What makes a movie bad? The answer may vary from person to person depending on what you like, but generally, there are certain movies that the media and critics consider ‘bad.’ These movies include ones with horribly low scores on Rotten Tomatoes, low enough that just by looking at the number, you decide you definitely will not be pressing play. Although, sometimes critics and audiences can have vastly different opinions. I, for one, have found that many low-rated movies are actually some of my favorite movies. Why? Because they’re fun.
Generally, I’ve found that romantic comedies and teen coming-of-age movies score pretty low with critics. Maybe because critics are looking for deeply emotional and high-tension performances, whereas I just use the movies as a form of escape and a way to enjoy myself. Of course, I also appreciate those critically acclaimed movies with drama and intense acting performances – but, I think it’s also important to have fun when watching films.
One movie I enjoyed when I was younger happens to be one of the worst-rated films on rotten tomatoes. This movie is Jack and Jill, which scored a whopping 3% on Rotten Tomatoes by critics. Even the audience score only comes in at 36%. I recently watched it again and can understand where some of the criticism comes from. It’s extremely silly to the point where some of the jokes are just dumb, and the acting performances aren’t mind-blowing. Despite this though, I still found myself laughing out loud and being entertained. It helps that I find almost any Adam Sandler movie hilarious.
Along with this movie, there are several other movies that I love, which have very low ratings, such as Bride Wars or She’s the Man that I find incredibly fun to watch. Sometimes I’ll read through the critiques to find out why they have such bad scores. They often say things like “unfunny jokes” or “too predictable,” but I don’t always want a movie that’s going to keep me on my toes and put me through several emotions. I love dumb and funny movies because they make me feel happy. I think it’s fun to watch these movies on your own or with friends and family as well.
I even think some of those movies that are so bad they can be painful to watch, are fun too. I genuinely think The Kissing Booth movies are hilarious. I love watching them with friends or with my sister and laughing about the ridiculous overdramatic acting and unrealistic plot points. I love movies that feel like they took all the Wattpad cliches and put them into one amazing movie that you can make fun of with friends.
A lot of people consider some of these badly rated movies cult classics as well, the Twilight movies are a great example of this. Although they all score under 50% with critics, they’ve become so famous and so well-known that most people I know have seen or at least heard of them. In so many of my English classes, we have used Twilight as a modern-day representation of monsters or gothic romance. Personally, I love these movies and have seen them multiple times. I love the absurdity of them and watching them makes me feel like I’m back in 2009. And honestly, life would be so much cooler if it was in a blue filter.
Overall, I think it’s important to understand that movies are a form of entertainment. There isn’t such a thing as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ movies, just different tastes. Honestly, sometimes I prefer watching ‘bad’ movies to highly-rated movies. I think they can be fun and a great form of escape. So I’ll continue to not listen to the critics and make up my own mind on how I rate movies.