Comedy tends to be one of the most hit-or-miss genres, and this holds true across every decade. The 2010s were no different,serving up a slew of unique and innovative comediesalongside countless duds. With this in mind, this list explores ten of the most widely criticized comedies of the 2010s, each of which disappointed audiences and critics alike.
These films quickly became infamous, whether due to lazy storytelling, excessive reliance on crude humor, or an overuse of dated pop culture references. Some tried to push boundaries but ended up feeling dated or misguided, whileothers simply lacked the cleverness to make their jokes land. Despite casting big names or attempting edgy humor, they turned out utterly abysmal. Most of them aren’t even fun to watch ironically.
10’Movie 43' (2013)
Directed by multiple directors
“This is a bold new direction in comedy.“Movie 43is an anthology film composed of bizarre, raunchy sketches, each helmed by a different director and featuring an impressive roster of stars, includingHugh Jackman,Kate Winslet, andHalle Berry. Despite its A-list cast, however, the movie struggles to deliver laughs, instead relying on crude, shocking humor that often feels forced. Each sketch tries to outdo the last in terms of vulgarity and absurdity, butthe jokes rarely land.
Some of the concepts here are painful to watch, involving dangerous sex dolls, banned videos, a shotgun-wielding animated cat, and the collapse of civilization. The whole thing is equal parts juvenile, uninspired, and mean-spirited. It’s a genuine mystery how so many big stars got roped into this disaster. One of the co-directors,Peter Farrelly, hassaid, “The strategy was simple: Wait for them. Shoot when they want to shoot. Guilt them to death.” Watching the film, that looks about right.
9’Furry Vengeance' (2010)
Directed by Roger Kumble
“Nature always wins.“Furry VengeancestarsBrendan Fraseras Dan Sanders, a real estate developer whose plan to build in a forest brings him into conflict witha group of vengeful woodland animals. The animals attempt to sabotage Dan’s project, with the movie leaning film leans heavily on slapstick and physical humor as Fraser takes the brunt of their antics. This barrage of animal pranks grows tiring quickly, with the gags more repetitive than entertaining. One of them involves a grizzly attack on a portable toilet, to give an indication of the tone.
The movie fails on every front, from the lame comedy to the half-baked environmental message and a handful of scenes that are unsuitable for younger viewers (the only demographic who might have gotten a kick out of the animal hijinks). The acting is little better, with future Oscar winner Fraser and supporting player Ken Jeong turning in exaggerated performances that make their characters almost as cartoonish as the woodland critters.
Furry Vengeance
8’The Hungover Games' (2014)
Directed by Josh Stolberg
“May the odds be ever in your hangover.” The 2010s represented the dying days of the parody film, which had been reasonably popular in the 2000s. One of the worst isThe Hungover Games, a mash-up ofThe HangoverandThe Hunger Games.It’s about a group of friends who wake up after a wild night only to find themselves in a twisted competition. The film tries to poke fun at various popular movies, fromThe Human CentipedetoDjango Unchained, but its humor is mostly crude and low-brow.
The resulting film is subpar even by direct-to-video standards.There’s clear potential for a humorous pop culture parody here, but the execution falls flat, as the jokes tend toward the obvious and unrefined. When outright parody fails, the film resorts to gross-out gags and references to genitalia. Everything here is a gimmick, essentially, from the story beats to the supporting characters, including a flamboyant Thor and an offensive talking bird.
The Hungover Games
7’Scary Movie V' (2013)
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee
“It’s the ultimate evil… and it’s really annoying.” Yet another tepid parody movie,Scary Movie 5tries to mock horrors likeParanormal Activity,Mama, andEvil Dead, but it continuedthe franchise’s decline in quality. The film follows Jody (Ashley Tisdale) and Dan (Simon Rex), a couple who bring home their adopted children, only to experience strange, supernatural events. As usual, the premise serves mainly as a vehicle for the pop culture references and a parade of celebrity cameos.
Ultimately,Scary Movie Vstruggles to find a fresh angle on horror tropes. The references often feel forced, and the film generally lacks the energy that animated the franchise’s early entries. Plus, many of the jokes were already dated when the film came out. Indeed, most of the movies it parodies had already been out for six years or more whenScary Movie 5premiered. The result is a film that feels stale and out of touch. It’s not even goofily fun.
Scary Movie 5
6’Vampires Suck' (2010)
Directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer
“BecauseTwilightisn’t funny enough.” Continuing the lineup of terrible parody films,Vampires Sucktakes aim at theTwilightseries, following Becca Crane (Jenn Proske), a teenage girl caught in a love triangle with a vampire and a werewolf. The title is an okay pun, but that’s as far as the cleverness goes.The rest of the movie is unoriginal and heavy-handed, dealing inabsurd visual gags and exaggerated tropes.
This movie is basically an extended attempt to jump on a trend, playing to theTwilight-hating crowd. There’s not much actual story or humor, to the point thatVampires Suckfeels overlong despite clocking in at a lean 82 minutes. The only decent aspect is the game lead performance from Proske. She makes the most of the little the script hands her. Otherwise, like many of the major characters, this film should never have seen the light of day.
Vampires Suck
5’Jack and Jill' (2011)
Directed by Dennis Dugan
“I’m a twin. I’m a normal twin. This is a freak.” In this trainwreck, Adam Sandlerplays dual roles as both Jack, a successful advertising executive, and Jill, his loud, eccentric twin sister. When Jill visits Jack for Thanksgiving, her overstayed welcome leads to chaos and misunderstandings. The film’s humor relies heavily on Sandler’s over-the-top portrayal of Jill, but most of the scenes feel more awkward than funny. All told, this movie is a far cry from the fun ofHappy GilmoreorClick.
Jack and Jillis typical of B-tier Sandler, with its rushed direction, shallow script, product placement, and abundant fart jokes. The plot unfolds predictably, evoking a few sparse laughs but mostly frustration. Despite its budget (it somehow cost $79m) and star-studded cast (Katie Holmes,Al Pacino, andTim Meadowsall appear),Jack and Jillcomes across as gimmicky and low-effort.It’s one of Sandler’s all-time worst projects.
Jack and Jill
Family guy, Jack Sadelstein, prepares for the annual event he always dreads–the Thanksgiving visit of his fraternal twin sister, the needy, and passive-aggressive Jill, who then refuses to leave.
4’Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star' (2011)
Directed by Tom Brady
“It’s time to make my parents proud… in my own way.” This flop from Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions revolves around Bucky (Nick Swardson), a small-town boy who discovers his parents were adult film stars. Inspired by his discovery, he moves to Hollywood with dreams of following in their footsteps, but his naive, awkward persona quickly makes him the subject of ridicule. The movie relies heavily on Bucky’s cluelessness and fish-out-of-water scenarios, but the jokes quickly wear thin, and it’s hard to get invested in his journey.
Swardson’s performance also leaves a lot to be desired, not rising to the levels of his sketch comedy or his more enjoyable appearances in movies likeDon’t Mess with the Zohan. The actor blamed the film’s lack of success (it made a major loss at the box office) on the difficulties of marketing an R-rated comedy, but that seems like the least ofBucky Larson’s problems.
Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star
3’Breaking Wind' (2012)
Directed by Craig Moss
“Some things are better left unsaid… and unsmelled.” Topping evenVampires Suckin terms of lame Twilight parody (and featuring an even worse title pun) isBreaking Wind. It follows Bella (Heather Ann Davis) and Edward(Eric Callero) lookalikes in a series of gross-out gags and slapstick scenes, but the humor rarely rises above toilet humor and lame physical comedy.Danny Trejoalso appears in a head-scratching cameo as an elder werewolf.
It’s hard to even see who this movie was meant to appeal to.The jokes are frequently tasteless and inept, bordering on offensive. This is the kind of film that finds insults and stereotypes amusing. Enduring over 70 minutes of this drudgery leads to its worst moment: mean footage of realTwilightfans being mocked on screen. For all these reasons,Breaking Windgoes beyond being simply bad to outright unpleasant. It’s the definition of a dumpster fire.
Breaking Wind
2’The Starving Games' (2013)
“May the odds be… whatever.” The worst parody to make this list isThe Starving Games, yet another send-up ofThe Hunger Games, this time following the protagonist Kantmiss Evershot (Maiara Walsh) as she navigates a ridiculous survival competition. The movie mocks many popular flicks of the era, includingHarry PotterandThe Hobbit, as well as one-hit wonder celebs like LMFAO andPsy. In other words, it was dated when it came out and is now truly a relic of a bygone age.
The film is just a handful of ideas stretched paper-thin over a feature runtime.Clocking in at just over 70 minutes, the runtime is padded with unnecessary scenes and a boring blooper reel. Despite the brevity,The Starving Gamesis a slog. Not for nothing, it flopped at the box office and was eviscerated by critics, scoring a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 3.2/10 on IMDb.
The Starving Games
1’InAPPropriate Comedy' (2013)
Directed by Vince Offer
“It’s offensive, it’s outrageous, and it’s… not funny.” When it comes to the absolute worst comedy of the 2010s, it’s hard to topInAPPropriate Comedy, a dismal sketch comedy movie that makesMovie 43seem decent by comparison. Once again, a surprising collection of A-listers appear, includingAdrien Brody,Michelle Rodriguez, andLindsay Lohan, as well as comediansTheo VonandAri Shaffir. However, the movie never musters anything good out of them.
What follows is a joyless grab-bag of silly scenarios, including detective parody, sleazy therapists, and porn reviewers. There’s little actual humor (mostly just annoying double entendres). Plus, much of the dialogue has aged poorly and is now pretty cringe-inducing. The worst example is Brody (playing a character named Flirty Harry) growling, “Go ahead, make me gay.” Consequently, the movie is tied with several others as the absolute worst-reviewed film on Metacritic. It’s a true anti-masterpiece.
InAPPropriate Comedy
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