Multiple fluffy CGI animals. A failed jumpstart into romcom royalty. An uninspired biopic.
Known for role in "The Big Bang Theory", Kaley Cuoco's movies all have this one sad
thing in common. Keep watching to learn this shocking truth!
In 2011, Hollywood capitalized on the popularity of Kaley Cuoco by
casting her in a lead role in a tentpole release, the live action/CGI family Easter movie, "Hop."
The story of E.B., a wisecracking rabbit and Easter Bunny in training, "Hop" follows the
talking animal as he escapes to Los Angeles and befriends two human allies in chill Fred O'Hare
played by James Marsden and Fred's more driven sister, Sam O'Hare played by Cuoco.
"Hop" was a minor box office hit, raking in $108 million in North America,
meaning fewer people bought a ticket to see Cuoco on the big screen than they did to watch her on
"The Big Bang Theory" that year. Critical assessment of "Hop" was just as average.
The film earned a pretty bad 24 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Glenn Heath Jr. of Slant, wrote,
"Gone are the days of childlike mystery and in their place we have the childish 'Hop.'"
Phillippa Hawker of The Age wrote,
"For the most part it tries too hard,
lurching from one plot contrivance to another and never giving any of its cast ... much to do."
A lot of biographical movies about American musicians hit theaters in the 2000s,
many earning critical accolades and awards attention, including "Ray," "Walk the
Line," and "Straight Outta Compton." There was one entry in the sub-genre,
however, that didn't knock film writers and Academy Awards voters off their feet.
"The Last Ride," a 2011 movie about the last days of country music pioneer and legend Hank Williams,
played by "E.T." star Henry Thomas as he drives through the Midwest to
play a couple of concerts in late 1952 before he succumbs to the fatal effects
of alcoholism. Cuoco has a small but pivotal role as a woman named Wanda,
with whom Williams shares some drinks and a brief, ill-fated romance.
With a thoroughly average 47 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, "The Last Ride" is, as of 2022,
the best reviewed entry on Cuoco's cinematic resume.
Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times, wrote,
"Formally uninspired and thematically weak, 'The Last Ride' really goes nowhere.”
With a meager Rotten Tomatoes score of 7 percent, the handful of critics who even
bothered to review "Authors Anonymous" were in near-universal agreement that Kaley Cuoco's
lightly satirical indie comedy was a total dud. The 2014 movie, co-starring '90s heartthrob Chris
Klein and tough guy actor Dennis Farina, is the worst-reviewed movie that Cuoco has ever made.
"Authors Anonymous" is a mockumentary about a group of aspiring authors. Together,
they experience jealousy, resentment, and other negative emotions when Hannah, played by Cuoco,
the newest writer to join the club, becomes a wildly famous and successful publishing sensation
almost immediately after putting pen to paper. That's despite being, "an airhead
who's never heard of Jane Austen," according to Glenn Kenny's review for RogerEbert.com.
"Jane… Au- It's on the tip of my tongue."
"Austen."
Like almost every other publication and critic, The Aisle Seat panned "Authors Anonymous,"
but singled out Cuoco's performance as very good, and containing "shrewd" character work.
Kaley Cuoco was the romantic lead and idealized crush object on "The Big Bang Theory," one of
the most popular sitcoms of the 2010s, and all time. So, it was something of a
foregone conclusion that she would star in a big-screen movie in the romantic comedy vein,
not unlike "Friends" breakout-turned-A-lister Jennifer Aniston. "The Wedding Ringer" should
have provided Cuoco a jumpstart into broad rom-coms and major movie comedies, but it didn't.
The film is primarily a vehicle for Broadway and "Frozen" co-star Josh Gad,
who plays a lovable nerd on the eve of marrying his dream woman.
He has to recruit groomsmen because he doesn't have any friends, placing him
in weird situations with a friend-match service director, played by Kevin Hart.
Despite the presence of the usually bankable Hart and a lot of screen
time from well-liked TV star Cuoco, "The Wedding Ringer" underperformed,
bringing in $64 million in North America. Reviews were just as so-so,
as "The Wedding Ringer" amassed a non-notable 29 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
2015's "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip" would mark Kaley Cuoco's last
major theatrical release before shifting her focus back to TV. This was the fourth
entry in the series of live action/CGI movies starring the talking, singing rodents made
famous by novelty records in the 1950s and a Saturday morning cartoon show in the 1980s.
Amidst a road movie plot about the male Chipmunks trying to prevent
their human caretaker Dave from marrying a doctor,
the singing critters bond and battle with the Chipettes, a trio of female chipmunks who are
also a sibling singing group. Amy Poehler voiced shy Eleanor in "Alvin and the Chipmunks:
Chipwrecked," but opted not to return for "The Road Chip," leaving the role open for Cuoco.
Commercially, "The Road Chip" was a big success, bringing in $234.8 million at the
global box office. Film critics, however, found the film to be utterly repulsive;
it scored a lowly 15 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Tara Brady of Irish Times wrote,
"Normally dependable comic actors are wasted."
Cath Clarke of Time Out recommended viewers, quote, "stick sharpened knitting needles" into
their ears. With reviews like that, perhaps it's a good thing that Cuoco didn't show her
face in the movie, represented only by her barely recognizable, pitch-shifted vocal performance.
Regardless of her lack of critical praise or abundant commercial film success,
Cuoco's fame has skyrocketed since her role on Season 1 of the HBO Max caper "The
Flight Attendant," as well as a lead voice role in the well-received "Harley Quinn"
animated series. She's also got a number of opportunities in her future.
"You didn't make me, joker. I made myself."
With multiple award-winning shows under her belt, the actress has proven that she
is a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry. In fact,
she has a number of films lined up, including the Netflix action comedy "The Man from
Toronto," and a rumored role in "Role Play." per Deadline. Of her upcoming romantic comedy
"Meet Cute," in which she stars opposite "SNL" comedian Pete Davidson, Cuoco shared,
"I saw the movie recently,
and I'm so excited about it. I'm trying not to be biased, but it's really sweet."
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