once we had it, I practically watched it every day for at least several months.

Another longtime favorite is Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie. Had my brother not happened to have spotted it at our local video rental outlet, I would have likely remained forever ignorant of what is now my absolute favorite live action TV show of all time. I know there are some fans who are dismissive of it due to the choice of film and the toned-down riffing. But I found that it was a good way to ease me into the premise before trying out the more hardcore material. I suspect I wouldn’t have become so enthralled if my first exposure had been to Attack of the the Eye Creatures or one of the more stagnant crime dramas.

Finally, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is always a pleasant one to go back to. Aside from that horrible, horrible song, it’s easy to see why William Goldman believed that it would be the film he would be most remembered for before he wrote The Princess Bride.

Kat: For some reason, there are two movie franchises that bring me comfort. When I’m stressed out, we go for the Saw movies. When I’m sad or sick, we go to the Shrek movies. Polar opposites, but they serve their purpose.

Kyle: Mannequin (1987): There’s something about the charm of this movie that has managed to hit ‘peak comfort’ for me in nearly everything decade of my life. I really liked Jonathan’s coat and dedication to creative endeavors above all else as a young self-centered idiot. Then I appreciated Emmy’s boldness and assuredness as I began to appreciate other people. And all along, the extraordinarily silly plot, side characters, and the revelation that Estelle Getty wasn’t as ‘old’ as she played on The Golden Girls maintained the charm of this movie, all the way through to this day. Perfect rainy/moody/random day movie!

House (1986): Once I got truly into horror movies (as in, rather than just being able to read Fangoria at the mall, I was finally able to rent and VHS-pirate stuff) this became a regular rotation movie (as in, having it on in the background while I played with toys in the basement). Similar to Mannequin, I loved the main character being a professional creative (and a horror writer: the best!) and I guess I enjoyed its silly tone as well. There are good creature effects on display, and even now I don’t feel like it has many slow spots. And just when you think it can’t get any better, Norm from Cheers comes in for a magical supporting role.

When Harry Met Sally (1989): A true masterpiece with an awesome soundtrack, and a film responsible for 75% of what I thought New York City would be like whenever I finally got to visit it. Impeccably cast, endlessly quotable, and with a good amount of plot devices to keep me from committing it fully to memory (at which point a movie kinda curdles from ‘guilty pleasure’ into losing its allure as something you’d no longer want to watch). I love how the movie has a lot to say about relationships, friendships, and plain old human existence, but never delivers it in a preachy way. It’s always there when I need it, and there’s always some unexpected line or emotional turn that manages to lift me if I need it, or set my mind on the ‘bigger picture’ instead of whatever tiny thing is currently getting me down.

Heather: My top-three cheesy movies in terms of watchtime all come from episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000, though I will absolutely watch them in their original version:

• Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders — Two different movies cobbled together to form one incoherent mess about an evil monkey and an evil husband.
• Troll 2 — Militant vegetarianism (note: This is not actually a sequel to Troll. Or anything.)
• Cave Dwellers — Costco Conan with mad MacGuyver skills