If you type “overrated” into Google, you come up with all kinds of lists–overrated songs, bands, cities, athletes, people, and even degrees (the MBA, for instance). At spout.com, our users have given 95 movies the tag “overrated.” Letting others know what you think is overrated is obviously a popular concept. The problem is, there’s really no definitive way to determine what is in fact overrated. Even a dictionary definition doesn’t help: “To rate or appraise too highly.” Too highly according to whom? The use of the term “overrated” is so inherently subjective, that it can only be used to spark discussion and debate.

But there’s great value (and fun) in that, which is why I recently joined the discussion group “Totally Overrated” at spout.com. When it comes to movies, I have my own general criteria for what gets dubbed overrated. The general test: If everyone’s talking about a new film so much that I decide to go to the theater to see it, but then I leave feeling cheated, that’s an overrated film in my book (The Squid and the Whale, anyone?). My alternate test: If I find myself gnashing my teeth through Academy Awards night, the movie winning all the awards is most certainly overrated (1998 and Titanic just about did me in). Obviously, neither method is close to scientific and has very little, if anything, to do with the quality of the film or whether in fact I might actually like it. Again, it’s subjective, and what’s subjective tends to get us riled up.

So, let’s try a little test. Here’s something to react to. One of the members of Totally Overrated, pippin06, brought to our attention a feature in Premiere magazine, listing what they consider the 20 most overrated films of all time. All I can say is brace yourself. As pippin06 said after posting the list, “I’m too shocked. Wipe the puddle that is me off the floor….”

American Beauty
Chicago
Clerks
Fantasia
Field of Dreams
Chariots of Fire
Good Will Hunting
Forrest Gump
Jules and Jim
A Beautiful Mind
Monster’s Ball
Moonstruck
Mystic River
Nashville
The Wizard of Oz
An American in Paris
Easy Rider
The Red Shoes
2001: A Space Odyssey
Gone with the Wind

Did your heart start beating faster? Did your blood pressure even rise? Did you get really upset at the presence of at least five of the movies on this list? The members of the Totally Overrated group did. Jymkata said: “The Red Shoes???!!!!! That totally astounds me. If Premiere is going to call into question one of the most beautiful films ever made it has no right to call itself a film publication.” And pippin06 went off about several, including The Wizard of Oz and Clerks: “…anyone who calls The Wizard of Oz overrated is just being blasphemous in my book. Say what you like, but when it’s memorized by people of all ages the world over, flying monkeys aside, it can’t be that overrated. And Clerks? Who’s doing the overrating there? I thought it was underrated as a cult classic.”

Who’s doing the overrating indeed. Apparently one person at Premiere magazine who doesn’t like The Wizard of Oz. As my friend Jason put it, it’s like calling your Grandma overrated. It’s just not right. What she did in her day was pretty darn impressive, and she should get to rest easy on her good reputation in her old age. She shouldn’t have to keep jumping through hoops to prove herself again and again.

Anyway, the term does serve a purpose, even if not a scientific one, and it’s a fun way to spark debate. So let us know what makes you mad about the list (or what you agree with). Let us know what you think it takes for a movie to be called overrated. And if you’re really having fun, consider joining the conversation in our group on spout.com.