Matthew McConaughey's Five Worst Movies

After being absent in 2010, Matthew McConaughey is returning to the big screen with "The Lincoln Lawyer." McConaughey plays a defense attorney who operates out of his Lincoln town car. He gets a big break when he's hired to defend a rich playboy accused of murder, but this may be one case that he can't charm his way through. The reviews have been positive toward the film and McConaughey's performance in particular. This could be a comeback for an actor whose record is spotty at best. Perhaps it's time to look over this star's biggest blunders.

"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation"

Early on McConaughey had the misfortune to be in 1995s "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation." This attempt to re-invigorate the franchise struck a sour note with just about everybody. In it McConaughey played the deranged Vilmer who helped Leatherface hunt his victims. McConaughey seemed to realize he was in a lousy movie and went nuts with it, sadly the result isn't as fun as it sounds. Adding insult to injury, nobody is killed with a chainsaw.

"Two for the Money"

After a string of solid films McConaughey stumbled with 2005s "Two for the Money." Here he played a former college athlete turned sports betting expert. When his picks start to lose there's millions on the line and his boss and former friend quickly becomes his enemy. Despite pairing McConaughey with the great Al Pacino, there was no saving the story of this film. A generic rags to riches drama that became a ham-fisted con movie halfway through, it could simply never work without a major re-write.

"Failure to Launch"

McConaughey is no stranger to romantic comedies, and usually he chooses enjoyable ones. However 2006s "Failure to Launch" was not one of those. The film marked the beginning of the actor playing his slacker public persona on screen. Here he played an adult who hadn't moved out of his parents house. Sarah Jessica Parker played a woman his parents hired to coax him into getting his own place. Word on the set was the two stars didn't get along, a rumor that appears bared out by the fact they rarely seem to be in the same shot together.

"Fool's Gold"

One of McConaughey's more successful romantic comedies had been "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" which paired him with Kate Hudson. That film rode high on the energy of the leads. Sadly they weren't able to recapture that in 2008s "Fool's Gold." The movie was about an ex husband and wife teaming up to hunt lost treasure. The film never rose above its inane premise. It didn't help that the jokes weren't funny and the characters were grating.

"Surfer, Dude"

McConaughey scraped the bottom of the barrel with 2008s "Surfer, Dude." As mentioned before McConaughey played up his slacker image in recent years, here he completely gave into it. It's like he picked a movie where he could behave exactly the way he was in his normal life so he wouldn't have to act. The stoner comedy about a surfer who refuses to play the endorsements game and simultaneously is stuck with flat water and no waves received a very limited theatrical run. The studio realized they had a turkey on their hands and buried it.

Clearly McConaughey has had his share of duds. However "The Lincoln Lawyer" looks like it will bring back the charming leading man that audiences have been missing. The trailers seem reminiscent of his performance in "A Time to Kill," which was the film in which most audiences first took notice of him. Returning to his roots with a strong performance is exactly what McConaughey needs.