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Worst Coming-of-Age Movies of All Time

Worst Coming-of-Age Movies of All Time

When executed properly, coming-of-age movies render emotional impact by sending relatable characters through a series of life-changing events. Put the sub-genre in the wrong hands, however, and it comes off as little more than a predictable rehash of tired formulas. Running over familiar ground, these films pull desperately at the heartstrings and look all the more superficial as a result. 

To determine the worst coming-of-age movies, 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, as of April 2022, weighting all ratings equally. Only films that follow a young protagonist transitioning from youth to adulthood were included. We only considered films with at least 5,000 audience votes on either IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes. Director credits come from IMDb.

Not all low-rated coming-of-age movies are regarded in the same light. Films such as “Orange County” and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” still land their plot points and tonal punches in spite of their arguable shortcomings, for example. Compare them to something like the 2012 Miley Cyrus vehicle “LOL” or the 2014 melodrama “Endless Love” and one can quickly draw lines in the sand. Some titles are underwhelming while others are just plain terrible. (These, on the other hand, are the 25 best coming-of-age movies.)

Whether the result of poor writing, direction, acting, or all of the above, the worst of the worst coming-of-age movies can be an absolute chore to sit through. When the underlying formula is laid bare, the Hollywood magic lifts away to reveal nothing but shallow tropes and emotional trickery. The guilty pleasures are thus few and far between and better found in other genres. (For instance, here’s a list of recommended sad movies for when you need a good cry.)

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Home Video

50. Whisper of the Heart (1995)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (59,584 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 0% (4,903 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (18 reviews)
> Directed by: Yoshifumi Kondô

Hayao Miyazaki wrote the screenplay for this Studio Ghibli production, an animated musical about the relationship between two young readers with the same taste in books. This was Yoshifumi Kondô´’s only directorial feature before he died of an aneurysm at the age of 47.

Source: Courtesy of MGM/UA Entertainment Company

49. Red Dawn (1984)
> IMDb user rating: 6.3/10 (55,357 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 65% (49,203 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 48% (23 reviews)
> Directed by: John Milius

A group of teenagers must grow up quickly when Soviet forces invade their small Colorado town in this action drama. It takes place in an alternate universe, where America remains one of the last hold-outs against communism. Emerging stars such as Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, and Jennifer Grey make up the ensemble cast.

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

48. St. Elmo’s Fire (1985)
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (40,923 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 68% (55,647 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 43% (44 reviews)
> Directed by: Joel Schumacher

Released the same year as “The Breakfast Club,” this Brat Pack movie centers around a group of recent college graduates. Through a series of professional and personal misadventures, each character grapples with his or her impending adulthood.

Source: Courtesy of New Line Cinema

47. Martian Child (2007)
> IMDb user rating: 6.7/10 (20,378 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 72% (84,561 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 35% (110 reviews)
> Directed by: Menno Meyjes

A foster child (Bobby Coleman) says he’s from Mars and he just might be telling the truth in this now-forgotten dramedy. John Cusack co-stars as a widowed science fiction writer, who must decide whether or not to adopt the imaginative young boy.

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

46. Accepted (2006)
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (130,637 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 72% (360,805 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 38% (117 reviews)
> Directed by: Steve Pink

Rejected from every college to which he applied, slacker Bartleby Gaines (Justin Long) creates a fictitious school of his own in this cloying comedy. But what happens when real people start flocking to a fake school? More to the point, who cares?

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

45. Brother Bear (2003)
> IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (106,474 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 65% (188,878 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 37% (132 reviews)
> Directed by: Aaron Blaise, Robert Walker

Joaquin Phoenix provides the voice of a young Inuit hunter named Kenai in Disney’s 44th animated film. After killing a bear in an act of vengeance, Kenai magically becomes one himself. Writing for the Houston Chronicle, critic Bruce Westbrook called it “a lame duck of a movie.”

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

44. Can’t Hardly Wait (1998)
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (49,404 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 63% (82,822 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 41% (63 reviews)
> Directed by: Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan

An updated take on the John Hughes-style teen flicks of the 1980s, this ensemble comedy has its share of loyal fans. The story takes place over the course of a single night, gathering every high school archetype together for a wild house party.

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

43. Orange County (2002)
> IMDb user rating: 6.2/10 (49,510 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 61% (174,398 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 46% (120 reviews)
> Directed by: Jake Kasdan

In the wake of smash hits like “American Pie” came this similarly raunchy – but ultimately more wholesome – teen comedy. After his guidance counselor submits the wrong application to Stanford, an ambitious high schooler (Colin Hanks) must prove his merits by any means necessary.

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

42. Paper Towns (2015)
> IMDb user rating: 6.3/10 (101,126 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 47% (33,052 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 58% (141 reviews)
> Directed by: Jake Schreier

A shy teen (Nat Wolff) goes searching for his missing crush (Cara Delevingne) and comes of age in the process. Culled from the pages of a John Green novel, the film opened to mixed reviews and solid box office numbers.

Source: Courtesy of Dimension Films

41. The Hole (2001)
> IMDb user rating: 6.2/10 (46,163 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 53% (34,521 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 53% (17 reviews)
> Directed by: Nick Hamm

This British thriller traps a group of teens inside an old nuclear fallout shelter, where they slowly turn against one another. Keira Knightley had one of her first major roles in this film.

Source: Courtesy of Bir Film

40. A Rainy Day in New York (2019)
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (41,165 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 55% (500 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 47% (110 reviews)
> Directed by: Woody Allen

One of Woody Allen’s more recent efforts, this breezy comedy follows the misadventures of a young couple (Timothée Chalamet and Elle Fanning) during a damp weekend in New York. Fans of the director’s work have seen it all before and in better form.

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

39. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
> IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (342,409 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 62% (909,826 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 34% (56 reviews)
> Directed by: Chris Columbus

This blockbuster sequel runs over the same ground as its predecessor, but transplants the action to New York City. Forgotten (again) by his family, Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) squares off against two bungling burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) once more. Whatever lessons young Kevin learned in the original, he learns again here.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

38. If I Stay (2014)
> IMDb user rating: 6.7/10 (121,329 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 61% (48,900 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 35% (141 reviews)
> Directed by: R.J. Cutler

Stuck in limbo after a car accident, young cellist Mia Hall (Chloë Grace Moretz) must choose between life and death in this romantic teen drama. It’s based on a 2009 YA novel of the same name by Gayle Forman.

Source: Courtesy of Fox 2000 Pictures

37. Aquamarine (2006)
> IMDb user rating: 5.4/10 (41,563 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 61% (296,572 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 51% (88 reviews)
> Directed by: Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum

With the help of two teenage girls (JoJo and Emma Roberts), a mermaid (Sara Paxton) searches for true love in this romantic dramedy. Viewers are better advised to watch “Splash” and “The Little Mermaid” back to back instead.

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

36. Labor Day (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (45,193 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 54% (20,600 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 35% (200 reviews)
> Directed by: Jason Reitman

An escaped convict (Josh Brolin) enters the lives of a depressed woman (Kate Winslet) and her son (Gattlin Griffith) in this sappy melodrama. “The story is ludicrous. The reveals are unintentionally hilarious and clumsily delivered. Even the production design is off,” wrote critic Tara Brady for the Irish Times.

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

35. Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (81,111 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 60% (208,257 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 34% (152 reviews)
> Directed by: Mike Newell

Julia Roberts earned a then record-breaking $25 million for the role of art professor Katherine Ann Watson in this predictable drama. It takes place in the 1950s at an all-female college, where Watson shakes up the local establishment with her free-thinking ways.

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

34. Casper (1995)
> IMDb user rating: 6.1/10 (130,595 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 49% (381,194 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 50% (40 reviews)
> Directed by: Brad Silberling

A famous comic book character, Casper the Friendly Ghost appeared in several TV adaptations before making his big screen debut. The film co-stars Christina Ricci at the height of her fame and features cameos from A-listers such as Clint Eastwood and Mel Gibson.

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

33. Flashdance (1983)
> IMDb user rating: 6.2/10 (51,841 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 61% (79,203 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 36% (44 reviews)
> Directed by: Adrian Lyne

A welder by day, Alex Owens (Jennifer Beals) moonlights as an exotic dancer with her sights set on ballet school. Preposterous as its plot may be, this romantic drama was the sixth-most successful film of 1983. Its adjoining soundtrack featured several hits, including the Academy Award-winning song “Flashdance…What a Feeling.”

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

32. Harriet the Spy (1996)
> IMDb user rating: 5.9/10 (10,209 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 50% (46,876 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 48% (31 reviews)
> Directed by: Bronwen Hughes

Adapted from a popular book series, this family comedy tells the story of a sixth-grade sleuth named Harriet (Michelle Trachtenberg). While considered a misfire, it looks like something of a masterpiece when compared to the 2010 TV movie “Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars.”

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

31. What a Girl Wants (2003)
> IMDb user rating: 5.8/10 (62,459 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 62% (453,675 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 36% (109 reviews)
> Directed by: Dennie Gordon

This tween comedy follows 17-year-old Daphne Reynolds (Amanda Bynes) to England, where she tracks down her biological father (Colin Firth). Already a fish out of water, Daphne doesn’t exactly mesh with his upper class family. One can assume that various differences are overcome by the time the credits roll.

Source: Courtesy of Atlantic Releasing

30. Teen Wolf (1985)
> IMDb user rating: 6.1/10 (51,518 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 52% (72,797 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 42% (33 reviews)
> Directed by: Rod Daniel

An awkward teen (Michael J. Fox) occasionally transforms into a rambunctious werewolf in this comedy smash. The film provides a vague metaphor for male puberty but mostly functions as an underdog story. It opened directly behind “Back to the Future” at the domestic box office, thereby cementing Michael J. Fox’s status as a major Hollywood star.

Source: Courtesy of Film & TV House

29. The Giver (2014)
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (117,338 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 55% (56,267 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 35% (170 reviews)
> Directed by: Phillip Noyce

Adapted from a best-selling YA novel, this sci-fi thriller takes place in a future so monotonous that it’s presented in black-and-white. With help from the keeper of memories (Jeff Bridges), a young boy (Brenton Thwaites) breaks from the ties that bind him. A talented ensemble cast (look for Katie Holmes, Meryl Streep, and Taylor Swift, among others) does little to elevate the film’s rote storytelling.

Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

28. Art School Confidential (2006)
> IMDb user rating: 6.3/10 (17,181 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 48% (44,506 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 36% (138 reviews)
> Directed by: Terry Zwigoff

Director Terry Zwigoff re-teamed with “Ghost World” creator Daniel Clowes for this satirical examination of American art schools. It follows an aspiring artist (Max Minghella) into the Strathmore School of Art, where he finds that the creative pursuit is far more cutthroat than he expected. Zwigoff hasn’t directed a feature film since this one.

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

27. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
> IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (387,526 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 61% (250,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 76% (218 reviews)
> Directed by: Andrew Adamson

C. S. Lewis’s timeless book series leapt onto the big screen in a trilogy of blockbuster films, starting with this 2005 fantasy. Taking place during WWII, it sends four children through a wardrobe closet into the magical world of Narnia. Joining forces with a magical lion (Liam Neeson), they take on an evil white witch (Tilda Swinton).

Source: Courtesy of New Line Cinema

26. How to Deal (2003)
> IMDb user rating: 5.6/10 (9,594 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 64% (48,756 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 27% (97 reviews)
> Directed by: Clare Kilner

Halley Martin (Mandy Moore) is convinced that true love is a myth, but her classmate Macon (Trent Ford) just might prove her wrong in this romantic teen dramedy. It opened to largely negative reviews and floundered at the box office, earning just over $14 million worldwide against a reported budget of $16 million.

Source: Courtesy of Lions Gate Films

25. The Prince and Me (2004)
> IMDb user rating: 5.9/10 (38,953 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 59% (193,854 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 28% (123 reviews)
> Directed by: Martha Coolidge

Can love last between a regular American girl (Julia Stiles) and a European royal (Luke Mably)? That very question lies at the heart of this muddled romantic comedy. Presented as a modern-day fairy tale, it struggles to reap magic out of its superficial contrivances.

Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

24. The Last Song (2010)
> IMDb user rating: 6.0/10 (86,318 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 65% (160,824 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 20% (122 reviews)
> Directed by: Julie Anne Robinson

Novelist Nicholas Sparks co-wrote the script for this romantic drama, in which an unruly teen (Miley Cyrus) comes of age over the course of a summer. Critics were generally unimpressed with Cyrus’ turn as a dramatic lead as well as the movie’s overly saccharine qualities.

Source: Courtesy of New Line Cinema

23. Raise Your Voice (2004)
> IMDb user rating: 5.8/10 (27,745 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 71% (383,418 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 15% (85 reviews)
> Directed by: Sean McNamara

A small-town girl (Hillary Duff) attends a big-city performing arts school in this paltry “Fame” knock-off. Many critics saw the film as little more than a shameless attempt to promote Duff’s crossover career and exploit her massive fanbase.

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

22. Everyone’s Hero (2006)
> IMDb user rating: 5.7/10 (8,752 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 44% (76,616 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 42% (69 reviews)
> Directed by: Colin Brady, Christopher Reeve, Daniel St. Pierre

This computer-animated sports comedy, set in 1932, puts a young boy in possession of Babe Ruth’s lost baseball bat. So begins a cross-country journey with potential hero-making consequences. It was co-directed by “Superman” star Christopher Reeve, who died halfway through its production.

Source: Mingle Media TV / Wikimedia Commons

21. Girl in Progress (2012)
> IMDb user rating: 5.6/10 (6,809 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 53% (56,938 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 33% (46 reviews)
> Directed by: Patricia Riggen

Inspired by coming-of-age stories, a teen girl (Cierra Ramirez) enacts one of her own in this heartfelt drama. Through her misguided attempts at adulthood, she learns that growing up isn’t as easy as it looks. Eva Mendes co-stars as the girl’s single mother, who’s likewise struggling to keep everything together.

Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing

20. Annie (2014)
> IMDb user rating: 5.3/10 (37,190 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 59% (53,526 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 28% (162 reviews)
> Directed by: Will Gluck

An old comic strip called “Little Orphan Annie” spawned multiple adaptations for stage and screen, including this musical comedy. It updates the material for the modern era, but ultimately succumbs to crass commercialism and cloying clichés.

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

19. Endless Love (2014)
> IMDb user rating: 6.2/10 (43,908 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 58% (25,296 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 16% (95 reviews)
> Directed by: Shana Feste

Two young lovers (Gabriella Wilde and Alex Pettyfer) defy their parents and cross the class divide in this romantic drama. The second adaptation of a 1979 novel, it also bears resemblance to Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet.” According to most critics, the film is every bit as contrived and schmaltzy as its Valentine’s Day release date would suggest.

Source: Courtesy of STX Entertainment

18. The Space Between Us (2017)
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (51,906 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 54% (14,446 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 16% (137 reviews)
> Directed by: Shana Feste

The first human born on Mars, Gardner Elliot (Asa Butterfield) visits Earth and experiences our native planet from a fresh perspective. With his organs failing due to the atmosphere, he goes on the run with a streetwise foster teen (Britt Robertson). “By the time you get to the money shot of two lovers kissing in zero gravity, you’ll either be deep in this movie’s pocket or have fallen into a diabetic coma,” wrote critic David Fear for Rolling Stone.

Source: Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures

17. The Art of Getting By (2011)
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (58,420 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 47% (12,509 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 19% (113 reviews)
> Directed by: Gavin Wiesen

An apathetic teen (Freddie Highmore) finds a reason to exist when he discovers first love in this romantic teen comedy. The insufferable twee vibe is so palpable that the film almost feels like a satire of its own sub-genre, if most critics are to be believed.

Source: Courtesy of Universal Studios

16. Hop (2011)
> IMDb user rating: 5.4/10 (33,426 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 53% (107,450 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 24% (139 reviews)
> Directed by: Tim Hill

Blending live-action and computer-animation, this family comedy expands upon Easter mythology to unfunny results. It kicks into high gear when a city-based slacker (James Marsden) accidentally hits the Easter Bunny’s son (voiced by Russell Brand) with his car. The fate of a holiday hangs in the balance as both characters come of age.

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

15. Drillbit Taylor (2008)
> IMDb user rating: 5.7/10 (59,997 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 44% (98,018 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 26% (147 reviews)
> Directed by: Steven Brill

Producer Judd Apatow and co-screenwriter Seth Rogen adapted an original story by the late John Hughes when bringing this teen comedy onto the big screen. It stars Owen Wilson as the title character, a low-rent bodyguard who’s hired to protect three kids from the local bully.

Source: Courtesy of New Line Cinema

14. Poison Ivy (1992)
> IMDb user rating: 5.4/10 (18,351 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 36% (46,644 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 37% (30 reviews)
> Directed by: Katt Shea

This erotic thriller premiered at Sundance and floundered theatrically before taking off on the home rental market. Drew Barrymore plays a mysterious teen named Ivy, who seduces her way into the life of a shy high school student (Sara Gilbert) and her wealthy family.

Source: Courtesy of Miramax

13. Keeping Up with the Steins (2006)
> IMDb user rating: 5.3/10 (3,208 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 38% (90,600 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 36% (83 reviews)
> Directed by: Scott Marshall

The bar mitzvah proves to be anything religious but in this underwhelming comedy. As a young man prepares for his rite of passage, his parents (Jeremy Piven and Jami Gertz) seem more focused on outshining their peers.

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

12. My Girl 2 (1994)
> IMDb user rating: 5.3/10 (19,594 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 46% (69,713 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 27% (15 reviews)
> Directed by: Howard Zieff

This entirely unnecessary sequel continues the coming–of-age adventures of Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky). It takes place in 1974 and follows Vada to Los Angeles, where she digs into her family’s mysterious past. Stick with the original.

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

11. Cocktail (1988)
> IMDb user rating: 5.9/10 (83,668 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 58% (107,117 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 7% (44 reviews)
> Directed by: Roger Donaldson

Living proof of Tom Cruise’s star power in the 1980s, this mindless drama was the eighth-highest-grossing film of its year at the global box office. He plays talented bartender Brian Flanagan, who experiences romance and deception while trying to fulfill his entrepreneurial dreams.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

10. Pan (2015)
> IMDb user rating: 5.7/10 (63,271 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 40% (51,060 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 27% (202 reviews)
> Directed by: Joe Wright

This reimagined take on Peter Pan overcompensates for its lack of substance with a relentless barrage of CGI effects. Filmed on a reported budget of $150 million before marketing costs, it made just over $128 million worldwide.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

9. Curly Sue (1991)
> IMDb user rating: 5.8/10 (21,538 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 50% (49,676 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 13% (15 reviews)
> Directed by: John Hughes

The last film written and directed by John Hughes was a rare misfire for the influential icon. It centers on a homeless con man (James Belushi) and his daughter (Alisan Porter), who forge an unlikely bond with their latest target (Kelly Lynch).

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

8. Dennis the Menace (1993)
> IMDb user rating: 5.6/10 (60,458 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 38% (256,501 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 27% (26 reviews)
> Directed by: Nick Castle

The quintessential troublemaker Dennis the Menace appeared in comic strips and on TV before landing in this feature film. Doing its best “Home Alone” impersonation, the story unleashes Dennis (Mason Gamble) on his neighbor (Walter Matthau) and a local burglar (Christopher Lloyd). Two direct-to-video sequels would follow, both featuring different cast members.

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

7. The Blue Lagoon (1980)
> IMDb user rating: 5.8/10 (68,257 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 53% (55,805 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 8% (25 reviews)
> Directed by: Randal Kleiser

Stranded on an island, two cousins go from childish innocence to sexual experience in this famously ridiculous survival tale. Awkward acting and a cringey plot didn’t stop the film from becoming a box office blockbuster and the ninth-highest-grossing release of 1980.

Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

6. You Again (2010)
> IMDb user rating: 5.7/10 (51,411 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 43% (59,565 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 19% (96 reviews)
> Directed by: Andy Fickman

A successful PR executive (Kristen Bell) discovers that her brother is engaged to her former bully in this lackluster comedy. Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw wrote, “A clever, perhaps even brilliant idea for a black comedy has here been slathered and stifled in a thick treacly layer of Disney-sentimental gloop.”

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

5. The Sitter (2011)
> IMDb user rating: 5.6/10 (70,301 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 39% (40,776 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 22% (112 reviews)
> Directed by: David Gordon Green

Rehashing plot points from 1987’s “Adventures in Babysitting,” this dark action comedy puts an unemployed slacker (Jonah Hill) in charge of three quirky kids. With the promise of sex comes a city-wide odyssey, which unfolds through a series of crude and chaotic set pieces.

Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate

4. LOL (2012)
> IMDb user rating: 4.4/10 (55,623 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 51% (21,837 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 14% (07 reviews)
> Directed by: Lisa Azuelos

Filmmaker Lisa Azuelos adapted her own French dramedy for American audiences with this shallow examination of the modern age. Miley Cyrus plays teen girl Lola – Lol for short – who navigates a world of overprotective parenting and ubiquitous social media in the search for romance.

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

3. After Earth (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 4.8/10 (198,678 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 36% (122,008 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 11% (211 reviews)
> Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

A career nadir for all those involved, this sci-fi action flick takes place on Earth over a thousand years after mankind has fled the planet. Will Smith and son Jaden crash land their spacecraft and try to survive in this perilous terrain. Smith himself conceived the story.

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

2. Crossroads (2002)
> IMDb user rating: 3.5/10 (39,908 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 40% (359,354 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 14% (104 reviews)
> Directed by: Tamra Davis

Britney Spears was at the height of her fame when she appeared in this misguided vehicle for a potential crossover career. Reunited after eight years, three friends embark on a cross-country road trip of life-changing proportions. Critics and audiences seem to have wished the trio had stayed home.

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

1. College (2008)
> IMDb user rating: 4.5/10 (12,356 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 27% (67,975 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 5% (43 reviews)
> Directed by: Deb Hagan

The poster art for this sophomoric comedy features a teenager throwing up into a toilet, which is exactly how most viewers feel after watching it. Follow three high school seniors to Fairmont University, where they get a taste of college life. “A raunchy comedy that plays like a “Superbad” without the smarts, the heart, the originality or the laughs,” wrote critic Roger Moore for the Orlando Sentinel.

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