Comedy is a challenging genre to pull off. It's not enough to tell a joke well; the joke must also consistently make people laugh without ever seeming cliched, cheesy, or stupid. Many excellent films, like "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," "Airplane!," and "What We Do in the Shadows," perfectly capture this difficult process. However, there are a lot of comedies that fail miserably to elicit even a single giggle from the crowd.
In theory, many of these comedies should be amusing, especially in light of the subjects and their famous cast. These so-called comedies were set to knock out other popular movies, but ultimately fall flat. Examples of these include "Movie 43". This tasteless anthology movie is dubbed by respected critic Richard Roeper as the "Citizen Kane of awful," because it wastes not just one of the greatest ensemble casts but also a talented directorial roster ever assembled. All 14 of the film's shorts rely on the squirm-inducing "LAUGH, DARN YOU!" desperation that makes audiences squirm. The biggest mystery surrounding "Movie 43" is how so many reputable Hollywood stars like Hugh Jackman, Kristen Bell, Halle Berry, Gerard Butler, Anna Faris, Jason Sudeikis, and
Emma Stone were tricked into participating in it. This utterly disappointing film perhaps proves that having a bunch of big names involved in a creative project doesn't mean success.
So we gathered 23 comedies like this one, which doesn’t know what to do with their excellent casts. More accurately, these are the 23 worst movies with the best casts. Despite the fierce competition, they stand out as the worst of the worst. If wasting a brilliant cast is a crime, these movies are all guilty as sin.
#1 Zoolander 2
Source: Zoolander 2
Despite bringing back Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, and Justin Theroux, as well as adding Penelope Cruz, Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, and Kyle Mooney, this "Zoolander" sequel fails to capture the back-handed satire and ingenuity of the original movie. It seems that none of them can make
funny material pop off of the script.
#2 Movie 43
Source: Movie 43
This tasteless anthology movie is dubbed by respected critic Richard Roeper as the "Citizen Kane of awful," because it wastes not just one of the greatest ensemble casts but also a talented directorial roster ever assembled. Despite the direction of Peter Farrelly, James Gunn, Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, and Rusty Cundieff, as well as the participation of Hugh Jackman, Kristen Bell, Halle Berry, Gerard Butler, Anna Faris, Jason Sudeikis, and Emma Stone, the film was completely disappointing because it didn't muster up any segment that is genuinely funny from start to finish.
#3 The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
Source: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
With a cast that includes Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Alan Arkin, Olivia Wilde, and James Gandolfini, "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone" fails to make comedy magic because it alternated between raunchier but inconsistent dark humor and weak, family-friendly quips that seldom connected. If the movie had a redeeming grace, it would be Jim Carrey's scene-stealing performance as a Criss Angel-like adversary.
#4 Rough Night
Source: Rough Night
Scarlett Johansson, Zoe Kravitz, Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell, and Ilana Glazer all try their damnedest but can't quite seem to elevate this Very Bad comedy into anything more than the sum of its parts.
#5 Stuber
Source: Stuber
Kumail Nanjiani, Dave Bautista, Natalie Morales, Betty Gilpin, Karen Gillan, and Iko Uwais' talents are sadly wasted in the action comedy "Stuber". This movie is shamefully inept with its action and low on laughs. It's even more painful to see the filmmakers and actors' potential for something special dangling just out of reach.
#6 A Million Ways to Die in the West
Source: A Million Ways to Die in the West
Despite the success of the Ted films, Seth MacFarlane's quest to become a real-life movie star failed. The charm, humor, and timing of MacFarlane's earlier work were missing from this high-profile western satire. The film starred many famous face including Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Neil Patrick Harris,
Liam Neeson, and Sarah Silverman.
#7 Hudson Hawk
Source: Hudson Hawk
Bruce Willis' self-indulgent passion project is a real deal stinker that's somehow both obnoxious and dull. Its impressive ensemble supporting cast, which includes Danny Aiello, Andie MacDowell, James Coburn, Richard E. Grant, and Sandra Bernhard, all choose to chew the scenery which, incidentally, leaves the movie with no real comedic ground to stand on.
#8 Your Highness
Source: Your Highness
David Gordon Green's insipid one-trick pony succeeds neither as a clumsy gross-out comedy nor as a CGI-heavy fantasy epic. Not even Danny McBride, James Franco, Natalie Portman, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Theroux, or Damian Lewis could save it.
#9 Analyze That
Source: Analyze That
Even with the return of Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, and Lisa Kudrow, "Analyze That" falls short of bringing anything fresh or hilarious to the screen because it lacks the biting edge of original co-screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan.
#10 Be Cool
Source: Be Cool
While "Get Shorty," the movie that inspired it, has become a dark comedy classic, "Be Cool" is aimless, laugh-free, and depends completely on winks and nods to cameos and references to other movies. Oddly enough, despite having a cast that includes John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, Andre 3000, and
Danny DeVito, to name a few, the movie's lone standout is an early part for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. In this role, Johnson plays a queer bodyguard with dreams of becoming an actor and a country music star.
#11 Leatherheads
Source: Leatherheads
The proverbial saying goes that "good intentions can sometimes lead to bad results," and it certainly seems to be the case with George Clooney's attempt to revive the screwball comedies of the golden age of cinema. Because neither Clooney nor his co-stars Renée Zellweger, John Krasinski, Jonathan Pryce, or Stephen Root can generate any genuine laughs during the tonal tug-of-war.
#12 Cop Out
Source: Cop Out
Without its all-star cast, which included Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Kevin Pollak, Seann William Scott, and Rashida Jones, "Cop Out" was anything. It was Kevin Smith's first production for a studio other than Miramax/Weinstein Company and his first directing credit without a writing credit.
#13 Big Trouble
Source: Big Trouble
Barry Sonnenfeld's bizarre crime comedy appears to have been defanged at some point during post-production. The film has a stellar cast that includes Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Stanley Tucci, Ben Foster, Zooey Deschanel, Johnny Knoxville, Jason Lee, and Sofia Vergara, but it doesn't accomplish anything noteworthy, intriguing, or even particularly funny before disappearing into cinematic obscurity.
#14 The House
Source: The House
"The House"'s the biggest crime is sabotaging a strong co-leading performance from the incredibly talented Jason Mantzoukas with otherwise pitiful attempts at lazy and derivative humor from the rest of the cast. This movie includes an incredible comedic assembly including Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, Nick Kroll, Allison Tolman, and Michaela Watkins.
#15 The Love Guru
Source: The Love Guru
"The Love Guru", which was universally derided by critics and audiences alike, failed to establish a new comedy series for Mike Myers while doing essentially nothing for the rest of its supporting cast, which also included Jessica Alba, Ben Kingsley,
Justin Timberlake, Romany Malco, Meagan Good, and John Oliver.
#16 The Adventures of Pluto Nash
Source: The Adventures of Pluto Nash
Eddie Murphy was expected to become the next big-screen cash cow thanks to this $100 million sci-fi comedy, but it seems that none of the film's stellar cast, which also includes Randy Quaid, Rosario Dawson, Peter Boyle, Luis Guzmán, and John Cleese, were quite on the same page. As a result, the comedy suffers from an identity crisis, which is made worse by the fact that the movie's potential seems to be just out of reach.
#17 Gigli
Source: Gigli
"Gigli" is a comedy that is so unlikeable that it almost cost Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez their careers. The film's dead-on-arrival script and unfocused direction from Midnight Run legend Martin Brest sent the picture into a tailspin where even supporting performances from Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Justin Bartha couldn't salvage any semblance of charm.
#18 Year One
Source: Year One
This failed Judd Apatow-produced biblical farce, which stars Jack Black, Michael Cera, David Cross, Paul Rudd, Olivia Wilde, Oliver Platt, and Bill Hader, was Harold Ramis' final film as a filmmaker. It was his final attempt at humor.
#19 Envy
Source: Envy
Barry Levinson, who directed "Rain Man", is undoubtedly skilled, but even he can't get Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Amy Poehler, Rachel Weisz, or Christopher Walken to function on any level in this tepid, one-note comedy, which ultimately condemns the Larry David-produced movie to lifeless mediocrity.
#20 Pixels
Source: Pixels
Many of Adam Sandler's star-studded studio comedies could probably be included on this list, but few have failed as miserably in their attempts at humor as the high-concept flop in which Kevin James, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Monaghan, Josh Gad, Jane Krakowski, and Brian Cox all fail to make the movie's four-quadrant humor work.
#21 Almost Heroes
Source: Almost Heroes
Matthew Perry (at the height of his "Friends" stardom),
Eugene Levy, and Chris Farley in his final major role can't elevate this low-brow comedy into anything more than a Wagons East-level snoozefest, suggesting that Christopher Guest's effort at a big-budget adventure studio comedy was apparently snakebit.
#22 Holmes & Watson
Source: Holmes & Watson
Etan Cohen's awful parody on Sherlock Holmes lacks the "lightning in a bottle" energy of Step Brothers and Talladega Nights, and it's no secret that Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Steve Coogan, Hugh Laurie, Rebecca Hall, Lauren Lapkus, and Ralph Fiennes can't help this dated and lame comedy in justifying even its brief runtime.
#23 The Whole Ten Yards
Source: The Whole Ten Yards
Similar to "Be Cool" and "Analyze That," this disastrous sequel also fails to live up to the high standards set by its brilliant predecessor. The chemistry between Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, and Amanda Peet also seems to have completely vanished, and the addition of a bizarre Kevin Pollak only serves to undermine the film's comedic goals.