Whether it’s due to bad acting, sloppy screenwriting, an over-reliance on crude humor, or some combination of the above, bad comedy is an absolute chore to sit through. That makes it unique – different from bad horror or bad sci-fi, where a certain amount of campiness can actually elevate the enjoyment. (These are the 15 worst R-rated movies every made.)
When comedy goes awry, there’s only awkwardness between the viewer and the movie itself, which turns the whole experience into a battle of wills. And speaking of going awry, according to data, the worst comedy of all time is 2004’s “Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2.”
To determine the worst comedies of all time, 24/7 Tempo developed an index using average ratings on IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and a combination of audience scores and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, current as of mid-May 2022. All ratings were weighted equally. Only films with at least 20,000 reviews on IMDb, 2,500 audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and 10 Tomatometer critics reviews were considered. (Information on casts and directors came from IMDb.)
They say that comedy is harder to execute than drama and the following list is here to prove it. Chock full of comedic misfires, it pays tribute to the genre’s worst outings of all time. In spite of their many shortcomings, however, a number of these movies managed to turn a respectable profit at the box office or spawn the occasional sequel. (These, in contrast, are the funniest American movies of all time.)
Nevertheless, bad comedy continues. From “Jack and Jill” to “Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot,” these movies even have their own special place in history. Among the genre’s worst offenders is the directing duo of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, who are behind lame-brained spoofs such as “Vampires Suck” and “Meet the Spartans.” Capitalizing on the success of 2000’s “Scary Movie” (which they co-wrote), they butchered a formula all the way to the bank. Who’s the joke on now?
50. The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D (2005)
> IMDb rating: 3.6 (37,346 votes)
> RT audience rating: 33% (32,302 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 20% (123 votes)
> Starring: Cayden Boyd, George Lopez, Kristin Davis, David Arquette
> Director: Robert Rodriguez
49. Deck the Halls (2006)
> IMDb rating: 5.0 (27,856 votes)
> RT audience rating: 30% (55,791 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 6% (86 votes)
> Starring: Matthew Broderick, Danny DeVito, Kristin Chenoweth, Kristin Davis
> Director: John Whitesell
24/7 Tempo
48. Year One (2009)
> IMDb rating: 4.9 (97,491 votes)
> RT audience rating: 23% (337,044 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 14% (173 votes)
> Starring: Jack Black, Michael Cera, Olivia Wilde, Oliver Platt
> Director: Harold Ramis
47. Postal (2007)
> IMDb rating: 4.4 (23,125 votes)
> RT audience rating: 34% (81,882 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 9% (46 votes)
> Starring: Zack Ward, Dave Foley, Verne Troyer, Chris Coppola
> Director: Uwe Boll
46. Miss March (2009)
> IMDb rating: 5.0 (21,373 votes)
> RT audience rating: 30% (79,400 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 5% (81 votes)
> Starring: Zach Cregger, Trevor Moore, Raquel Alessi, Molly Stanton
> Director: Zach Cregger, Trevor Moore
45. Holy Man (1998)
> IMDb rating: 4.9 (20,052 votes)
> RT audience rating: 24% (39,982 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 12% (50 votes)
> Starring: Eddie Murphy, Jeff Goldblum, Kelly Preston, Robert Loggia
> Director: Stephen Herek
44. Material Girls (2006)
> IMDb rating: 3.9 (22,249 votes)
> RT audience rating: 44% (229,030 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 4% (54 votes)
> Starring: Hilary Duff, Haylie Duff, Anjelica Huston, Maria Conchita Alonso
> Director: Martha Coolidge
43. All About Steve (2009)
> IMDb rating: 4.8 (42,002 votes)
> RT audience rating: 30% (465,630 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 6% (140 votes)
> Starring: Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, Thomas Haden Church, Ken Jeong
> Director: Phil Traill
42. Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001)
> IMDb rating: 4.8 (24,885 votes)
> RT audience rating: 25% (171,817 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 11% (82 votes)
> Starring: Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski, Jere Burns, Jonathan Banks
> Director: Simon Wincer
41. Double Team (1997)
> IMDb rating: 4.8 (34,190 votes)
> RT audience rating: 25% (41,675 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 11% (19 votes)
> Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Rodman, Mickey Rourke, Paul Freeman
> Director: Hark Tsui
40. Cool World (1992)
> IMDb rating: 4.8 (22,978 votes)
> RT audience rating: 31% (54,856 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 4% (49 votes)
> Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Kim Basinger, Janni Brenn, Brad Pitt
> Director: Ralph Bakshi
39. Envy (2004)
> IMDb rating: 4.8 (31,102 votes)
> RT audience rating: 27% (51,453 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 8% (118 votes)
> Starring: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Rachel Weisz, Amy Poehler
> Director: Barry Levinson
38. Get a Job (2016)
> IMDb rating: 5.2 (23,213 votes)
> RT audience rating: 21% (5,295 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 9% (23 votes)
> Starring: Miles Teller, Anna Kendrick, Bryan Cranston, Nicholas Braun
> Director: Dylan Kidd
37. Bratz (2007)
> IMDb rating: 3.0 (23,660 votes)
> RT audience rating: 46% (49,260 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 10% (80 votes)
> Starring: Skyler Shaye, Janel Parrish, Logan Browning, Nathalia Ramos
> Director: Sean McNamara
36. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015)
> IMDb rating: 4.4 (37,285 votes)
> RT audience rating: 33% (37,563 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 6% (63 votes)
> Starring: Kevin James, Raini Rodriguez, Eduardo Verástegui, Daniella Alonso
> Director: Andy Fickman
35. The Ridiculous 6 (2015)
> IMDb rating: 4.8 (48,699 votes)
> RT audience rating: 34% (3,465 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 0% (36 votes)
> Starring: Adam Sandler, Terry Crews, Jorge Garcia, Taylor Lautner
> Director: Frank Coraci
34. The Love Guru (2008)
> IMDb rating: 3.8 (52,593 votes)
> RT audience rating: 33% (240,600 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 13% (176 votes)
> Starring: Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, Romany Malco, Jessica Simpson
> Director: Marco Schnabel
32. Kangaroo Jack (2003)
> IMDb rating: 4.4 (31,541 votes)
> RT audience rating: 29% (59,289 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 8% (115 votes)
> Starring: Anthony Anderson, Jerry O’Connell, Estella Warren, Christopher Walken
> Director: David McNally
31. The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000)
> IMDb rating: 3.7 (23,532 votes)
> RT audience rating: 20% (44,111 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 25% (72 votes)
> Starring: Mark Addy, Stephen Baldwin, Kristen Johnston, Jane Krakowski
> Director: Brian Levant
30. Zoom (2006)
> IMDb rating: 4.3 (20,996 votes)
> RT audience rating: 33% (11,425 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 4% (68 votes)
> Starring: Tim Allen, Courteney Cox, Chevy Chase, Spencer Breslin
> Director: Peter Hewitt
29. My Boss’s Daughter (2003)
> IMDb rating: 4.7 (29,364 votes)
> RT audience rating: 23% (52,800 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 8% (74 votes)
> Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Tara Reid, Andy Richter, Molly Shannon
> Director: David Zucker
28. Inspector Gadget (1999)
> IMDb rating: 4.1 (48,053 votes)
> RT audience rating: 18% (275,660 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 20% (64 votes)
> Starring: Matthew Broderick, Rupert Everett, Joely Fisher, Michelle Trachtenberg
> Director: David Kellogg
27. Scary Movie V (2013)
> IMDb rating: 3.5 (70,921 votes)
> RT audience rating: 38% (236,276 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 4% (52 votes)
> Starring: Simon Rex, Ashley Tisdale, Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan
> Directors: Malcolm D. Lee, David Zucker
26. Troll 2 (1990)
> IMDb rating: 2.9 (32,623 votes)
> RT audience rating: 44% (10,355 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 5% (21 votes)
> Starring: Michael Paul Stephenson, George Hardy, Margo Prey, Connie Young
> Director: Claudio Fragasso
25. Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992)
> IMDb rating: 4.3 (42,098 votes)
> RT audience rating: 21% (52,952 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 11% (28 votes)
> Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Estelle Getty, JoBeth Williams, Roger Rees
> Director: Roger Spottiswoode
24. The Emoji Movie (2017)
> IMDb rating: 3.3 (63,056 votes)
> RT audience rating: 37% (25,605 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 6% (134 votes)
> Starring: T.J. Miller, James Corden, Anna Faris, Maya Rudolph
> Director: Tony Leondis
23. Holmes & Watson (2018)
> IMDb rating: 3.9 (36,081 votes)
> RT audience rating: 25% (3,987 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 10% (80 votes)
> Starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Ralph Fiennes, Rebecca Hall
> Director: Etan Cohen
22. Look Who’s Talking Now (1993)
> IMDb rating: 4.3 (29,289 votes)
> RT audience rating: 29% (185,896 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 0% (25 votes)
> Starring: John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, David Gallagher, Tabitha Lupien
> Director: Tom Ropelewski
21. Street Fighter (1994)
> IMDb rating: 4.0 (70,933 votes)
> RT audience rating: 20% (79,797 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 12% (43 votes)
> Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Raul Julia, Ming-Na Wen, Damian Chapa
> Director: Steven E. de Souza
20. Movie 43 (2013)
> IMDb rating: 4.3 (104,960 votes)
> RT audience rating: 24% (35,764 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 4% (89 votes)
> Starring: Emma Stone, Stephen Merchant, Richard Gere, Liev Schreiber
> Directors: Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundieff, James Duffy, Griffin Dunne, and seven others
19. Piranha 3DD (2012)
> IMDb rating: 3.7 (42,307 votes)
> RT audience rating: 22% (22,602 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 13% (53 votes)
> Starring: Danielle Panabaker, Ving Rhames, David Hasselhoff, Matt Bush
> Director: John Gulager
18. Jack and Jill (2011)
> IMDb rating: 3.3 (83,849 votes)
> RT audience rating: 36% (68,831 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 3% (116 votes)
> Starring: Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes, Al Pacino, Elodie Tougne
> Director: Dennis Dugan
17. The Master of Disguise (2002)
> IMDb rating: 3.3 (25,110 votes)
> RT audience rating: 35% (59,227 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 1% (104 votes)
> Starring: Dana Carvey, Jennifer Esposito, Harold Gould, James Brolin
> Director: Perry Andelin Blake
16. Date Movie (2006)
> IMDb rating: 2.8 (59,438 votes)
> RT audience rating: 35% (513,879 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 7% (90 votes)
> Starring: Alyson Hannigan, Adam Campbell, Fred Willard, Jennifer Coolidge
> Directors: Aaron Seltzer, Jason Friedberg
15. Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003)
> IMDb rating: 3.4 (39,632 votes)
> RT audience rating: 23% (258,969 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 10% (119 votes)
> Starring: Derek Richardson, Eric Christian Olsen, Eugene Levy, Timothy Stack
> Director: Troy Miller
14. Vampires Suck (2010)
> IMDb rating: 3.4 (48,714 votes)
> RT audience rating: 29% (75,170 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 4% (91 votes)
> Starring: Jenn Proske, Matt Lanter, Diedrich Bader, Chris Riggi
> Director: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
13. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994)
> IMDb rating: 3.3 (22,922 votes)
> RT audience rating: 18% (31,124 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 16% (37 votes)
> Starring: Renée Zellweger, Matthew McConaughey, Robert Jacks, Tonie Perensky
> Director: Kim Henkel
12. From Justin to Kelly (2003)
> IMDb rating: 1.9 (26,430 votes)
> RT audience rating: 39% (52,908 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 8% (63 votes)
> Starring: Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini, Katherine Bailess, Anika Noni Rose
> Director: Robert Iscove
11. The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
> IMDb rating: 3.8 (25,782 votes)
> RT audience rating: 19% (32,688 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 4% (89 votes)
> Starring: Eddie Murphy, Jay Mohr, Randy Quaid, Rosario Dawson
> Director: Ron Underwood
10. Fifty Shades of Black (2016)
> IMDb rating: 3.5 (21,418 votes)
> RT audience rating: 19% (11,169 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 4% (45 votes)
> Starring: Marlon Wayans, Kali Hawk, Fred Willard, Mike Epps
> Director: Michael Tiddes
9. Kazaam (1996)
> IMDb rating: 3.0 (24,348 votes)
> RT audience rating: 20% (40,137 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 5% (37 votes)
> Starring: Shaquille O’Neal, Francis Capra, Ally Walker, James Acheson
> Director: Paul Michael Glaser
8. Meet the Spartans (2008)
> IMDb rating: 2.8 (107,565 votes)
> RT audience rating: 25% (245,022 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 2% (48 votes)
> Starring: Sean Maguire, Kevin Sorbo, Carmen Electra, Ken Davitian
> Directors: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
7. Epic Movie (2007)
> IMDb rating: 2.4 (105,210 votes)
> RT audience rating: 29% (560,055 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 2% (66 votes)
> Starring: Kal Penn, Jennifer Coolidge, Fred Willard, Adam Campbell
> Director: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
6. The Hottie & the Nottie (2008)
> IMDb rating: 1.9 (38,219 votes)
> RT audience rating: 31% (12,755 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 6% (67 votes)
> Starring: Paris Hilton, Joel David Moore, Christine Lakin, Johann Urb
> Director: Tom Putnam
5. Baby Geniuses (1999)
> IMDb rating: 2.5 (26,465 votes)
> RT audience rating: 24% (82,219 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 2% (45 votes)
> Starring: Kathleen Turner, Christopher Lloyd, Kim Cattrall, Peter MacNicol
> Director: Bob Clark
4. Gigli (2003)
> IMDb rating: 2.6 (48,814 votes)
> RT audience rating: 13% (45,247 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 6% (187 votes)
> Starring: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bartha, Terry Camilleri
> Director: Martin Brest
3. Son of the Mask (2005)
> IMDb rating: 2.2 (55,910 votes)
> RT audience rating: 16% (38,705 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 6% (105 votes)
> Starring: Jamie Kennedy, Traylor Howard, Alan Cumming, Liam Falconer
> Director: Lawrence Guterman
2. Disaster Movie (2008)
> IMDb rating: 1.9 (91,058 votes)
> RT audience rating: 21% (128,398 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 1% (74 votes)
> Starring: Carmen Electra, Vanessa Lachey, Nicole Parker, Matt Lanter
> Directors: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
1. Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004)
> IMDb rating: 1.5 (30,988 votes)
> RT audience rating: 24% (6,989 votes)
> Tomatometer rating: 0% (46 votes)
> Starring: Jon Voight, Scott Baio, Vanessa Angel, Skyler Shaye
> Director: Bob Clark
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