The Worst Summer Movies of 2009

Like a good time at the movies? If so, take the time to seriously consider which film is going to get your hard-earned cash. Make the right choice at the cineplex.

Good movies deserve big attendance and bad movies should be avoided like the plague so that they never, ever get a chance at a sequel which could be even worse.

Here are five of the worst films during the summer of 2009. There will be plenty more but we can hope that those will get booted straight to DVD before they hit the big screens.

"Dance Flick"

This movie was just a parody of other dance movies, like "Save the Last Dance" with Julia Stiles, which were in fact decent pieces of entertainment. This spoof from the Wayans brothers is like a poor copy of another copy from a third copy. It lacked a coherent plot and any hint of originality.

"Bruno"

Sacha Baron Cohen brought us another incarnation of someone willing to embarrass, intrude or annoy the rest of society to the point of being simply irritating. Cohen's first hit "Borat" was a lot better because it truly seemed halfway authentic, as if it were a lot closer to being a documentary. "Bruno," on the other hand, is forced and everyone knows it.

"Imagine That"

Remember when Eddie Murphy used to be funny? Yeah, it's been a while. The hilarious comedian of old is "past his prime," according to TigerWeekly.com. Most reviews of the film gave it mediocre reviews, at best, because there was nothing special about the film, nothing original, unique or noteworthy.

"Land of the Lost"

This Will Ferrell vehicle looked funny in the trailers but that was about the best part of the film, the parts everyone saw in the previews. Ferrell used to be funny but after a while his routing gets old.

"Food Inc."

This documentary might be good for you but it is not escapist entertainment that can held you forget about your problems. In fact, it reminds you of how you need to eat better and watch where you shop and dine. The film "examines unhealthy practices" in the food industry, according to EW.com. This type of movie is like cough medicine: a necessary evil.

Maybe the latest "Transformers" film isn't exactly serious material for the intellectual class, but it is certainly entertaining and worth the price of admission. Bad movies are bad because they are not entertaining, regardless of the complexity of the plot.

There are plenty of movie choices this summer at your local cinema. Try to spend your money on the good films and don't waste your hard-earned cash on these truly bad films.

Sources

Box Office Mojo, official website

"David Alan Grier fights stress with comedy," Julie Hinds, The Free Press, June 28, 2009.

"Save the Last Dance," Wikipedia entry

"Dance Flick," Wikipedia entry

"'Imagine That' is flat, predictable," Jonathan Specht, TigerWeekly.com.

"Chipotle sponsoring free screenings of 'Food Inc.,'" EW.com, July 14, 2009.