While highly intelligent and multilayered achievements in filmmaking will always garner respect and praise from critics and awards bodies, there will always be an ingrained audience for those looking to let loose and enjoy a dumb, mindless film. Being an unintelligent film is far from a sign of low quality, as many films embrace their chaotic, nonsensical sides to become wildly entertaining and effective in their own right. Films like the Jackass franchise and the Fast and the Furious franchise are key examples of films that use their stupidity as a tool for exceptional and entertaining filmmaking, providing a unique experience that allows viewers to disengage from reality.
However, some films manage to be so moronic and unintelligent that it baffles the mind, with a concept so absurd it’s impossible to take seriously. There is a fine balancing act between the stupidity of a premise and the well-crafted and impactful filmmaking chops to make such a wild premise work, making it all the more notable when a film is simply so dumb that it sets off the balance. It’s certainly possible to find entertainment within these unbelievably dumb films, yet it would be much more difficult to find any intelligent or nuanced takeaways from them, as they often prioritize shock value and absurdity over coherent storytelling.
10
‘Beastly’ (2011)
Directed by Daniel Barnz
Beauty and the Beast has been a story that has been adapted to film a multitude of different times to various successes, whether it be classic fantasy films from 1940s France or the instantly iconic animated Disney film. However, Beastly stands head and shoulders above other adaptations of the fairy tale as one of the dumbest and most overly complicated takes on the story, completely floundering its potential as a modern-day version of the story. The film’s convoluted plot and questionable character decisions leave viewers scratching their heads rather than engaging with the narrative.
As opposed to a classic version of the story where the arrogant prince is transformed into a hairy beast, New York teen Kyle Kingson (Alex Pettyfer) has his body transformed with an array of Gothic tattoos, scars, and a balding head. He is forced to somehow find true love as he hides in his apartment out of fear of persecution from his peers. The movie doesn’t nearly go far enough in making the beast look all too unappealing, along with other strange and moronic changes to the story, such as the entire generic high school teenage backdrop of the film, which detracts from the essence of the original tale.
Beastly
- Release Date
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January 21, 2011
- Runtime
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95 minutes
9
‘Red One’ (2024)
Directed by Jake Kasdan
Dwayne Johnson has found a great deal of success in creating bombastic blockbusters that were more focused on spectacle and visual effects over an intelligent story, yet Red One goes above and beyond in terms of being bafflingly moronic. The film takes the generic buddy comedy action film setup that has found success in Johnson’s previous outings and gives it a Christmas theme, complete with all the classic holiday characters in a cardboard blockbuster venture that lacks originality.
It’s one thing to create a painfully generic action comedy that does very little to distinguish and improve upon previous efforts, but Red One goes well beyond the point of acceptability. The array of strange winter iconography like evil snowmen, the importance of the naughty list, and a beefed-up J.K. Simmons as Santa make the whole film a spectacularly dumb time. The comedy rarely comes from the absurdity and nonsense of what’s on-screen, but instead the same quips and dialogue-humor present in Johnson’s other blockbuster action films, resulting in a film that feels both recycled and uninspired.
Red One
- Release Date
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November 15, 2024
- Runtime
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123 Minutes
8
‘Gymkata’ (1985)
Directed by Robert Clouse
