# STUPIDEST movie you've seen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [March 6, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354 "2021-03-06T20:10:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [March 6, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/1 "2021-03-06T20:10:32Z")
The other night, _The Tunnel of Love_ (1958) was on TCM, and we decided to watch it. Starring Doris Day and Richard Widmark, it’s the story of a married couple who can’t have kids, so they adopt a baby that winds up looking just like the husband (for reasons). The plot was stupid, the characters were stupid, the acting was stupid, the dialog was stupid, even the music was stupid. Oh, and the husband is a professional cartoonist who can’t draw. And the wife’s name is Isolde, of all things. If you encounter this movie and are even slightly tempted to watch it, don’t waste your time. ---
**Author:** ![steepone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@steepone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steepone)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/2 "2021-03-07T09:37:27Z")
Maximum Overdrive would have to be high on the list A comet causes all the machines on earth to come to life and start killing people [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egJyocw2hrw) ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/3 "2021-03-07T10:06:30Z")
**White House Down** wins stupidest award for me because it’s one of those movies where the movie could have ended at multiple points early on if the heroes weren’t completely stupid. Also among other things an ICBM is used to shoot down Air Force One, somehow, and the finale on the movie literally depends on an elementary school girls flag twirling skills, which somehow tops the infamous Chekov’s Gun elementary school gymnastic skills of **Lost World: Jurassic Park**. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/4 "2021-03-07T14:43:35Z")
_Alien_ The story only works because everything about it is stupid. The characters are stupid, and the world building is even dumber. Everything is contrived to set up random jump scares. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/5 "2021-03-07T16:04:09Z")
> [@steepone](#): > > Maximum Overdrive would have to be high on the list > > A comet causes all the machines on earth to come to life and start killing people At one point there is a machine gun mounted on a trailer that drives around and the gun traverses to shoot people. I remember thinking, “But it doesn’t have any motors, how is this possible?” I guess I shouldn’t apply logic to films like this. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/6 "2021-03-07T16:10:12Z")
[Movie 43](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_43) was pretty stupid and pretty awful. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/7 "2021-03-07T16:15:13Z")
Probably _Plan Nine from Outer Space_. I failed to finish _Mars Needs Women_ (available on YouTube), or _The Vulture_ (available on [Archive.org](http://Archive.org)). Every time I think I have seen the stupidest movie ever made, I run across something on AMC’s or TMC’s late-night lineup that plumbs new depths. There were a remarkable number of really bad sci-fi and not-particularly-scary horror films made in the late 1950s and early 1960s. And then there were all the cheesy, low-budget sword-and-sorcery films and post-apocalyptic films of the 1980s. Now that I think about it, I think _Heavenly Bodies_ was even stupider than _Plan 9_. Two hours of aerobic dancing. Even the sex scenes were boring. (And I was a hormone-crazed teenager when I made that assessment.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/8 "2021-03-08T01:00:58Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Probably _Plan Nine from Outer Space_ . Ed Wood was at least entertainingly bad. I’ll gladly watch his _ouevre_ in preference to movies that are simply awful without the redeeming quality of imagination. My vote – **Tales from the Past** AKA **Gallery of Horror** AKA **Dr. Terror’s Gallery of Horror**. An awful “horror” anthology with “twist” endings you can see coming from a mile away, muddy color, bad sound, and the best scenes stolen froim Roger Corman movies. And it had John Carradine and Lon Chaney Jr. Not worth watching. Watch Plan Nine instead > **[Gallery of Horror (1967) ⭐ 3.4 | Drama, Fantasy, Horror](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062193/)** > > 1h 23m | Not Rated ---
**Author:** ![chasole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aca169/32.png) [@chasole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chasole)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/9 "2021-03-08T01:07:56Z")
Drumline. Teen daughter highly recommended it. Truly stunk! ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/10 "2021-03-08T01:10:58Z")
The Ashley Judd movie _Double Jeopardy_. In the movie Ashley Judd is convicted of murdering her husband. When in prison she finds out her husband faked his death and framed her to run off with his mistress. Another inmate tells her to get paroled for good behavior by falsely claiming remorse for “killing” her husband. The inmate further tells once she is free, she can kill her husband with impunity due to the Double Jeopardy Clause in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Double Jeopardy does not work that way. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/11 "2021-03-08T01:13:15Z")
> [@chasole](#): > > Drumline. Teen daughter highly recommended it. Truly stunk! - It’s only bad if you don’t understand the cymbalism. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/12 "2021-03-08T01:23:02Z")
Reminds me of the famous anecdote about carrying a ball and glove if you ever carry a baseball bat in your car for nefarious purposes, because if the cops search your car and claim that’s probable cause you can claim you carry it to play in the park every weekend. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/13 "2021-03-08T01:27:32Z")
Speaking of stupid movies there is the 2014 film _Lucy_ which is based on the debunked adage “We only use 10% of our brain’s power.” They “unlock” the title character’s brain and she develops psychic abilities. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/14 "2021-03-08T01:38:54Z")
I agree with the _Double Jeopardy, Lucy_ and _White House Down_ examples listed above, and to make matters worse, all three of those were movies that took themselves quite seriously. Double Jeopardy was particularly egregious because its takeaway message could have actually gotten people killed in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/15 "2021-03-08T01:40:13Z")
I can think of a lot stupider films than that one. (Really, don’t get me started.) Not too much of a problem with that one, myself. Aren’t horror films more or less contrived to set up random scares\*? Indeed, from the moment we see Stephen King’s unwanted mug at the offending ATM at _Maximum Overdrive_’s beginning, until its equally crappy ending that - event though I’ve forgotten it - I’m sure would have been equally crappy, the flick just heaps on every teenager-y trope imaginable, with embarrassing, predictable lines that can only be rivalled by, say, _Cabin Fever_, or _Hellraiser_ (“Help me, will ya?” 🥴 🤣) Read SK’s _Maximum Overdrive_ short story when I was a kid but can’t remember it for comparison. \*Originally typo’ed that as “scars” and almost left it. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/16 "2021-03-08T01:57:27Z")
Though it was billed to me by people I thought I knew well as gut bustingly funny, I thought ‘Borat’ was brutal to endure. The “humor” was beyond inane to me. ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/17 "2021-03-08T02:01:06Z")
> [@steepone](#): > > Maximum Overdrive would have to be high on the list That sounds so awesomely stupid I’m going to … um, legally purchase it. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/18 "2021-03-08T02:04:31Z")
“_That sounds so awesomely stupid I’m going to … um, legally purchase it._” Yeah it’s a fun movie to “dislike watch”. ( I can’t really say I hated it ) ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/19 "2021-03-08T02:30:47Z")
The short story SK wrote was called “Trucks” and it’s very loosely adapted into Maximum Overdrive, since the main thrust of the short story was it was only trucks that rampaged, cars and other electronics seemed absolutely fine, and it had a major downer of an ending compared to Maximum Overdrives weird happy ending. The only real similarities are that Trucks takes place in a truck stop surrounded by semi’s but I think it only had 4 to 5 characters in the short story. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354/20 "2021-03-08T02:31:14Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > I can think of a lot stupider films than that one. (Really, don’t get me started.) Not too much of a problem with that one, myself. Aren’t horror films more or less contrived to set up random scares\*? That why I don’t watch modern horror films. They don’t scare me; they just annoy me due to their cheap manipulation. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-movie-youve-seen/937354.md?page=2)