Mike and Mike lose their way...

It all started yesterday with this...

Erik Kuselias steps in for Mike Greenberg on ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike in the Morning." He then reveals, during a discussion of the upcoming Oscars, that he has never seen Gladiator or 300, both being instant classics, and quintessential "man movies." The implication, of course, was that any "real" man would have seen those movies. It is mandatory fare in order to receive your Man Card.

So today on the program, Mike and Erik tried to come up with the Top 5 Movies Every Man Must See. A good thing to do, fun to think about and debate, and the overwhelming email response the show got (myself included) is a testament to the fact that men across the country wanted to chime in on this important issue.

By the end of the show, here are the 5 they came up with.
Animal House
Braveheart
Godfather
Caddyshack
Remember the Titans

Now, I am not going to argue that these aren't great movies, because they are. But the original motivation behind making this list was for the Top 5 "Man" Movies, not their favorites or what they think are some of the best ones out there. It is a really hard task, but these movies should be action-packed, bloody, gory, epic films that are essential experiences in being and becoming a man in today's culture OR they have to be films that speak to what it means to be a man and typical male experiences.

Some of the suggestions I sent to them:
Braveheart, Fight Club, Godfather, The Matrix, Boondock Saints, 300, Gladiator, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, Rudy, Apocalypse Now, Rocky, Rambo, Sin City, Die Hard, Goldfinger, Thunderball (to represent the 007 contingency)

These are "man movies." And no, you don't have to make a concession and have a comedy and a sports movie just so you have a representative from every genre. If they deserve to be in the list because of their merit as a "man movie" then they will make it. But if there is a more deserving selection that gets cut because you only allow one "warrior epic" then that's wrong in my opinion.

But what pisses me off the most is that I feel like they had to back down and change the scope and focus of the list so that it wasn't gender exclusive, as if it is a crime to discuss movies that are made primarily for men and men enjoy more than women. Why do you have to apologize for that and change it from Top 5 Movies Every Man Should See to Top 5 Mike and Mike Movies? Then it becomes a completely different list. If you made this change because you thought you would exclude your female listeners who wouldn't engage in a conversation about movies men love, isn't that over-generalizing a bit (especially considering these would be women listening to a sports radio show on ESPN)?

Maybe you should consider that there are some women out there that enjoy these movies too, or at the very least would be interested in engaging in the discussion because they know what kinds of movies are "man movies" just as well as we do. But speaking of women, Mike Greenberg, the normal co-host, emailed in his Top 5 movies into the show. And I don't know if he was joking or was just going over the top with his picks to support his "sensitive metro-sexual" role on the show, but come on. These aren't anywhere close to man movies... If he does still have his Man Card, it should be revoked.

Greenberg's Picks (I can't remember the 5th one, but you get the idea):
Gone With the Wind
When Harry Met Sally
Sleepless in Seattle
Bridgette Jones' Diary

Golic needs to step up and make the list what it should be, Mandatory Man Movies (alliteration always helps.)