In rare cases, a truly terrible performance can actually improve a movie, transforming
the mediocrity on display into something so bad that it turns full circle and becomes
great in its own right, or at least enjoyable.
Join us as we take a look at the dreadful roles that might never win an Oscar, but that
actually managed to make a film better.
Everyone's favorite flower shop customer typifies the kind of bad acting that people enjoy more
than any other.
"Hi, doggie."
"You're my favorite customer."
"Thanks a lot.
Bye."
After writing, directing, and starring in 2003's truly inexplicable The Room, a film
often described as the Citizen Kane of bad movies, Tommy Wiseau became an industry legend
in ways that even he couldn't predict.
Fifteen years after Wiseau made his big screen debut, the actor's bizarre accent, exaggerated
delivery, and sheer lack of acting ability have transformed The Room into a cult classic
that continues to be quoted by midnight movie fans worldwide.
In the hands of anyone else, a script like this would just be bad, but Wiseau's baffling
performance somehow elevates these words into a bizarrely hilarious curio that will forever
hold a place in Hollywood's hall of fame.
"You're lying, I never hit you.
You are tearing me apart, Lisa!"
In the end, Wiseau's performance was so bad that it wound up inspiring an entire award-winning
movie.
In 2017, James Franco starred as Wiseau in The Disaster Artist, a movie based on the
making of The Room, affecting his own inexplicable accent and picking up a Golden Globe for his
troubles.
That's one of the few times that anyone's been given an award for being good at bad
acting.
Sometimes, a movie deserves every bit of its bad reputation, and 1995's allegedly erotic
thriller Showgirls is definitely not great.
According to director Paul Verhoeven, however, that was always the intent.
Elizabeth Berkley, who starred as Nomi Malone, deliberately pushed her trashiness to previously
unseen extremes precisely because he told her to, in an effort to deliver exactly the
kind of performance that he felt that the script from Joe Eszterhaus required.
"Well it ain't right.
You got too much TALENT for it to be right!"
"Get outta here!"
While critics trashed the movie when it hit theaters, audiences have since learned to
embrace the ludicrous dialogue and campy acting of Showgirls, holding a particularly special
place in their hearts for Berkley and the way she played Nomi.
From her cringeworthy attempts at dancing to that infamous scene in the swimming pool,
Berkley's performance has become one of the all-time greats in cult cinema.
It's just a shame that her attempts to turn people on ultimately turned casting directors
off.
In an effort to distance herself from the good girl she'd played on Saved by the Bell,
Berkley wound up tanking her acting career at what could've been its height.
After returning to the spotlight with his iconic role in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction
in 1994, John Travolta could've done just about anything.
Unfortunately, what he decided to do with his new-found glory and millions of his own
dollars was produce a sci-fi epic that became one of the most notorious flops in cinema
history.
Based on a novel written by L. Ron.
Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, Battlefield Earth became a legendary failure for both
audiences and fans.
Virtually every aspect of the film was panned, with critics condemning everything from the
confused direction to the ludicrous plot holes, but particular attention was given to Travolta's
role in the film.
"With endless options for renewal!
With endless options for renewal!
HAHAHA!"
The long-time Scientologist played Terl, a member of the Psychlos, Battlefield Earth's
ten foot-tall world-conquering aliens who kept "man-animals" as slaves to turn a profit
for a space corporation.
Short of twiddling an imaginary moustache, Travolta's pantomime performance went so far
over the top that it became the only thing in a movie that was otherwise mind-bogglingly
monotonous that was actually fun to watch.
"While you were still learning how to SPELL your name, I was being trained to conquer
galaxies!"
Despite its now legendary critical mauling, Travolta still maintains that Battlefield
Earth is actually an underrated classic that doesn't deserve its bad reputation.
He's even claimed in interviews that if he had to do it all over again, he'd still take
the role, blaming the media for its negative image.
Sounds like he really did want those endless options for renewal after all.
In a misguided attempt to recapture the campy magic of the '60s Batman TV show, director
Joel Schumacher and writer Akiva Goldsman set the superhero genre back decades with
their second collaboration starring the Dark Knight.
From its gaudy production values to those unforgettable bat-nipples, Batman & Robin
has regularly topped lists compiling the worst movies of all time since its release in 1997.
Both Schumacher and star George Clooney have even apologized for their roles in bringing
the film to life, regretting how Batman & Robin temporarily brought the franchise to an end
before it was rebooted eight years later.
However, anyone who's seen the film knows that no apology is necessary.
It might have some pretty significant flaws, but it's a movie that knows exactly what it
wants to be, and also brought us the campy delight that is Arnold Schwarzenegger in the
role of Mr. Freeze.
"Show some mercy!"
"MERCY?!
I'm afraid that my condition has left me cold."
In a huge departure from the more serious action roles that he was known for, like Terminator
and Predator, Schwarzenegger's take on the ice cold villain took action movie puns to
the next level.
"What killed the dinosaurs?
The ice age!"
Freeze takes great delight in turning every line into a gag, and, in hindsight, it's hard
to imagine anyone else but Arnie managing to get through any of it without either breaking
into laughter or bailing on the film entirely.
1987's big-screen adaptation of Masters of the Universe was Inspired by the beloved '80s
cartoon and toy line, mixing Mattel's story of He-Man and Eternia with elements from unrelated
comics by Jack Kirby, the co-creator of the Marvel Universe.
Given He-Man's popularity and how much people have turned out to love Kirby's creations
in their massive cinematic universe, that probably seems like a good idea for a blockbuster
franchise.
It was not.
"I, Skeletor, am Master of the Universe."
Poor reviews and lackluster box office earnings put an end to hopes for a sequel, and even
contributed to the imminent closure of B-movie icon Cannon Films, but it seems that most
people missed the point.
Sure, He-Man's ongoing war against Skeletor is clunky and poorly made, but Masters Of
The Universe also deserves to be celebrated as a campy classic in its own right, mostly
due to Dolph Lundgren's performance in the lead role.
"I'll never kneel to you!"
"Yes you will!
Yes you will!"
Wielding a sword and little else, Lundgren imbued He-Man with a goofy charm that resonated
with an entire generation of children who were overjoyed to see their hero on the big
screen at last.
Using any measure known to man, it's clear that Lundgren's performance will never be
considered as "good" in any objective interpretation of the word, but his portrayal of the character
on screen has made what could've been a forgotten toy tie-in into a fascinating cult classic.
Like Robin Hardy's original 1973 take on The Wicker Man, the 2006 remake revolves around
the search for a missing girl on a remote island.
However, unlike the first Wicker Man film, the newer version starring Nicolas Cage omits
the horror in favor of unintentionally hilarious comedy, spawning hundreds of snarky reviews
from critics and countless more memes from the internet at large.
"How'd it get burned?
How'd it get burned?
How'd it get burned?"
Viewed purely as a remake of the horror classic, the 2006 version of The Wicker Man is definitely
not a good film.
After all, the original remains a masterclass in suspense and paranoia, and this new imitation
simply doesn't hold up.
However, if you're willing to put aside any notions of horror and embrace Cage's bizarre
performance for what it is, then the new Wicker Man is arguably one of the best comedies ever
made.
"Oh, what is that?!
What is it?!
OH, NO NOT THE BEES!
NOT THE BEES!
AHHHH!
AH THEY'RE IN MY EYES!"
It's hard to tell whether Cage played the part for laughs or was genuinely sincere in
the role, but either way, his (over-)acting here is truly a marvel to behold.
With an animal-like intensity, Cage blazes across the screen, screaming about bees and
punching women while wearing a bear costume.
There's nothing else out there quite like it, and if the film's box office failure is
anything to go by, then there will probably never be anything like this again.
It's rather ironic that a movie about a futuristic cop that acts as judge, jury, and executioner
has become a guilty pleasure for many, but that's exactly what's happened in the years
since Sylvester Stallone brought Judge Dredd to the big screen in 1995.
"Drop your weapons!
These blocks are under arrest!"
The film was originally considered to be a box office flop domestically, and since it
lacked the satirical tone and stern, stone-faced scowl of the original British comic book character,
it didn't resonate with casual moviegoers or die-hard fans of 2000 AD.
For that, fans would have to wait another 17 years, but interest in the property has
ensured that Stallone's Judge Dredd will never be forgotten completely.
One particular sticking point for fans of the comic was the fact that Stallone took
off the helmet and revealed Dredd's face in the movie.
This is something that the character would have never done in the source material, and
still hasn't in over 40 years of comics.
Then again, if Stallone hadn't wanted to get his mug on camera, we would have never received
the gift of his hilariously goofy facial expressions.
"For Judge Joseph Dredd."
"It's a lie!
The evidence has been falsified!
It's impossible!
I never broke the law!
I am the law!"
The sheer absurdity peaks at the end of the film, during an argument shared between Dredd
and his evil clone, Rico, escalating to the point where both forget how to pronounce basic
words in English.
"You killed innocent people!"
"The means to an end!"
"You started a massacre!"
"I was the revolution!"
"You betrayed the law!"
"LAWWWWW!"
The gibberish that both actors scream at each other has since become immortalized online
thanks to an endless stream of parodies that ensure Judge Dredd will hold a special place
in the hearts of cinephiles everywhere.
Plus, we got a much more accurate adaptation simply titled Dredd in 2012 that did a far
better job of capturing what the character is really all about, making Stallone's cinematic
failure a lot easier for fans to take.
In the same tradition as The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night in 1964 and The Monkees' cult
film Head in 1968, The Spice Girls brought their own unique brand of girl power to cinemas
everywhere in 1997, capitalizing on both their record-breaking success and the world's brief
fascination with "Cool Britannia."
Predictably, Spice World broke box office records, and, even more predictably, the critics
loathed it for the most part.
However, even the most hardened journalist must admit that there's something infectiously
fun about the film.
Sure, there's not much of a plot to speak of and, yes, none of the girls ever made the
headlines for their acting ability, but thanks to the bubbly charisma of the stars and a
roster of wild cameos that includes Elvis Costello and Meat Loaf in a minor role, Spice
World continues to spice up the lives of fans everywhere two decades on.
Spice World even got a re-release in U.K. cinemas to celebrate its 20th anniversary
in 2017, suggesting that the Spice Girls still retain their retro charm.
Since Spice World was first released, the girls have gone their separate ways and reunited
more than once, but none of that matters while watching the film.
Spice World is a bright and breezy time-capsule of a unique period in pop music history, one
that wouldn't work without the brash positivity of the girls themselves, each of whom elevate
the plot's silly trappings into something undeniably silly yet ultimately engrossing.
Every now and again, a movie comes along that defies the odds and fails in every conceivable
way.
More than any other film on this list, Troll 2 is that movie.
From the totally implausible plot to the fact that not even a single troll appears in the
film, this 1990 no-budget disaster is a catastrophe in every sense of the word, redefining what
the word "bad" truly means.
"Michael?"
"Yeah?"
"Who are the Goblins?"
The story itself follows a family who try and stop vegetarian goblins from turning them
into plants, but that doesn't really matter.
What does matter is the atrocious performances on display, which helped the film develop
a cult following that led to numerous screenings at midnight movie festivals and a documentary
called Best Worst Movie in 2009 which chronicled the many problems experienced on set.
While it's difficult to pinpoint the single worst performance in Troll 2, the one that's
gained the most notoriety over the years comes courtesy of Darren Ewing, whose character
reacts in horror at the sight of a woman being devoured by goblins and delivers a line that
would become a viral sensation years later.
"They're eating her!
And then they're going to eat me!
OH MY GOOOOO--"
Sure, it's a bad movie, maybe the worst movie, but there's no way to watch that clip without
having a fun time watching it, and there are plenty of Hollywood blockbusters that can't
claim that.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite stuff are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.