14 Critically Bad Movies With Good Actors

Movie 43 features a rather unique (and, in the right hands, fascinating) concept: rather than a single narrative it is instead composed of 14 different storylines, each helmed by a different director. In addition to boasting some fine directorial talent (including Elizabeth Banks and Bob Odenkirk) its huge ensemble cast seems to contain half of Hollywood, with names like Kristen Bell, Uma Thurman Halle Berry, Gerard Butler, Richard Gere, Hugh Jackman, Chris Pratt, Emma Stone, and many more - it's one of the most star-packed movies out there. Although this multi-director concept is innovative, there's a good reason why films aren't usually made this way, as its 4% score on Rotten Tomatoes abundantly signifies. As is too often the case with films of this type, it assumes audiences will tolerate a seemingly endless parade of scatological jokes, rather than making good use of the sheer amount of talent within the cast.

Will Smith was at the top of his game in the late 1990s, having established success as both a singer and an actor. Unfortunately, his steampunk western Wild Wild West was a significant flop, its lackluster box office performance all the more damaging because of its heavy price tag. The abysmal 16% Rotten Tomatoes score adds insult to injury. There's no question the film has a talented cast, because Smith is supported by the likes of Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, and Salma Hayek. Even this elite group isn't enough to elevate the material. While the special effects are enough to be dazzling, none of the jokes really seem to land. Given the genre and the actors involved, this is really a shame, and it’s a reminder of how even a big budget and fancy CGI aren't enough to save a film from its own excesses.

During the 1980s and into the 1990s, certain stars elevated themselves into the ranks of the truly great comic actors, and Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, and John Candy were three of the best of their generation. Thus, it must have seemed like putting all three in a movie together - and getting one of them, Aykroyd, to both write and direct it - was the perfect recipe for an uproariously funny movie. Unfortunately, the result, Nothing But Trouble, is anything but funny, as its 12% score on Rotten Tomatoes evinces. Even the addition of Demi Moore to the cast isn't enough to save this strange concoction of a film, which focuses on a pair of yuppies who get arrested after running a stop sign. What is supposed to be a horror-comedy ends up being mostly boring, and not even the remarkable talent involved can keep the film from becoming a very expensive waste of time.

Few films have been as aptly titled as Brian DePalma's The Bonfire of the Vanities, based on Tom Wolfe's book of the same name. Its failure at both the box office and among critics - it currently has a meager 15% score on Rotten Tomatoes - is all the more remarkable when one takes a look at the cast list, which is rife with ‘80s and ‘90s stars, including Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Morgan Freeman, and Kim Catrall. The story of a bond trader (Hanks) and his lover (Griffith) who accidentally run over a young African American man in the Bronx could have been insightful and bitingly ironic (as is the case with the original book). Unfortunately, none of the novel's insights make it to the screen, in part because Tom Hanks just seems so miscast in the role. The Bonfire of the Vanities ultimately becomes little more than a colossal Hollywood mistake.

A 6% score on Rotten Tomatoes is a distinction no movie would actively seek out, and it is one of the only distinctions possessed by the romantic comedy All About Steve. This is all the more surprising, considering the film has Sandra Bullock as its heart, playing a crossword puzzle writer who develops an obsessive pursuit of a charming news cameraman, Steve (Bradley Cooper). The 2009 movie's inability to utilize the innate charm of Bullock and the rom-com genre is all the more remarkable when one looks at the rest of the cast. If a film can't manage to spin a success with a cast including Bullock, Cooper, Thomas Haden Church, and Ken Jeong (all of whom are accomplished in both romances and comedies), then something must be seriously wrong with the screenplay.

The first Zoolander managed to be both hilarious and an insightful satire of the excesses and lunacy of the fashion industry. Given this, it must have seemed as if the sequel would be more of the same, particularly considering how well-cast it was. In addition to Ben Stiller (who plays the over-the-top main character), it also featured such heavy hitters as Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Christine Taylor, Penelope Cruz, Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, and several others. Unfortunately the sequel proves the extent to which there can be too much of a good thing. Stiller's directorial abilities seem to have been expended with the first film, and the second is far too hit-and-miss to be successful, relying too much on cameos and not enough on good performances or strong writing. At the end of the day, a 22% Rotten Tomatoes score is nothing to brag about, especially compared to the first movie's 65%.

The Counselor seems to have all of the makings of a great film. It's directed by Ridley Scott, who can always be counted on to turn in an entertaining film, and a script by acclaimed writer Cormac McCarthy. It also has an all-star cast including Michael Fassbender, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, and Javier Barden. What's more, its story, which focuses on a lawyer (Fassbender) who gets ensnared by drug cartels, seems tailor-made for good drama. As its 34% Rotten Tomato score reveals, however, The Counselor doesn't quite make the most of its potential. It ends up not being particularly thrilling or suspenseful, and it ultimately ends up feeling very much a soulless approximation of the film it clearly aspired to be. It is, moreover, deeply cynical - which writer McCarthy is known for, but doesn't work so well here.

Based on Robert Penn Warren's book of the same name, All the King’s Men follows Sean Penn's Willie Stark as he begins his ascent to political power in the Deep South. Unlike the 1949 film of the same name (which was also based off of the book), this effort floundered at both the box office and among critics, and it retains a dismal 12% score on Rotten Tomatoes. This is unfortunate, because the cast features some of the biggest names of 2000s cinema. In addition to Penn, such heavy hitters as Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, and James Gandolfini make appearances. Though they all do the best they can with the material, the screenplay is ultimately too clunky, and it lacks the piercing political insight which makes its predecessor such a well-respected film.

Mike Myers had an incredible ability to generate blockbusters with his larger-than-life comedic characters, well documented in his performances as Austin Powers and Wayne Campbell, among others. Sometime in the 2000s, he seemed to lose his mojo, and several of his films from this period are remarkably bad. The Love Guru is arguably the nadir of his output, shown through its 13% Rotten Tomato score. This is a shame, because the film is not just a waste of Myers's considerable talent; it also doesn't know what to do with the likes of castmates Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Ben Kingsley, John Oliver, and Stephen Colbert. Beyond this lineup, there are also cameos from big names like Jessica Simpson, Mariska Hargitay, and Kanye West as themselves. While vulgarity of the sort used in the film can certainly be outrageously funny in the right hands, this film seems to forget how to make viewers laugh rather than making them cringe.

There was a time when Adam Sandler was one of the biggest box office draws, thanks to both his innate genius at comedy and his successful stint on Saturday Night Live. Still, among many big-screen successes, he had quite a few misfires in the 2000s and into the 2010s, including the ill-conceived Jack and Jill. In this infamous flop, Sandler plays the eponymous pair of twins, and various other stars make appearances, including Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Norm Macdonald, Tim Meadows, David Spade, and Dana Carvey. At first glance Jack and Jill seems like a bit of an SNL reunion, but the film is simply too mean-spirited for it to be much fun. If there's one thing which can be said for it, however, it’s this: Al Pacino gives a remarkably good performance, even if him rapping about Dunkin' Donuts isn't enough to save the film from its other flaws. Jack and Jill more than earns its 3% score.

The bomb Strange Wilderness features a who's who of early-2000s comedy stars, including Steve Zahn, Jonah Hill, Justin Long, and Seth Rogen, as well as some old standbys like Ernest Borgnine and Harry Hamlin. The premise of the cast of a nature show launching an expedition to Ecuador in search of Bigfoot might seem like comedy gold, but the film never really lives up to the potential of its cast, which helps to explain why it has a 2% on Rotten Tomatoes. Strange Wilderness is particularly hampered by an overemphasis on crass humor. While this isn't necessarily a problem in and of itself, vulgarity can only go so far when it comes to making a film entertaining. Unfortunately for everyone involved, this film seems to think such simplistic humor is an end rather than a means, and it never shows any interest in doing anything other than insulting the viewer's intelligence.

The 1990s managed to produce some of the most recognizable and critically acclaimed erotic thrillers ever made, but for every Basic Instinct or Bound, there's a film like Sliver, which currently has a 15% score on Rotten Tomatoes. This flop follows Carly Norris (Sharon Stone), a woman who moves into a high-rise and gets ensnared in the dark and sinister events there, it seems at first glance like it will be a suspenseful film like so many others of the decade. It’s one of those films which clearly wants to say something about the nature of surveillance culture but, thanks to the changes made to the original novel by Ira Levin and lackluster performances from Stone and her co-stars (which include William Baldwin, Tom Berenger and Polly Walker), nothing ever really lands. Even with such major names involved, the script falls flat and the end result looks sloppy - partly due to major reshoots that were required to avoid a rating of NC-17.

The Last Face is truly an embarrassment of riches when it comes to its cast, which features some of the most talented people in Hollywood. Among others, it features Charlize Theron, Javier Barden, and Jarred Harris, while telling the story of two doctors who fall in love while working in war torn regions of Africa. Unfortunately, the approach to the topic comes off as more than a little tone-deaf, which is only the start of its issues. Particularly distressing in the film is the extent to which the African characters are pushed utterly into the background. This wouldn't have been a good idea even in a better film than this one; as it is, Sean Penn's film comes across as not only being in very bad taste but also seriously lacking in the romance department - thus justifying its dismal 8% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The first film in the RoboCop series was an action film with a brain, which used heavy violence and its story to probe philosophical questions regarding the growing power of corporations in Reagan's America. As so often in Hollywood, however, the film ended up being the victim of its own success, and its sequels were not even close to measuring up to the original. Particularly vexing is the third entry in the franchise, currently sitting at 9% on Rotten Tomatoes. Not only does it recast Robert Burke as the title character (formerly played by Peter Weller); it is also noticeably shoddier in production quality and clearly designed to exploit the popularity of the franchise. The stacked cast, which includes the likes of Nancy Allen, Rip Torn, Bradley Whitford, and Stephen Root, just isn't enough to rescue RoboCop 3 from the dreaded franchise fatigue.