Millions of Americans are struggling to figure out how to spend their free time during the coronavirus lockdown. And the default for a lot of people, naturally, is to watch movies.

But our state of anxiety being what is, many of us don’t feel like sitting through Oscar-worthy dramas that make us ponder the meaning of life. We want quality entertainment, sure, but with a little bit of stupid running through it.

Enter screenwriter and comic-book scribe Chuck Wendig, who asked Twitter on Thursday: “What is the best worst movie?”

Responses came flowing in. If you had to build a consensus, it might land on the Elizabeth Berkley vehicle “Showgirls.” Offered one Twitter denizen: “Nothing else comes close.”

Still, this is a topic movie lovers love to debate. Below, for your streaming- and cable-TV-searching pleasure, are 10 of the most popular replies to Wendig’s query, each with a snippet from a review published at the time of the movie’s original release:

1971's "Andromeda Strain" is based on Michael Crichton's 1969 novel.

Andromeda Strain (1971)

“Despite all the drama of the situation (United States threatened with biological destruction from outer space, etc.) nothing very exciting goes on in ‘The Andromeda Strain,’" The New York Times wrote. “Since nobody greatly feels or acts, we are left with the drama of people tensely sitting around in chairs, twisting dials and watching TV monitors. From time to time, somebody gets up and paces the room.”

Dune (1984)

“Instead of streamlining either the language or plot of [Frank Herbert’s] lengthy book, David Lynch, who directed the film and wrote the screenplay, tries to present it in unadulterated form,” The New York Times wrote. “This means he must pause periodically for great infusions of data, as if the occasional subtitle or breathless voice-over could make sense of it all.”

Mars Attacks! (1996)

“Exuberance is the operative word for ‘Mars Attacks!,’ from Jack Nicholson’s broad-stroke roles as both videogenic President Dale and bourbon-marinated Las Vegas developer Art Land, to Sarah Jessica Parker’s fashion reporter -- as shallow as a coat of lip gloss,” The Oregonian wrote. “And the Martians -- imagine platoons of hypercranial Beavises armed with unquenchable hellishness and ray guns that turn you into either a red or a green skeleton, and you’ve got the idea [director Tim] Burton is great at mining the terrain between a laugh and a scream.”

Point Break (1991)

“Starring Keanu Reeves as a hotshot Buckeye QB named Johnny Utah come West to team up with a pooped-out cop called Pappas (Gary Busey) to foil big-time bank robbers, ‘Point Break’ is Kurosawa-Siegel-Eastwood and Grace Slick all rolled into one shiny surf ball,” The Hollywood Reporter wrote. “Namely, them there robbers, Pappas perceives, are likely surfers, seasonal bandits who follow the waves -- you get the story drift. So lickety split, it’s Johnny-on-the-spot to the beach, where the young landlubber goes undercover, learns to surf from a scruffy surfer girl (Lori Petty) and, just as meaningfully, spirit-bonds with the craziest rider on the waves (Patrick Swayze). (American Film Marketing Association members take note: this opus would similarly shine if transported from the surfer world to the stripper world.)”

Red Dawn (1984)

“'Red Dawn’ may be rabidly inflammatory, but it isn’t dull,” The New York Times wrote. “[Director John] Milius does know how to keep a story moving. He might well have turned this into a genuinely stirring war film, if he had not also made it so incorrigibly gung-ho. But the effectiveness of its chilling premise, from a story by Kevin Reynolds, is dissipated by wildly excessive directorial fervor at every turn. Those who consider the events set forth in ‘Red Dawn’ [the Soviet Union invading the U.S.] to be probable are no more apt to find the movie credible than those who regard them as ludicrous.”

Repo Man (1984)

“'Repo Man’ is one of those movies that slips through the cracks and gives us all a little weirdo fun,” Roger Ebert wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times. “It is the first movie I know about that combines (1) punk teenagers, (2) automobile repossessors, and (3) aliens from outer space. This is the kind of movie that baffles Hollywood, because it isn’t made from any known formula and doesn’t follow the rules.”

Roadhouse (1989)

“In ‘Road House,’ Patrick Swayze has the most laughable role since Tom Cruise juggled a few liquor bottles and danced to ‘The Hippy Hippy Shakes’ in ‘Cocktail,’" The New York Times wrote. “‘Road House’ is also set in a bar, where Mr. Swayze is a bouncer named Dalton. He’s so famous he needs only one name like Cher or Sting, so tough that when knifed he calmly stitches his own arm, so cool that he stays perfectly serene while knives, fists, feet and chairs come flying toward his face. He’s kind of a Zen bouncer, who instructs his staff of junior bouncers to ‘Be nice.’ But his gigantic biceps telegraph that sooner or later he’ll be pushed beyond nice.”

Showgirls (1995)

“[T]his nominally risque story of naked ambition among Las Vegas showgirls has somehow managed to make extensive nudity exquisitely boring,” The Los Angeles Times wrote. Added the newspaper: “[Director Paul] Verhoeven and [screenwriter Joe] Eszterhas have combined to make a film of thunderous oafishness that gives adult subject matter the kind of bad name it does not need or deserve.”

Elizabeth Berkley stars as Nomi Malone in "Showgirls."

Tremors (1990)

“Fred Ward and Kevin Bacon are dim-witted cowboy handymen who discover [man-eating, sand-burrowing worms] and proceed to spend their time arguing about what they ought to be called or trying to think of a way of turning the creatures into a profitable business,” Empire magazine wrote, adding that the movie is “entertaining and unselfconscious enough to stand the test of time.”

Twister (1996)

“Science aside, it’s not hard to feel that these excitable characters are a wee bit berserk,” The New York Times wrote. “But the movie works as escapism even if you do know enough to come in out of the rain.” The newspaper adds: “Somehow ‘Twister’ stays as uptempo and exuberant as a roller-coaster ride, neatly avoiding the idea of real danger.”

Bonus: “Cabin Boy” (1994)

“Chris Elliott, more so than the average person, seems to find unpleasant behavior inherently funny,” The Washington Post wrote. “The early part of the film, filled with Elliott’s effete insults, simpering and whining, doesn’t establish an endearing mood. But as the tale unfolds, and the seamen encounter such wondrous sights as a half-man/half-shark (Russ Tamblyn) and an ice monster, Elliott and his writing partner and director, Adam Resnick, hit their stride with simple and surprisingly effective comic ideas.”

There are plenty more “best worst” selections to consider. Check out Wendig’s Twitter thread.

-- Douglas Perry

@douglasmperry

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.