I think I just figured out why I like to actor hop as a way of watching new movies instead of just…watching trailers and seeing what plotlines I might like like a normal person.

Watching a movie is like going to a party, or some other social function. If you’re going alone and you don’t know anybody, it might be okay. There could be decent music or cake or some other free food. Maybe there’s wine and cheese and you get to look at some rad artwork. But if it’s bad, you don’t know anybody and it just sucks. But if you go to a party and there’s someone you know, the party could be rad for all the reasons I already said PLUS you get to hang out with a friend, but if the party blows, at least you got to hang out with a pal and maybe snark at the other people there. 

So like, if I watch a movie just for its own sake and I like it, great, but if it sucks, I’m just stuck here with a bad movie. But if I watch a bad movie in it with an actor I like, then I can say to myself “Well this movie blows, but at least I got to hang out with Robert Vaughn for a couple hours.” 

The only way this ever truly backfires is if the movie is so bad you just get embarrassed for the actor in it that you like. But even then, it’s worth the risk.