There are plenty of bad acting performances in the history of film. Sometimes a perfectly good film is ruined by one bad performance or a scene with huge potential is wasted due to some poor acting that doesn’t do it justice.
On occasion, these acting performances reach a level that is so horrifically, unfathomably, and inconceivably bad that the films sort of end up... good. In a very weird way, it’s a phenomenon that has, in some cases, inspired cult followings. Here are ten of the very best (worst?) bad (good?) acting performance.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Back in the 70s and 80s, audiences were treated to brilliant Star Wars films full of incredible performances and engaging characters. Luckily, the sequel trilogy was able to replicate that. Unfortunately, the prequel trilogy certainly wasn’t.
In The Phantom Menace, a very young Jake Lloyd did the best he could with a terribly written Anakin origin story. Then, a list of incredible actors was reduced to acting rubble including Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman- the list goes on. If you look past how horrendous every moment of this film is, you can sort of just turn it into a comedy. Then it gets pretty good. Other than the pod race.
Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone
The first entry in one of the biggest franchises in history is an enjoyable watch. Every adult gives a fantastic performance, from Robbie Coltrane to Alan Rickman, everything about the adult cast is absolutely brilliant. The problem here lies with the three main characters. Rupert Grint just about pulls through to provide comic relief, but the high pitched snobbery of Emma Watson is unconvincing and the constantly bemused Daniel Radcliffe is truly quite terrible as the titular character. They get away with it because their characters are so well written, but certain serious lines Harry delivers turn into comedy at times.
Scary Movie 5
We all knew Scary Movie was a parody, so we didn’t exactly expect the highest class of acting ability. Then again, we also didn’t expect four sequels. With clunky bad guys running around, piercingly horrible screams at every corner and nothing even close to suspense (or, to be honest, comedy) being created by any member of the cast, Scary Movie 5 was a masterclass in mishap.
To be honest, the insincere, parodic nature of the film actually works when acted poorly. Perhaps this ends up as a testament to the actual acting ability of the cast- maybe they’re so good that they can pretend to be bad?
Scooby-Doo
Recreating one of the most iconic animated franchises of all time was always going to be a challenge. The first live-action Scooby-Doo film was pretty ridiculous to start with, but with Matthew Lilliard desperately attempting to portray the stoner tendencies of Shaggy and Freddie Prinze Jr. acting snobbishly serious (in a way that simply doesn’t match Frank Welker’s actual Fred) throughout, the performances throughout are universally terrible. Even Rowan Atkinson is a strange gangly bad/good/scrappy guy. Luckily, thanks to the ridiculous animated monsters and absurd storyline, nothing but poor acting performances would have worked. Can you really imagine a powerful, poignant acting performance going hand in hand with a giant mutant Scrappy Doo?
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack Of The Clones
Returning to Star Wars was inevitable, with Attack Of The Clones arguably faring worse than The Phantom Menace. Hayden Christiansen was never a particularly inspiring thespian, but rolling around in the grass with Natalie Portman and telling her how much he hates sand are some of the worst examples of acting in the history of film. Coupled with George Lucas’ inability to write (despite having created one of the greatest film sagas in history), this film also works better if you view it as a sarcastic, low-budget comedy.
The Room
We all know The Room and the bizarre explosion of notoriety that has transported it into the cult following hall of fame. With writer/director/lead actor Tommy Wiseau delivering lines like "I did not hit her! I did not! Oh, hi Mark" with nothing even close to sincerity, it’s hard to view any moment of the film seriously.
That’s arguably the weirdest thing about the film. Still, no one really knows if they were supposed to take it seriously. The Disaster Artist looked at the making of the film, and Tommy continues talking about it to this day, but thanks to his odd personality, it’s impossible to tell if this was always supposed to be one of those ‘so bad it’s good’ pictures.
Half Baked
With Dave Chappelle at the helm, Half Baked was never something intended to be viewed as a work of cinematic genius. The stoner comedy is self-referential, strange and low-budget, but it all works pretty well and results in a genuinely really funny film.
Unlike other things on this list (Star Wars, for example) no one in Half Baked is trying to give a good performance. The lazy line delivery, ridiculous overacting and terrible accents are all used as comedic devices, and it ends up crafting an intentionally bad film which is, actually quite brilliant.
The Wicker Man
Nicolas Cage is a confusing actor. He’s world-famous and has starred in some huge blockbusters, but he’s never exactly been a good actor. In The Wicker Man, he delivers scene after scene of terrible, unconvincing work that makes a bad film even worse. His death scene (spoiler alert) is supposed to be a huge, dark sacrifice with him having had his legs broken and bees poured into the wire helmet he’s wearing. But every ounce of sincerity is taken away through the line. "No, not the bees!" and its hideously overacted, completely unconvincing presentation. He’s entertaining to watch in a disastrous film, but not for good reason.
Batman And Robin
With Arnold Schwarzenegger taking a lead role alongside George Clooney and Uma Thurman, you could expect a certain level of quality in this version of Batman & Robin. The tongue in cheek approach doesn’t work at any point, forcing Arnie into some cringy one-liners and George Clooney into one of his worst performances ever. With a focus on (bad) visual effects over story, you sort of have to grab on to the terrible acting performances as the only entertaining thing to be found buried within this misstep.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith
The final entry in the list returns to the Star Wars prequel series for the third time. Admittedly, as a film, Revenge Of The Sith is slightly better than its two predecessors. We get a bit of action, a few cool things happen, and, get this, there are some good acting performances.
However, it is unable to escape its own curse, with Samuel L Jackson failing to deliver anything convincing with his doomed character, and Hayden Christianson’s desperate overacting as he screams/spits "I hate you: at a bemused Ewan McGregor being laughable. Where’s Harrison Ford when you need him?