It's never been easier to indulge in movies as guilty pleasures. No longer do fans have to sneak into the cineplex to watch a tear-jerking chick flick, all the time glancing furtively around as if heading into a porn theater.

No, now we can buy or rent our guilty pleasures on DVD, or wait until they come on an obscure cable channel, all in the comfort of our own dens. Whether you're a fan of cheesy romantic comedies, the oeuvre of Andrew McCarthy, or 1960s beach movies, no one need ever know.

Bob Hope and Bing Crosby ‘Road’ movies
HOPE-CROSBY
Universal Studios Home
When you’re nine years old and find yourself singing, “Just like dictionaries, we’re Morocco bound” without really any idea of what that line means, does it say something about your upbringing? Well, if so, color me an odd child, because that line is from one of my all-time favorite movies, the Bob Hope-Bing Crosby classic “Road to Morocco” — just one of seven films the boys (along with Dorothy Lamour) did together. Yes, these movies have a formula. Hope is the hapless fool who thinks he’s more suave and attractive than he actually is. Crosby is the smart one, always ready to con Hope yet one more time, and equally ready to woo the ladies (usually Lamour) with one of his tunes. Yet, as square as it makes me feel to say so, these movies crack me up. The jokes work, Hope and Crosby have great chemistry, and you may just find yourself crooning “Moonlight Becomes You” along with Crosby. The two standouts of the series are “Morocco” and “The Road to Utopia,” in which Hope and Crosby pretend to be killers Sperry and McGurk, which leads to Hope snarling my favorite line: “Give me a lemonade…in a dirty glass.” The "Road" movies aren’t hip in any sense of the word, but they are darn funny. —Paige Newman

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"The Champ" (1979 version)
Warner Home Video
I know there’s a much better version of "The Champ" with Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper, but because I first saw this film when I was 11 and cried like someone had stolen my new bicycle, Franco Zeffirelli’s 1979 version will always stay with me. Jon Voight plays Billy Flynn, a washed-up boxer who works as a horse trainer and raises his precocious son, T.J. (Ricky Schroder). When ex-wife Annie (Faye Dunaway) comes back into their lives, dripping of glamour and offering a better life for T.J., Flynn decides it’s time for one last fight. This film is so manipulative and sentimental that it makes Hallmark cards seem subtle, but when you hear little Ricky Schroder yelling, “Wake up, Champ!” I dare you not to cry. I can tune in for the last 10 minutes of this movie and still wind up bawling — and not an anti-depressant in the world would stop me. This movie is a three-tissue weep fest. It’s the kind of movie you’ll hate yourself for in the morning, and yet, still, if it happens to come on cable … you’ll be under its spell. —P.N.

Cheesy romantic comedies
SHE'S ALL THAT
Miramax Home Entertainment
Don’t tell me I’m the only guy out there who likes chick flicks. Meaningful dialogue and cinematic quality aren’t requirements either. How adorable is Laney Boggs’ prom queen makeover in “She’s All That?” I’m still in love with Shannon Sossamon and the idea of meeting your soulmate in a laundry joint from “40 Days and 40 Nights.” Somehow, almost everything about “Down To You” with Freddie Prinze Jr. and Julia Stiles makes me shed tears like I was julienning onions in front of my face. It’s a little tough when the guys come by and want to check out the DVDs. After flipping past “Fight Club,” and “Ocean’s 11,” they get a little freaked out when they suddenly come across “Save the Last Dance” or “Felicity: Season 1.” I’m just a sucker for romance, corny or not, and intrigued by the process of falling in love. And for the record, guys can have heartstrings too. —J.J. Wright

CONTINUED : Shut up, it's a hockey movie

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