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There are few things worse than a bad comedy. While a great comedy can be a fantastic piece of escapism, getting audiences to laugh at even the darkest of subjects, a bad comedy can be particularly painful to get through, especially when moments intended to be met with laughter are met with pure silence.
However, most comedies, no matter how bad, can at least earn a few laughs from their viewers. The same cannot be said for the following 10 films, which stand as perfect examples of comedies that are awful from start to finish, as they are almost entirely devoid of laughs.
10 'That's My Boy' (2012)
Directed by Sean Anders
Since the 1990s, Adam Sandler has been one of comedy's most prominent leading men. However, while the Saturday Night Live alumnus has starred in classics like Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore, he's also been the face of some of the most notoriously awful comedies of all time, with That's My Boy being a particularly notable example. Starring Sandler and Andy Samberg as an estranged father and son, the film was a critical and financial failure, widely viewed as a stain on both comedians' careers.
During the 2010s, the formula found in most of Sandler's comedies had grown stale, with the comedian's performances growing increasingly tired as well. That's My Boy is hit particularly hard by these issues, but it also features a terrible script. It's one of the few R-rated films in Sandler's filmography, but its rating is only used to explore some deeply uncomfortable subject matter that is best left to more sophisticated storytellers. All of these issues make for a final product that is more likely to turn viewers away than keep them laughing.
That's My Boy
Release Date June 15, 2012
Runtime 116 Minutes
Director Sean Anders
9 'Disaster Movie' (2008)
Directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer
Image via Lionsgate
Following the release of 2000's Scary Movie, two of its writers, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, made a number of other parody movies in a similar vein, including Date Movie and Epic Movie, many of which are deemed some of the worst parody films ever. 2008's Disaster Movie was another release written and directed by the duo, this time spoofing, appropriately enough, disaster movies, alongside pop culture staples of the time like High School Musical and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Not a single joke lands in Disaster Movie. The first scene gets things off to a weak start with a needlessly long belch gag, but it only gets worse from there. Most of the film's attempts at humor come from completely random happenings that have no build-up whatsoever, like when Miley Cyrus (Crista Flanagan) suddenly appears as Hannah Montana, crushed beneath a meteor, to give a lengthy, yawn-inducing monologue with zero comedic value. Its reliance upon specific pop culture references also has the side effect of making it even less funny as it grows less relevant over time, solidifying Disaster Movie as one of the worst comedies of all time.
Disaster Movie
Release Date August 29, 2008
Runtime 87 Minutes
Director Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
Writers Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
8 'Year One' (2009)
Directed by Harold Ramis
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
Directed by Harold Ramis, produced by Judd Apatow, and starring Jack Black alongside Michael Cera, Year One had some of the biggest names in comedy from across three decades attached to it. Unfortunately, while it should have been great, the film was a critically panned box office flop, serving as a disappointing conclusion to Ramis' legendary career by being a horribly unfunny comedy that pales in comparison to his earlier work.
In Year One, Zed (Black) and Oh (Cera), two primitive men, leave their tribe in order to explore the world, eventually witnessing and becoming involved in a number of biblical events. Films like Monty Python's The Life of Brian and Mel Brooks' History of the World, Part I have successfully executed similar concepts, but Year One's script holds it back from ever earning a laugh from its viewers. Black also delivers an uncharacteristically low energy performance, bogging the film down even further. Cera's signature awkward charisma and small appearances from talented comedic performers like David Cross and Bill Hader aren't enough to save Year One from being a terribly unfunny comedy.
Year One
Release Date June 19, 2009
Runtime 97 Minutes
Director Harold Ramis
Writers Harold Ramis, Gene Stupnitsky, Lee Eisenberg
7 'North' (1994)
Directed by Rob Reiner
Image via Columbia Pictures
North is a notoriously bad family film starring Elijah Wood as the titular North, a young child who elects to legally abandon his parents in the search for a pair of parents he likes more. Along the way, he encounters a number of characters played by Bruce Willis who essentially explain the film's various messages to the younger members of its intended audience. The end result is absolutely deserving of its title as one of the worst family films of all time, but it is also painfully unfunny, despite labeling itself a comedy.
North has interesting ideas, but it executes them in extremely boring ways, aside from an out-of-place song and dance number with Dan Aykroyd and Reba McEntire, which is still unpleasant to watch. The script, co-written by former Saturday Night Live writer Alan Zweibel, is clearly directed at children rather than families, making any attempt at humor absolutely mind-numbing for more mature audience members. Even still, there are far better movies to entertain younger audiences than the dreadfully unfunny North.
North
Release Date July 22, 1994
Runtime 87 minutes
Writers Andrew Scheinman
Producers Jeffrey Stott
Cast
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-
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Jason Alexander
North's Dad
North is available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.
6 'The Love Guru' (2008)
Directed by Marco Schnabel
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Mike Myers became one of comedy's biggest stars through his roles in the Wayne's World and Austin Powers series. However, following the release of Austin Powers in Goldmember in 2002, Myers' career quickly went downhill, barring recurring appearances in the Shrek franchise. First he starred in 2003's The Cat in the Hat, widely regarded as one of the decade's worst films, but then, to make matters worse, he starred in The Love Guru.
At the surface level, The Love Guru is very similar to The Austin Powers films, but where the Powers trilogy had clever visual gags and a memorable cast of varied characters, Guru focuses almost entirely on juvenile wordplay and voices Myers thinks are funny, repeating the same types of gags ad nauseam until the film mercifully ends after less than 90 minutes. That runtime will feel about twice its actual length though, as The Love Guru reveals its entire hand by the end of its first scene, ensuring that it is a painfully predictable and boring comedy film lacking a single laugh throughout.
The Love Guru is available to rent on Apple TV in the U.S.
5 'Jack and Jill' (2011)
Directed by Dennis Dugan
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
Jack and Jill is another notoriously bad Adam Sandler film. In it, Sandler plays family man Jack and his overbearing sister Jill in an incredibly annoying dual performance that serves as a spectacular showcase of many of the comedian's more obnoxious tendencies. When it was originally released, it was derided by critics and audiences alike, with even Al Pacino's performance receiving criticism.
While he was on Saturday Night Live, Sandler was known for playing a variety of extremely juvenile characters. This style of comedy worked in the early part of his career, but by the 2010s it had worn out its welcome. Jill has one of the most grating voices that Sandler ever devised for a film, nearly surpassing his voice for the titular character of 2000's Little Nicky. While Sandler's performance is awful, the script is even worse, dragging out horribly unfunny bits that consistently grind the pace to a halt. There's some enjoyment to be had here in a "so-bad-it's-good" way, but aside from that, Jack and Jill is an awful comedy from start to finish.
4 'Norbit' (2007)
Directed by Brian Robbins
Image via Paramount Pictures
Throughout the '80s, Eddie Murphy was one of the biggest stars in comedy. The young comedian quickly became a stand-out on Saturday Night Live following the departure of the original cast and producer Lorne Michaels, but he also starred in a number of iconic films throughout the decade, including Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop and Coming to America, before seeing further success in the '90s. By the early 2000s, his work was losing favor with critics, but 2007's Norbit is widely viewed as the low point of the actor's career.
In Norbit, Murphy plays three characters: the timid Norbit Rice; his wife, the abrasive Rasputia Latimore; and the embarrassingly dated Mr. Wong, a Chinese man played as an extreme stereotype. In previous films, it was impressive to see Murphy swap between multiple roles, but here it is irritating when it isn't offensive. Norbit is mostly fine, though not a particularly compelling protagonist, but every moment of screen time spent with Rasputia is exceedingly unpleasant. The voice Murphy chooses to use for the character is absolutely terrible, and the writing is worse, containing an excess of tiresome, lazy jokes about Rasputia's size. Again, Murphy is an incredibly talented comedian, but Norbit is his worst comedy by far.
Norbit
Release Date February 8, 2007
Runtime 102 Minutes
Director Brian Robbins
Writers Eddie Murphy, Charlie Murphy, David Ronn, Jay Scherick
Cast
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Eddie Murphy
Norbit / Rasputia / Mr. Wong
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Thandiwe Newton
Kate Thomas
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3 'Movie 43' (2013)
Directed by Various Directors
Image via Relativity Media
Movie 43 is an anthology of comedy sketches similar to The Kentucky Fried Movie and Amazon Women on the Moon. However, while the latter two movies are largely hit-and-miss, there are moments of comedic brilliance present in both, unlike Movie 43, which is wholly irredeemable. Yes, despite the efforts of directors like James Gunn, Bob Odenkirk and Elizabeth Banks, alongside talent like Hugh Jackman, Chris Pratt and Emma Stone among a huge number of others, not a single sketch is funny in Movie 43.
Most of the film leans heavily on groan-worthy juvenile comedy, perfectly exemplified by a moment in which a character played by Pratt is hit by a car and, aided by a laxative, releases an explosion of fecal matter on the vehicle's windshield. It is a truly awful scene and, miraculously, Movie 43 never manages to get much more appealing after that point. Given an even slightly stronger script, Movie 43's talented cast may have been able to salvage at least a few sketches, but the material is so horrendous that it is completely incapable of being made funny.
Movie 43
Release Date January 25, 2013
Runtime 90minutes
2 'Holmes & Watson' (2018)
Directed by Etan Cohen
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
In the 2000s, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly starred in both Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Step Brothers, two comedy classics that have remained fan favorites in both of their filmographies. Unfortunately, Holmes & Watson doesn't live up to the expectations set by the actors' previous collaborations. An allegedly comedic take on the classic Sherlock Holmes character, Holmes & Watson is a cinematic disaster that deservedly flopped at the box office.
There is nothing to enjoy in Holmes & Watson. Despite running at a tight 90-minutes, the film is terribly paced, holding on to each one of its insultingly bad jokes for far too long. Ferrell and Reilly's chemistry, a highlight in both Talladega Nights and Step Brothers, fails to elevate the film at all here, as even they don't seem particularly interested in the material they're delivering, which is totally justified considering just how weak the script is. Simply said, Holmes & Watson is best left avoided, as it won't even provide entertainment to someone looking for a so-bad-it's-good film.
Holmes & Watson
Release Date December 25, 2018
Runtime 90 minutes
Director Etan Cohen
1 'A Madea Family Funeral' (2019)
Directed by Tyler Perry
Image via Lionsgate
It can be easy to forget, but Tyler Perry's Madea has been consistently present for over two decades now. Making her stage debut in 1999's I Can Do Bad All By Myself, followed by her cinematic debut in 2005's Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea has now appeared in a total of 11 stage productions and 12 films, with additional appearances planned. Unfortunately, while she's been one of comedy's most prevalent characters for years now, few of Madea's films have received positive critical reception, with A Madea Family Funeral standing as the worst of the bunch.
Everything about Family Funeral is shockingly bad. It looks extraordinarily cheap, the plot is mind-numbing, and the script feels borderline nonexistent, especially when Madea is on-screen. She frequently goes off on long-winded tangents that are clearly intended to be comedic, but are consistently unfunny and often completely disconnected from the main plot, making them feel like huge wastes of time. That's not to imply that the main plotline, largely concerning an extramarital affair between a man and his brother's fiancée, is of any interest, or even contains any jokes whatsoever, as whenever Perry isn't present, attempts at humor are almost entirely absent. It is an absolutely abysmal comedy, devoid of any entertainment value, cementing it as the definitive example of a comedy that is awful from start to finish.
A Madea Family Funeral
Release Date March 1, 2019
English (US) ·