# REALLY Bad movies with big stars in them **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2002, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127 "2002-11-27T16:11:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/1 "2002-11-27T16:11:29Z")
I don’t mean merely “uninspired” or “mediocre,” I mean BAD! So bad that watching them is either funny, because they’re so ridiculous, or just pure torture. This thread was inspired by seeing Jean-Claude Van Damme’s “Hard Target” on tv the other night. This was unfortunately the _second_ time I’ve had to sit through this incredibly nit-witted adventure, although it was at least still funny to watch. I can’t believe Lance Henrikson’s career ever recovered. I think the grand-daddy of movies in this category is “Battlefield Earth.” Anyone who has seen it will understand. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/2 "2002-11-27T16:26:30Z")
Joan Crawford and Jimmy Stewart in **Ice Follies of 1939**. . . ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/3 "2002-11-27T16:28:51Z")
Well, “disaster” movies of the 1970s always seemed to have large, blockbuster casts (granted, many of the big stars were well past their prime). And SOME of those films were real turkeys. Think of: 1. “When Time Ran Out,” an Irwin Allen stinker with Paul Newman as the star. 2. “Airport 77” had Jimmy Stewart, Jack Lemmon, and Olivia de Haviland, among others. 3. The godawful giant octopus movie “Tentacles” had Henry Fonda and John Huston (they both must’ve needed the money bad!). ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/4 "2002-11-27T16:30:12Z")
Gregory Peck and Gene Hackman in **Marooned** , 1969. Thank you MST3K. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/5 "2002-11-27T17:19:04Z")
Sean Connery in **Meteor** ---
**Author:** ![gus28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6de8d8/32.png) [@gus28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gus28)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/6 "2002-11-27T17:34:46Z")
“Ishtar” with Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty. “The Firm” with Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman. “Pink Cadillac” with Clint Eastwood. "The Fifth Element’’ with Bruce Willis. Anything with Sandra Bullock, good actress, she just needs to hire someone to pick her scripts for her. “Demolition Man”, “Daylight”, “Judge Dredd”, “Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot”, ok, you get the point, with Stallone. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/7 "2002-11-27T17:36:26Z")
**Bad Lieutenant The Last Castle** ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/8 "2002-11-27T17:42:35Z")
**Gas**. Featuring Donald Sutherland as the helicopter traffic reporter, who was evidently so embarassed to be a part of the film that he found a way to never appear on screen with a single other character. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/9 "2002-11-27T17:45:14Z")
**Caligula** ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/10 "2002-11-27T17:47:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lieu \* > \*\***Bad Lieutenant > The Last Castle** \*\* I haven’t seen **The Last Castle** but how could you include the Abel Ferrara classic in this post!? We’re talking about a movie that includes full-frontal Keitel, a nun being raped on an altar, drugs, gambling, more drugs, lots of alcohol, a really f\*cked up bad lieutenant wandering around a church and screaming, and the brilliant Keitel jacking off onto a car door while telling one of the occupants to “Show me your ass.” This is more than a classic, it’s art!😉 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/11 "2002-11-27T17:50:13Z")
Heh, art that exists in the redeye of the beholder. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/12 "2002-11-27T17:57:48Z")
I’m just glad someone beat me to the Fifth Element - that way _they_ can take most of the heat, 'cause I know some of y’all liked it. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/13 "2002-11-27T18:06:45Z")
\*\ ***Ehhhhh…Where’s your Messiah NOW, huh?** \*\* They don’t make movies like that anymore. For a reason. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/14 "2002-11-27T18:17:59Z")
Look no further then Battlefield Earth. The worst movie ever made. ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/15 "2002-11-27T18:24:55Z")
Jean-Claude Van Damme is a big star? Where the hell have I been? Most of the others mentioned are, what I would consider, big stars but not Van Damme. I never seen Ishtar but I always hear that it really wasn’t a bad movie just over hyped with a huge budget. Or was it over hyped because of the big buget? Hudson Hawk - Bruce Wilis Joe vs the Volcano - Tom Hanks Secret Weapon? - Eddie Murphy and Dudley Moore. Damn! I can’t remember the title to this one. Eddie actually apologized on SNL after he returned to host. His comment was something like “If y’all would have seen the amount of money they gave me to make that movie y’all would have made it too.” ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/16 "2002-11-27T18:27:26Z")
**Laserblast,** with Roddy MacDowall. **Genghis Khan,** starring John Wayne. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/17 "2002-11-27T18:37:46Z")
**Slap Shot** with Paul Newman and **The Ratings Game** with Danny DeVito could qualify as “bad” movies, though I still like them both. And I heard of a Canadian-only release with Leslie Nielsen called **Men with Brooms** …it sounds like a “bad” movie (mind, I’d still like it, I’m sure); any Canadian dopers able to confirm? ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/18 "2002-11-27T18:44:14Z")
I’m not sure if Christopher Lambert counts as a “big star” or not (depends on who you talk to), but _Druids_ is one of the worst films I have ever seen. EVER. ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/19 "2002-11-27T18:50:19Z")
Slap Shot is NOT a bad movie. Its a classic sports comedy. Youngblood (Rob Lowe) on the other hand is a bad movie. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127/20 "2002-11-27T19:04:31Z")
“Men with Brooms” isn’t a bad movie. Not great, but had its moments. Some other nominations: Robin Williams in “Toys” and “Popeye” Brad Pitt in “Cool World” Sean Connery in “The Avengers” Sean Connery in “Highlander II: The Sickening” Sorry, “Quickening” Keanu Reeves in “Chain Reaction” Samuel L. Jackson in “Deep Blue Sea” Several stars in “Heaven’s Gate” Jim Carrey in “Ace Ventura II: When Nature Calls” Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum et al. in “Midway” Donald Sutherland in “Shadow Conspiracy” John Wayne in “The Green Berets” George Clooney in “Batman and Robin” Sylvester Stallone in “Cobra” and “Judge Dredd” and all the Rambos after First Blood Will Smith in “Wild Wild West” Sandra Bullock in “Speed 2: Cruise Control” Pierce Brosnan in “The Lawnmower Man” Sharon Stone, and Sly again, in “The Specialist” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-bad-movies-with-big-stars-in-them/139127.md?page=2)