The 10 Worst Films of the 1990's

Here is a continued look at the worst movies of the decade. This time we take a look at the ten worst films of the 1990's. Major duds provided by Kevin Costner, "Waterworld" and "The Postman" didn't make the list because the list below contains films that are far worse.

Here are the ten worst films of the 1980's in alphabetical order:

ANOTHER YOU (1992) - Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor teamed for the fourth and final time with this dismally awful comedy with Wilder as a compulsive liar released from custody into the hands of a parolee (Pryor) forced to do community service. Soon the two become embroiled in an elaborate scam with Wilder posing as a millionaire. To say this is a pitiful waste of time for these considerable talents is an understatement. This film is an embarrassment. Those who saw their previous pairing, "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" derided the film (though I was mildly amused by it) but I suggest seeing this film just to see how much worse it is.

COOL WORLD (1992) - Animator Ralph Bakshi created this live action/animated mess with Gabriel Byrne as a comic book creator whose creations live in an alternate world. Enter Kim Basinger as his sexy leading lady who has sex with Byrne and becomes human and is trailed by detective Brad Pitt. A dumb script and the most unappealing lead characters you can imagine hamper this lame brained film. Basinger may look good in a micro-mini dress but there is little else to appreciate in this dud.

FOUR ROOMS (1995) - Four short stories all taking place in a hotel where a bellboy (Tim Roth) is the link to each story. Each story has a different director (Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino among them) but each story is progressively worse then the one before it. Only Tarantino's story, which is last, contains a single moment of wit and laughter. Antonia Banderas, Jennifer Beals, Madonna, Lily Taylor, Marisa Tomei, Salma Hayek and Bruce Willis all appear and are all wasted. This is one of those films that infuriate the viewer with its lost potential.

THE GOOD SON (1993) - This was best known as the film where Macauly Culkin shed his Home Alone image with a lead role in an R-rated film. Here Culkin plays a troubled young child who terrorizes his cousin (Elijah Wood) while visiting. This is one of the most unpleasant films I have ever seen with an ending so astonishing that to call it sick is an insult to sick films.

MARY SHELLY'S FRANKENSTEIN (1994) - Kenneth Branagh brought this faithful adaptation to the big screen and forgot to understand that faithful doesn't have to mean tedious. A strong cast includes Robert DeNiro as the monster and here we discover that even one of our greatest actors was born not to play certain roles. Branagh himself plays the doctor and is supported by Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Hulce and John Cleese among others. The film was so bad that an inside joke in Hollywood announced that despite being dead Mary Shelly had requested having her name removed from the credits.

NORTH (1994) - Director Rob Reiner's worst film is this lame brained comedy about an 11-year-old boy (Elijah Wood - thank God he found Frodo years later) who goes to court and divorces his parents (Seinfeld's Jason Alexander and Julia-Louis Dreyfuss) and then searches the world for new parents. Along the way he encounters some of the most unappealing characters you could ever meet played by such talent as Dan Aykroyd, Reba McEntire, Kathy Bates, John Ritter, Alan Arkin and Kelly McGillis. And let's not forget Bruce Willis as the film's narrator who actually shows up at one point in a pink bunny suit. You read that right.

STOP! OR MY MOM WILL SHOOT (1992) - Sylvester Stallone, who acknowledges this as his worst film, stars as a cop who is teamed up with his gun-happy mom (Estelle Getty) and start making the city (Los Angeles) a safer place to live. It's even dumber then it sounds with Getty coming off so obnoxious it's hard to like her. Didn't "Rhinestone" teach Stallone that comedy wasn't his forte?

TOYS (1992) - Director Barry (Diner; Tin Men; Rainman) Levinson made this comedy/drama with Robin Williams as a toymaker who realizes his dream of owning his own factory only to have it taken away by his militant brother who plans on using it for his darker ambitions. This mess was actually Levinson's dream project and was, in the 1980's, voted one of the ten best unproduced scripts. Apparently the translation to the big screen as this film is deadly dull and much too serious for its own good. The beautiful production design is worth looking at so watch the first few minutes and then run for your lives.

THE WATERBOY (1998) - I should say from the start that I am not an Adam Sandler fan. I admired his serious work in "Reign Over Me" and "Punchdrunk Love" but I have yet to like even one of his comedies. Sandler constantly plays characters with speech problems that aren't the least bit amusing and that are beneath his obvious considerable talents. Here he is at his worst as a momma's boy who realizes his dream by becoming the football team water boy. Coach Henry Winkler sees that his new water boy can tackle like no other when properly motivated. I guess if gut-crunching tackles and eating squirrels is your idea of a good time then this might be the film for you. Watching Academy Award winner Kathy Bates wasting her talents as Sandler's mom is a depressing experience.

WILD, WILD WEST (1999) - One of the worst adaptations of a television show is this mess based on the likable show that starred Robert Conrad and Ross Martin. Here Kevin Kline plays a special agent who teams up with inventor Will Smith to complete an assignment given to them by President Grant to capture villain Kenneth Branagh. Unlike the television show the film has no pep despite Will Smith who is completely miscast as the wise inventor. Smith was obviously cast because he was hot at the time but even his star power couldn't save this turkey. And look out for the gigantic robots right out of "Independence Day" that come in at the end. Giant robots in the old west? I saw it and still don't believe it.