The 10 Most Overrated Films of All Time

As I was watching the end of Rocky IV last night, I wondered how a Best Picture Oscar winner could become a franchise of such bad movies. As I was pondering this, I reflected on whether the original Rocky was really that good to begin with, or if it was a bit overrated. I never thought it was all that great... to me, the Rocky franchise's strength is in its "guilty-pleasureness," and the first one is probably the least cheesy of them all. Which probably makes it a better movie in a critical sense, but not in an entertainment sense. I concluded that the original Rocky was probably somewhat overrated.

Then my ADD kicked in even further and I began to think about other overrated films in Cinema History, which I've ranked in order below, with #1 being my Most Overrated Film. I've included the current IMDB.com rating and rank on the Top 250 (where applicable). That said, these were not the only criteria I considered. I also considered popularity, awards, etc.

10. Gosford Park (7.2, NR)

The fact that this movie's IMDB rating has declined is evidence that the initial critical hype is finally wearing off, but don't let that fool you. This movie was hailed as a masterpiece of cinema when it was released. I can't really comment too much on it, because frankly, I don't remember a damn thing about it. Quite possibly the most boring movie I've ever seen.

9. Spider-Man (7.3, NR)

Maybe I'm just not wild about the Spiderman story in general. I don't know. I thought the story was weak, the acting was bad, and the CGI was awful. Spiderman 2 was an improvement, but I'm just not all that captivated by this franchise. The fact that I grew up with Superman helps me forgive some of that series' flaws (well, all except Superman 4. Somebody should spin the earth back to 1986 and convince Christopher Reeve not to make that film.)

8. The French Connection (7.9, NR)

If I had seen this movie when it was released, I might have the right context by which to judge it. Seeing it in 2006, it just felt like a pretty generic cop movie. But it won ALL of the "big" Oscars in 1972. I love Gene Hackman, but I didn't find his performance any more impressive than, say, Mel Gibson's in Lethal Weapon.

7. Million Dollar Baby (8.2, #78)

One hour in, I had this movie chalked up as my favorite sports movie of all time. Some of the most loveable characters ever put on screen. And then, they ruined it. Maybe if I had been prepared for the turn this film was going to take I would have accepted it a little more, but to me it was a blown chance to create the kind of film that people would want to watch over and over. Compounding this, the antagonists in this movie were frustratingly one-dimensional. I might have been able to stomach Maggie's injury if it had happened as a natural result of what boxers do... you know, get hit in the face and stuff. But the way it went down was like something out of a deleted scene from Rocky IV. Why do the "bad guys" have to be so one-dimensionally evil? Maggie's family was written with the same laziness. This movie frustrates me more than any on the list because it could have been so great. While the end was compelling, it renders the movie unsuitable for multiple viewings. Shame.

6. Aliens (8.3, #71)

If this movie had been made today, Michael Bay would have directed it and it would have been laughed out of the theaters. As it is, it's one of the original cheeseball, formulaic, big budget blockbuster sequels. Right down to the obligatory "innocent little girl bystander." Stupid dialogue, stupid characters, stupid movie.

5. Crash - 2004 (8.1, #108)

I learned two things from this movie: Los Angeles' population is 15 and every one of those people is completely obsessed with race. The Academy was unaware of these facts, so they awarded Crash with the Best Picture Oscar in 2005. Very nice ensemble acting, for the most part, but the premise was as subtle as the sexual innuendo in a Fergie song.

4. Fargo (8.2, #105)

Essentially a run-of-the-mill detective movie, but with funny Northern accents. I don't get the appeal of this movie. The story isn't the least bit compelling, and the gimmicky dialogue is unnervingly distracting.

3. American History X (8.4, #44)

Wow, two movies on racism. There is no theme here: I have no problems with movies that address racism. In fact, I think there could be more. I just wish they were made better. The racism as portrayed in this film is cartoonishly (borderline After-School-Special) over the top... while I'm sure it exists in some backwoods areas of the country, it's not exactly something most people (the kind of people who have movie theaters within 40 miles of their house) could relate to. Maybe I exaggerate a bit... but I'm also fairly certain the kind of deep-seeded bigotry that these characters embody would take a little more time to remove than three years in prison with a likeable buddy, and certainly more than a 30-minute heart-to-heart with a big brother.

2. American Beauty (8.5, #33)

I thought Bening and Spacey were awesome in this film. If they could cut their scenes into its own movie, it might be one of my favorite movies of all time. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie plays like a whiny narcissistic emo teenager's rant on society. "Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, I just can't take it. Like this plastic bag floating in the wind. So beautiful." Kill yourself. Please. And then you have the predictable "homophobic father must be a closet homosexual" climax. Weak.

1. Some Like It Hot (8.2, #74)

An enormously popular comedy. The AFI ranked it as the Number 1 Comedy of All Time in it's "100 Years: 100 Laughs" list a few years ago. Again, I don't have the same context as someone who may have seen it when it was released, so perhaps the relative edginess of men in drag was the 60's equivalent of, say, testicles caught in a zipper. But apart from how mediocre I found the gags in the film, my viewing experience was tarnished even further by Jack Lemmon's insistance on laughing at his own punchlines. It's worse than the most annoying laugh track in any 80's sitcom. Excruciating.