Staff Picks: Our Guilty Pleasures, from 'Anchorman' and Kardashians to Lifetime movies

Here at TheCelebrityCafe.com, the staff is always chatting about our favorite movies and TV shows. A topic that recently came up was guilty pleasures, so we decided to share our top picks. If you agree with any of our picks or have some others you’d like to share, join the conversation in the comments section below!

Gina DiFalco: I’ll admit it, I enjoy watching the Kardashian-Jenner clan on both Keeping Up with the Kardashians and its spin-offs; most recently Kourtney & Khloe Take the Hamptons. There’s something amusing about watching a family living life with the paparazzi and millions of critics documenting their every move. It was interesting to watch how their fame has multiplied through the years - the show started seven years ago!

The most amusing part of watching the show, for me, is watching Kourtney and Khloe try to keep the self-involved Kim Kardashian down to earth. For example, when Kim told the family she would be gracing the cover of Vogue (not to diminish it, it’s a monumental step in her career) Kourtney couldn’t help but brag about being on the cover of – gasp - Natural Health! Their family bond is really the most heartwarming aspect of the show, viewers just need to get past the annoying voices and dramatic situations that always end in learning some kind of lesson, like in Full House, or any ‘90s after school special.

Daniel S Levine: My guilty pleasure is Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. I’m a seasoned movie geek, so I know it’s not the best movie about journalism, but it’s the funniest. Honestly, I don’t even care that much for Will Ferrell, but Anchorman is consistently funny each time I watch it. He doesn’t go completely overboard and the film is kept to just over 90 minutes. Length is the reason why the sequel doesn’t work and the jokes feel tired there, but in the first one, the humor is fresh. I still can’t make it through the “Sex Panther” scene without bursting into laughter.

Dawn Wotapka: I'm not a big fan of reality television, and I don't watch many sitcoms. I am, however, painfully addicted to Lifetime movies. I've seen so many that I can usually guess the ending, sometimes just a few minutes into the show. (My husband continues to be amazed at this "skill.") It's rare that I'm wrong, though it does happen every so often. I avoid any involving the occult and generally skip the over-the-top Christmas specials. I'll take a good psychopath trying to harm her rival any day. I'm also a sucker for a happy ending. (I've been known to actually tear up at the end.) I like to record several and use the commercial breaks to clean my apartment. As I write this, I have Dead on Campus and Glass House: The Good Mother. recorded and ready for housework!

Elizabeth Learned: When it comes to guilty pleasure shows, I am interested in learning about true crime stories and methods of investigators when they use clues to solve cases. Often times, I will watch Investigative Discovery to watch some of the shows I enjoy. This is probably the reporter in me, but I like to research and google the cases to learn more about them.

Carissa Shuman: My guilty pleasure is reading historical romances. I'm not sure which is more guilt worthy, the fact that it's historical fiction and I research the facts presented to see if they coincide with what actually took place, or that they are essentially romance novels. I remember finding a stack of Harlequin novels in my grandmother's closet when I was a kid. I tried to read one and thought it was awful and couldn't believe anyone, especially my grandmother would want to read that. Yet, here I am, about 30 years later lapping it up. From the first look out of the corner of the eye, to the wedding revelries and all the intrigues in between, I can get lost in those castles and forts for hours.

My favorite historical fiction author is Sharon Kay Penman. Her books are not meant to be romance novels per say, but she does an excellent job of representing the passion and resentment that occur in relationships, and when she wants to, can be very provocative in her descriptions of the couples' intimacies.

Chelsea Lewis: It's hard to narrow down just one guilty movie pleasure but when it comes to intense action fight sequences, ridiculous dialogue and plot holes that really don't make sense but still help the movie to be awesome; look no further than Liam Neeson's Taken.

Taken helped Neeson became this generation action hero, much like that of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone back in the 80s and 90s. This movie causes me to stand up from my seat and cheer when Bryan Mills, played by Neeson, is killing the bad guys with little to no effort. If that wasn't enough, I often find myself freaking out when his now famous speech takes place during the first act. "If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.

This movie has it all, not realistic plot points, cliche dialogue and Neeson kicking butt. I couldn't ask for anything more from a movie.

Robby Sabo: Something that isn’t strenuous to make arrangements for, and proudly taking up a good part of my life, are the programs that run on the most delightful channel known as TV Land, or Nick At Nite, depending on the schedule.

Whether it was 10 years ago when the The Cosby Show or Full House took a starring role,
or now as Ray Romano and Doug Heffernan showcase their crazy antics, this writer is a complete fan of falling asleep to the tune of classic sitcom comedy. Sometimes, as I wake up in the early morning, I can’t tell if I dreamt I was playing Clue with Arthur Spooner, or it was part of the episode.

Tina Henry: My guilty pleasure is spoiling my grandchildren. My granddaughter is 5 and is a little spitfire. She has both the older brothers wrapped around her finger. She's pretty, smart, funny... and can throw one of the biggest temper tantrums you've ever seen. My youngest grandson, who is 7, is adorable, smart, and can get very hyper, but it's a fun hyper. He practically bounces off the walls. My oldest grandson is 12. Another adorable, smart, and hyper kid, he is, in my mind, the shepherd of the flock. He has a lot of responsibility put on him, being the oldest, and it doesn't just come from Mom and Dad. One time when they were getting ready to leave after a visit, I hugged him and whispered to him, "I think I'm going to miss you most of all, Scarecrow." Well, the name stuck, and since then, when I hug and kiss him goodbye, I whisper to him, "Take care of everyone for me, Scarecrow," and he looks me straight in the eyes with those baby blues full of pure sincerity and smiles and nods, whispering back, "I will."

These sweet, wonderful children have given me a second life after many, many years of fighting and continuing to fight a long term illness. Though I can't do a lot in the way of physical activity with them, I spoil them with the aid of my other guilty pleasures: cooking/baking, shopping and, most of all, showering tons and tons of love on them.

Samantha Rosencraft: My guilty pleasure is loving the Frozen soundtrack. I tried so hard not to like this movie when it first came out just because it was surrounded with so much hype, but I found myself loving the movies and the songs more than any woman in her early 20's should. My sister and I will even sing the Elsa and Anna duets together. Obviously, since I'm the oldest, I sing Elsa's parts. It's even gotten to the point where we quote the movie at each other.

Will Ashton: While I would like to say my movie tastes always rely on rich character development and high-caliber acting, sometimes I like to sit back and watch some good ole' goofy action. In that regard, the 2006 Jason Statham-vehicle Crank more than does the job, bristling with such high energy and adrenaline, it makes you want to get up to do six hours of cardio by the time it wraps up.

Something along the lines of Speed on —well— speed, Crank centers on the pulsating adventures of a professional assassin who, when injected with a rare poison, must keep his heart rate in constant motion or else he'll die. In about one hour's time, he must do right with his girlfriend and taking down his attackers, before his heart finally gives out. It's stupid for sure, but gleefully so, with enough tongue-in-cheek action and humor to make sure you're never for a second bored and a completely game lead performance from Statham. Whether its engaging in high-speed car chases, injecting himself with a defibrillator or having sex in public, Crank is a sleezy ball of mayhem, and its all the better for it.

Angela Corry: I love "bad" movies. There, I said it.

For example, on my list is Rotten Tomato’s worst movie of 2007, Because I Said So. I DVR’d Deuce Bigalow European Gigolo a couple months ago. And watched it. Must Love Dogs; watched that recently. I have Blended on my to-watch list. Then there is anything with Queen Latifah, JLo or Katherine Heigl. Add in Kevin James, Adam Sandler, Jason Segal or Vince Vaughn and my day is made.

Oh, and for the record, I think Rotten Tomatoes is bias against some of these actors. If you look at any movies that have Zac Efron in them, the score is much higher. Zac shirtless probably skews the scoring. Case in point, The Neighbors. Had it not been Zac, would it have scored as well? I think not.

And as much as I enjoy them, it gives me even more pleasure to force my husband to watch with me. The expected, “How can you watch this,” combined with him actually laughing, makes the watching experience even better.

image of Khloe Kardashian courtesy of Kristin Callahan/ACE/INFphoto.com