# Otherwise good/great movies stolen by a terrible performance? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498 "2012-05-01T12:28:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/61 "2012-05-02T18:40:55Z")
Pidgeon is in _Red_, and she’s only mildly deplorable in it. Fortunately, her character arc comes to a satisfying conclusion, which helps make everything else easier to bear. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/62 "2012-05-02T20:29:54Z")
Juliette Lewis in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/63 "2012-05-02T20:43:22Z")
If I hadn’t already hated “Avatar”, Sigourney Weaver’s surprisingly wooden performance would have hurt it a lot. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/64 "2012-05-03T00:15:27Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > Frailty is a creepy movie not enough people have seen! He directed it as well. I love the ending. It was a real mind-fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/65 "2012-05-03T00:36:21Z")
Sondra Locke in pretty much any of her films with Clint Eastwood but I’ll nominate her performance in _The Outlaw Josey Wales_ as the worst part of great western. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/66 "2012-05-06T18:37:44Z")
_ **Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines** _ had the makings of a pretty good sequel, but then some idiot cast [Nick Stahl](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001763/) as John Connor. _Really?_ This sniveling lump is humanity’s last, best hope? Can anyone imagine following such a whiny, vacillating wimp into battle against the machines? Honestly, I thought _ **Terminator 2** _ had the same problem. Weaselly little [Edward Furlong](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000411/) as John Connor? He at least seemed like he had more backbone than Nick Stahl, but not somebody you’d trust near your valuables, much less follow into battle. What these sequels needed was somebody more like [Lucas Black in Sling Blade](http://www.youngmalecelebs.net/galleries/black/Black093.jpg). Someone who, even though he was small and threatened by larger forces, you could clearly see had the will and inner strength to fight back. Someone you could imagine one day becoming a leader. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/67 "2012-05-07T07:07:26Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > And while it does not affect my interest in owning _Breakfast at Tiffany’s_, it’s worth mentioning Mickey Rooney’s offensive turn there. This was the first example I thought of. It’s embarrassing to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/68 "2012-05-07T07:29:20Z")
> [@Miss\_Woodhouse](#): > > Most memorable for me was Dumbledore’s reaction to Harry’s name being in the cup. This. At first I was mildly surprised by Dumbledore’s angry expression, then my eyebrows rose when he slapped Harry in the face. But when he started choking Harry and had to be pulled away by Hagrid I knew something was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/69 "2012-05-07T09:08:27Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > For me it was Four Weddings and a Funeral. Excellent movie with Andie MacDowell horribly miscast. It’s like she read the script and thought to herself, “now how could I possibly say this the worst way?” This/\ The second time I watched it, I just fastforwarded when her mouth was moving. However, the character was so dislikeable, I’m not sure if we can blame the actress. > [@gatorslap](#): > > I think The World is Not Enough was a fine Bond film, except for Denise Richards. I’m a nuclear scientist! 😃 > [@Critical1](#): > > Keanu Reeves in the Matrix? in every thing? wait, other than Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure he has pretty much made the movie unwatchable for me. > “I know kung fu” > yeah and I know your mom dropped you on your head, repeatedly as an adult. someone who seems permastoned is perfect for the Neo. ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/70 "2012-05-07T12:18:26Z")
> [@laina\_f](#): > > When I saw the thread title, I immediately thought “Andie MacDowell” without thinking of a specific movie. That’s because her acting has crapped on every movie I’ve ever seen her in. That includes _Groundhog Day_, a movie I otherwise enjoy. > > I see I’m not alone in my aversion to Ms. MacDowell. She’s the well-paid poster child for the concept of succeeding on looks alone. Which would make a lot more sense if she wasn’t so HIDEOUS. The only thing uglier than her face is her delivery: “Is it still raining? I hadn’t noticed” gets quoted a lot among my group of friends to denote that someone is being so blindingly stupid that they deserve a smack. I came in to mention Keanu Reeves in _Much Ado_, but I see I’m not alone. ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/71 "2012-05-07T13:03:47Z")
I’m surprised Marlon Brando hasn’t popped up yet. But generally he was bad in bad films. His performance in _Apocalypse Now_ is certainly distinctive, and I _can_ imagine him as a kind of Charles Manson-esque cult leader, but (trails off)… what? And - how can I forget? - [Dennis Hopper’s performance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TAixFYnDh4) in _the very same stretch of film_ is also memorable but, watching it whilst sipping a cup of tea, without my brain filled with drugs, not in the middle of the jungle, he’s awful. With the stress on _awe_. _Awe_fulsomely neither good nor bad. A harbinger of Nicolas Cage’s mega-acting. Pabst Blue Ribbon. “_Did you know that if is the middle word in life?_” > [@Namkcalb](#): > > (On Denise Richards) I’m a nuclear scientist! 😃 The thing I remember most about Denise Richard’s performance is her introduction, which goes something like this, according to the IMDB: (James Bond asks her name) **Dr. Christmas Jones:** Doctor Jones. Christmas Jones, and don’t tell me any jokes, I’ve heard them all. **James Bond:** I don’t know any doctor jokes. At which point the film falls silent for several minutes, and all you can hear is the wind, and the faint dying cries of a distant animal. Some tumbleweed forlornly drifts past the camera. I can’t actually remember anything else about her performance; by which I mean that I’d forgotten she was in the film, I can’t recall what function she had in the film, or what she did… there was Robert Carlyle, Sophie Marceau, Robbie Coltrane, Judi Dench, Maria Conchita Grazia Alonso… thing, and Goldie. Goldie. The drum’n’bass personality. I remember him. Can’t remember Denise Richards. She was dressed up like Lara Croft, and she was a nuclear scientist. I’ll go all out for controversy. Taking the thread title literally (and ignoring the “otherwise” bit), Andre the Giant’s performance in _The Princess Bride_ is objectively very bad, especially compared to the actors around him, _but_ he steals the scenes he’s in _and it works_. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/72 "2012-05-07T13:08:23Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > someone who seems permastoned is perfect for the Neo. Sorry to nitpick but your grammar is terrible ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/73 "2012-05-07T13:16:43Z")
I just saw the Ed Norton _Incredible Hulk_ and thought it was actually a pretty good movie. Except for Liv Tyler. Who is wretched, and should never be cast in anything ever again. She was so unbelievably awful in that role. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/74 "2012-05-07T13:27:24Z")
Ah, the internet bandwagon of celebrity hatred. Keanu Reeves, Gwyneth Paltrow, Andie MacDowell, the gang’s all here. (Wait, has no one mentioned Ben Affleck, or Julia Roberts?) But now it’s just getting silly. Andie MacDowell is “hideous” now? I mean, I know tastes are subjective and all, but Jesus, [the woman](http://www.stevelandis.com/img/Andie1%A9L.jpg) had a [career](http://www.qnm.it/bellezze/attrici_straniere/andie_macdowell/andie_macdowell_foto_zzz73y63.jpg) [as a](http://img1.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/k/a/ka75548vkvijv8v5.jpg) [cover](http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/images/magazines/covers/5616/600/cosmopolitan-usa-1982-september-01.jpg) [model](http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/images/magazines/covers/1854/600/lofficiel-france-1986-april-00.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/75 "2012-05-07T13:29:02Z")
Well, she’s a hideous actress. I think that counts. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/76 "2012-05-07T13:59:56Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > Ah, the internet bandwagon of celebrity hatred. Keanu Reeves, Gwyneth Paltrow, Andie MacDowell, the gang’s all here. (Wait, has no one mentioned Ben Affleck, or Julia Roberts?) Oh come on, just because someone’s a celeb doesn’t mean they can’t rightly be called on an occasional dog of a performance. (Previous posters have rightly pointed out that occasionally the director is getting exactly the performance they want - George Lucas, I’m looking at you - and so we can give some credit there when that’s known.) Frankly, I think Keanu Reeves’ best work (out of the films of his I’ve seen) has been in **My Own Private Idaho** and **Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure**. Maybe **The Devil’s Advocate** - I’d have to see that again. His more serious roles usually suffer from a woodenness that he seems to fall into. Again, this may be what the director wants, but eventually it all becomes so very much the same across roles. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/77 "2012-05-07T14:08:17Z")
Hey, nothing wrong with critiquing an acting performance. It’s the internet groupthink I find tiresome. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/78 "2012-05-07T14:19:02Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > I can’t recall what function she had in the film They’re called boobs, Ed[.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0195685/quotes) ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/79 "2012-05-07T14:50:19Z")
I’m surprised no one’s mentioned [Malin Akerman](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0015196/) in [_Watchmen_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409459/) yet. [Great to look at](http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Articles/20090223/malin_akerman_watchmen_300.jpg), but ugh, that was one of the more vapid performances I’ve ever seen. And it’s not like I was expecting _Antigone_ when I walked in the theater; I just wanted a neat graphic novel big-screen interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/80 "2012-05-07T15:24:49Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > I’m surprised no one’s mentioned [Malin Akerman](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0015196/) in [_Watchmen_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409459/) yet. [Great to look at](http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Articles/20090223/malin_akerman_watchmen_300.jpg), but ugh, that was one of the more vapid performances I’ve ever seen. And it’s not like I was expecting _Antigone_ when I walked in the theater; I just wanted a neat graphic novel big-screen interpretation. I thought she captured the rather thinly-drawn character from the comic quite accurately. Really, her only function in the thing is to evidence things about three other characters we’d have a hard time getting to otherwise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498.md?page=5)