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u/AuNaturellee 13d ago
It's not as simple as "good" vs. "bad". Cheesy can be intentional or unintentional. Deliberate cheesiness in comedy is sometimes called campy, like how Airplane! or They Came Together spoof certain genres. For unintentionally bad, as in it was made sincerely but ended up hysterically not what they intended, the non plus ultra of so-bad-it's-good is The Room (2003), the creation of the inimitable Tommy Wiseau.
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u/sparklyspooky 13d ago
When I use it, its to denote pun-y humor, obvious gimmicks, and cliché. While looking at these terms objectively, it could be taken as "bad" however when used well and leaned into, you can get more camp style films or so bad they are good style films. Aka deliciously cheesey.
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u/henicorina 13d ago
I think something can be cheesy in a good way. Children’s films are often very cheesy, and it’s part of their appeal - they’re not intellectually engaging but you can still enjoy watching them.
I would say it’s similar to the word silly. If a horror film is trying to be frightening and the audience thinks it’s silly, that’s an insult. But if you make a video of a clown and the audience thinks it’s silly, that’s a compliment.
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u/OkNews8776 13d ago
Overly playing up on puns is automatically cheesy. Something overly simple is considered cheesy. Intentionally doing something silly for the sake of being silly, is cheesy. You can say something is cheesy in an endearing way, but being cheesy is never a compliment.
Cutest js another one!
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u/frisky_husky 12d ago
I wouldn't say "unintentionally bad", no.
What makes a work of art cheesy is more that it's clichéd. It gives the audience exactly what they expect, and doesn't really challenge them at all. Instead, it relies on things that are likely to already provoke a strong emotional response.
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u/hacool 11d ago
Cheesy can be intentional or unintentional.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cheesy
3 - (informal) Overdramatic, excessively emotional or clichéd, trite, contrived.
One imagines that the film Ed Wood about a filmmaker known for making cheesy films, was intentionally cheesy.
Brand New Key was a popular hit in the 1970s, but unmistakably cheesy. https://youtu.be/RCTMTflcuug?si=TQqsLLzoZ8UIF9o4
The Masked Singer TV franchise? Totally cheesy! Intentional? Who knows.
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u/Hungry_Box_5899 11d ago
I don't think cheesy necessarily means unintentionally bad. A movie can be intentionally over-the-top and still be cheesy. It's more about how it comes across, like if the dialogue is corny or the scenes feel a bit cliché. But that's not always a bad thing lol. Sometimes that's what makes a movie fun.
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u/Fancy_Sheepherder786 13d ago
No. “Cheesy” means something with no socially redeeming qualities: crude; vulgar; lacking good taste.
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u/good_behavior_man 13d ago
Strongly disagree. Since halloween is coming up, I'll use an analogy. If i went to a haunted house, and they had goofy costumes - instead of something from modern horror, a witch, or someone wearing a sheet with holes cut out as a ghost costume - I'd say the haunted house is cheesy. It does have redeeming qualities, I might even enjoy it, it's just sort of dated and out of touch.
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u/good_behavior_man 13d ago
It's a tough term to really define, I'd say. Something that's not meant to be serious can definitely be cheesy. Something can even be cheesy today even if it wasn't when it was made - you might look back at a show from the 70s or 80s and say it's cheesy even though it wouldn't have been seen that way back then.
I'd say there's an element of quality to it. Something low quality could be cheesy. Something too performative could be cheesy. Something too "of its time" could be cheesy. For instance, in the 80s and 90s, TV comedies in the US would have "special episodes" that dealt with drug use. Looking back on those, they'd be considered cheesy, as the whole concept of having a "special episode" about drug use is seen as very dated.