Don't try to define me, man!

Netflix is kind of like my Mom: We love each other to death, but it doesn’t really “get” me.

Netflix is always making suggestions to me based on movies I’ve rented and rated, but the suggestions rarely pan out. I mean, “You liked Kill Bill, you’ll probably like Face Off"? What kind of big bang created the universe in which that makes sense?

But it’s really adorable just how hard Netflix is trying. Like, they keep coming up with these increasingly specific, yet totally incongruous categories of movies. My favorites have been arriving the past few days. Yesterday – based on a recent rental of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – there was a list of “Emotional Medical Dramas.” Today, based on my giving The Silence of the Lambs five stars, there’s a category called, “Critically Acclaimed Violent Crime Movies.” And finally, my favorite: After I queued up Frozen River, they gave me a category called, “Emotional Dramas Featuring a Strong Female Lead.” (A category which includes The Duchess. OK ….)

This is kind of making me want to add just a shitload of random movies to my queue to see if I can get recommendations for things like, “Suspenseful Blaxpoitation set in the Midwest,” or “Derivative 1980s Teen Comedy with a Pleasing Geeky Sidekick to Evil Jock Ratio.” Any thoughts on how I can accomplish this? We’re all in this together people!