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Celebrate Your Favorite Guilty Pleasure Movies With Rotten Tomatoes's Book on the Best Bad Films

By Kristen Richard

While you probably loved Space Jam as a kid, critics were far less enchanted with the thought of Michael Jordan playing hoops with Elmer Fudd.
While you probably loved Space Jam as a kid, critics were far less enchanted with the thought of Michael Jordan playing hoops with Elmer Fudd. / Evan Agostini/Liaison/Getty Images
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For over 20 years, Rotten Tomatoes has aggregated movie and TV show reviews from thousands of critics, giving fans a quick overview of the consensus before buying a ticket. However, viewers don't always agree with the website's Tomatometer rating system—and sometimes, neither do the folks behind Rotten Tomatoes. This is why the site's editors decided to discuss some of their favorite films that were famously bashed by critics in the new book Rotten Movies We Love: Cult Classics, Underrated Gems, and Films So Bad They’re Good.

In the book (Amazon $20), you’ll find breakdowns and full-on love letters to movies like Space Jam (1996), Home Alone 2 (1992), The Cable Guy (1996), and Masters of the Universe (1987)—all of which got slapped with the dreaded "rotten" label upon release. Some movies even get a defense written by prominent critics like Leonard Maltin or the Village Voice's Bilge Ebiri, for just a bit more credibility.

The movies themselves are broken up into different sections, including popular flicks that critics hated, cult classics, underrated titles, overlooked sequels, and more. It's the perfect way for spurned cinephiles to mount a defense for their favorite guilty pleasure, while learning something new at the same time (like how John Travolta has the longest consecutive streak of 0-percent films with five from 2016-2019).

Director Paul Feig wrote the foreword to the book.
Director Paul Feig wrote the foreword to the book. / Running Press Adult/Amazon

If you're still in the mood to read about famously bad movies, learn why Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002) might actually be the worst movie of all time. Or, if you'd rather, you can check out 15 other potential runners-up for the worst films ever made by heading here.

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