10 'Comedies' That Forgot to Be Funny

1. "Movie 43" (2013)

"Movie 43" is an enigma wrapped in a conundrum, concealed within a puzzle. In theory, a film with a star-studded ensemble cast like Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, and Halle Berry should make for a comedic spectacle. However, the film turned out to be a cringe-fest of epic proportions.

It was an anthology of crude and nonsensical shorts that failed to hit their comedic marks. The film didn't just bomb at the box office – it plummeted. Grossing only $32 million worldwide on a $6 million budget, the financial loss was as dire as the comedic one. Critics ripped it apart, with Richard Roeper calling it the "Citizen Kane of awful."

2. "Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star" (2011)

Nick Swardson played the eponymous Bucky Larson, a small-town bag boy who learns his conservative parents were former adult film stars and decides to follow in their footsteps. Its crass humor was as flat as a pancake run over by a steamroller. Critics weren't too fond of it either, earning it an abysmal 3% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. With a $10 million budget, it limped to a worldwide gross of $2.5 million. Not exactly a star born, more like a star that fell to Earth and exploded on impact.

3. "The Love Guru" (2008)

In "The Love Guru," Mike Myers attempted to bottle the same comedic lightning that worked so well in "Austin Powers." Spoiler alert: he didn't. The humor was a string of tasteless jokes that lost its appeal faster than a 3-day old balloon. The critics thought as much too, awarding it a woeful 14% on Rotten Tomatoes. It barely recouped its $62 million budget at the box office, and won the Razzie for Worst Picture. Myers' comedic charm was lost in translation.

4. "Jack and Jill" (2011)

Adam Sandler has had his fair share of hits and misses, but "Jack and Jill" was a swing and a miss that fell so flat it practically created a crater. Sandler played both Jack and his twin sister Jill, and managed to somehow suck the humor out of both characters.

The film was a plethora of stale jokes that left the audience wondering if they had stumbled into a humor desert. It garnered a whopping 3% on Rotten Tomatoes and swept the Razzies, winning every category – a first in the award's history. It did, however, manage to make a profit at the box office, but then again, so did the Titanic (too soon?..).

5. "Little Nicky" (2000)

Yet another Adam Sandler vehicle that got lost on the road to comedy. Sandler played Nicky, one of Satan's three sons, who must save his father and prevent his evil brothers from creating Hell on Earth. Sounds funny, right? Wrong. What we got was a mishmash of bad accents, uncomfortable humor, and a plot thinner than cling film.

Despite boasting a supporting cast including Patricia Arquette and Harvey Keitel, it could not save this sinking ship. It was universally panned by critics, with a dismal 22% on Rotten Tomatoes, and barely made back its budget at the box office.

6. "Disaster Movie" (2008)

"Disaster Movie" is a bit like tripping over your own shoelaces; it's embarrassingly painful and not funny. This spoof attempted to lampoon popular movies of the era, but what it delivered was an unoriginal mix of uninspired gags and overused tropes. Critics swiftly banished it to the comedy dungeon, with a dreadful 1% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It managed to squeeze out a $34.8 million box office gross from a $20 million budget, but when your film's title accurately describes the viewing experience, it's clear where you stand.

7. "Freddy Got Fingered" (2001)

"Freddy Got Fingered" is Tom Green's brainchild, a bizarre and grotesque spectacle that aimed for outrageous humor and landed in the realm of the utterly bewildering. Green stars as Gord, a 28-year-old aspiring animator living in his parents' basement. Critics widely panned it for its crude humor, nonsensical plot, and overall bad taste, bestowing it with a miserly 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It grossed a meager $14.3 million against a $14 million budget, proving that not all things fingered are gold.

8. "Epic Movie" (2007)

The same minds that brought us "Disaster Movie" graced us with "Epic Movie," a 'comedy' that spoofed the fantasy genre but instead created a fantasy of its own: a world where comedy doesn't exist. Its parody attempts were so poor that they made the subjects of its parody look like comedy classics. It garnered a pitiful 2% on Rotten Tomatoes. Although it managed to churn a profit at the box office, the critic and audience backlash ensured its place on our list.

9. "The Master of Disguise" (2002)

In "The Master of Disguise," Dana Carvey plays Pistachio Disguisey, a man from a secret line of crime-fighting masters of disguise. While Carvey's talent for mimicry is undeniable, the movie feels like a joke book that lost all its good jokes. It was a flop with critics, garnering a paltry 1% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Its box office returns were lukewarm at best, only making back twice its budget. This film's failure to deliver laughs proves that being a master of disguise doesn't necessarily make you a master of comedy.

10. "Son of the Mask" (2005)

Closing our list is the sequel nobody asked for, "Son of the Mask." The film attempted to recapture the manic humor of its predecessor but ended up feeling like an unsolicited birthday clown at a funeral. Critics savaged it, giving it a catastrophic 6% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Against a whopping budget of $84 million, it managed a disappointing $57.6 million worldwide gross. This film is the perfect example that sometimes, you should let sleeping masks lie.