# What actors have hardly ever made a bad movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [May 31, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462 "2022-05-31T20:52:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/41 "2022-06-01T03:22:11Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Meryl Streep? Has she done a crappy movie?.. I wasn’t a huge fan of Mary Poppins Returns ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/42 "2022-06-01T04:25:25Z")
I’m surprised at the positive reviews of Streep in _A Cry in the Dark_. I didn’t see it but distinctly remember several friends saying it was crappy and mocking her delivery of the line “A dingo took my baby!” [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cry\_in\_the\_dark](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cry_in_the_dark) ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/43 "2022-06-01T04:38:34Z")
During the '90s and 2000s I used to say that Brad Pitt had a knack for picking good scripts. I’ve kind of lost track of his later career, but he’s the first name I thought of. Though Daniel Day-Lewis is probably the thread winner. EDIT: Then the next good script reader I noticed was Michelle Monaghan. Unfortunately for her career she didn’t really get famous until her 30s, but for a while there she was in all the cool stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/44 "2022-06-01T04:42:02Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > How about **James Garner**? Well, he himself thought Up Periscope was terrible. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/45 "2022-06-01T05:01:42Z")
**Leo DiCaprio** has made very few bad movies in his career, especially for someone who started as a child actor. Ever since he got even a little bit of clout, he’s taken care to work only with high-quality directors on serious projects. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2022, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/46 "2022-06-01T05:15:37Z")
Did someone say Jack Nicholson? How about _The Raven_ and _Little Shop of Horrors_? ---
**Author:** ![BigDfromLA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@BigDfromLA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDfromLA)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/47 "2022-06-01T07:09:22Z")
Clint Eastwood? I have never seen Martin Sheen in a bad movie. Sean Penn? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/48 "2022-06-01T07:35:32Z")
> [@BigDfromLA](#): > > I have never seen Martin Sheen in a bad movie. _Spawn?_ Pretty much the definition of a bad movie. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/49 "2022-06-01T07:37:24Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Did someone say Jack Nicholson Anyone who ever appeared in a movie with Adam Sandler is disqualified from this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/50 "2022-06-01T07:45:47Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I’d nominate Tom Hanks. [Every Time We Say Goodbye](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Every_Time_We_Say_Goodbye_(film)): > At the time, _Every Time We Say Goodbye_ was considered to be the most expensive Israeli film ($3.7 million), however, the film was a major box office bomb, with worldwide gross of only $278,623. To this day, according to _Box Office Mojo_, it remains the lowest grossing theatrically released film starring Hanks. Reviews of the film were lukewarm at best, and the film had a limited release in theaters. > > Film critic Janet Maslin of _The New York Times_ gave the film a negative review, saying “Tom Hanks is utterly out of place in the Israeli romance ‘Every Time We Say Goodbye’ for at least two reasons: because there’s something so innately comic about him, even in solemn surroundings, and because he has so much more energy than the film does.” ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/51 "2022-06-01T09:02:37Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Anyone who ever appeared in a movie with Adam Sandler is disqualified from this thread. Drew Barrymore? Maybe “The Wedding Singer” wasn’t the best movie ever made, and “Fifty First Dates” wasn’t the best either, but neither was what I’d call “bad.” They were entertaining and fun, which is what they were meant to be. Further, she was great in “Music and Lyrics,” and especially in “Whip It.” Yes she was in a couple of rom-coms with Adam Sandler, but she can act. To me, a “bad” movie is one where there is no action, no suspense, no character development–“The Honorary Consul” (which a past girlfriend suffered me to sit through), would be an example. So would “Havana,” with Robert Redford. Just people talking, about boring things, for two hours. There was a Thread Game recently, about movies that needed explosions–well, both of those did. But discounting Adam Sandler’s co-star in a couple of rom-coms? Naw. Drew Barrymore lifted Sandler’s typical exploits into the “better-than-bad-movie” level. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/52 "2022-06-01T09:06:40Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Sure, but you’d be pretty much alone. Not completely alone - that movie _sucks_. A boring non-plot about a human Jar Jar Binks stumbling through life doesn’t meet my minimum standards for ‘good’, no matter what sort of special effects they use to alter the footage of dead people. Frank Oz looks to have a pretty decent record, if you turn a blind eye to the Star Wars sequel trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/53 "2022-06-01T09:17:55Z")
Tom Hulce? > [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > Even the times **Alan Rickman** was in a stinker ( _Robin Hood:Prince of Thieves_ ), his performance was usually great. He was pretty tepid in _The January Man_ but then so was everyone. It was a pretty tepid film (and I say that as someone who generally likes Kevin Kline films). ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/54 "2022-06-01T09:33:40Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > I didn’t see it but distinctly remember several friends saying it was crappy and mocking her delivery of the line “A dingo took my baby!” [A Cry in the Dark - Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cry_in_the_dark) Are you sure you are remembering your friends saying it was crappy because they’ve seen it or… Because Elaine in Seinfeld used the line to get rid of annoying people in the episode The Stranded? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/55 "2022-06-01T10:54:23Z")
I was about to mention **Phillip Seymour Hoffman** with confidence. Then I saw that he was in **Patch Adams**. Sorry, Phil. You will never, _ever_ make the list. mmm ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/56 "2022-06-01T11:28:13Z")
The line was used on Frasier also. And the entire movie was a joke. The only people that have seen this movie recently and rated it are rabid Streep fans. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/57 "2022-06-01T11:38:11Z")
I think Helen Mirren deserves serious consideration. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/58 "2022-06-01T11:58:03Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > And the entire movie was a joke. The only people that have seen this movie recently and rated it are rabid Streep fans. I also find movies about dead children hilarious, can I subscribe to your newsletter? (I’ve personally never seen it, and it also sounds that neither have you, and you are basing opinions on parodies afterwards. I’ve always thought this was one of the films which made Streep’s name, but I’m not particularly a fan of hers. However, we appear to be walking down the “Schindlers list was a joke” pathway, which works too given Seinfeld references, just makes you want to kiss a woman). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/59 "2022-06-01T12:05:06Z")
I watched the movie. It’s awful. If you haven’t seen it you shouldn’t be commenting on it. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462/60 "2022-06-01T12:13:50Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > The Ladykillers. Tom Hanks’ version may have been subpar, but Guinness’ version was excellent. Since we are talking about both actors, you need to be explicit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-actors-have-hardly-ever-made-a-bad-movie/965462.md?page=4)