They say it’s easier to make audiences cry than to make them laugh, and this idea is supported by the number ofgreat directorswho have tried andfailed to make comedies. While many of these filmmakers have earned Oscars for their directorial output, they just couldn’t get things right when trying to be funny.
Some ofthe greatest directorshave stumbled in the realm of comedy, as icons likeSteven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppolastruggled to get a laugh from viewers. Whether it was genre-bending comedies that couldn’t get their tone right or films whose scripts weren’t up to scratch, all of these films mark low points in their respective filmmakers’ careers.
To be a great filmmaker doesn’t mean being a master of every genre, but these cinematic failures do show a willingness to explore new territory. Although they may not have gained critical acclaim, the factthese filmmakers took a risk in a genre that didn’t suit themmakes the work where they got things right all the more impressive.
6Brian De Palma
Wise Guys (1986)
Despite making one of the greatest gangster movies of all time withScarfacethree years before,Brian De Palma made perhaps his worst movie when he tried to show off the funny side of mobsters inWise Guys. Despite an impressive cast including Danny DeVito, Joe Piscopo, and Harvey Keitel, the results were dull and humorless.
Wise Guysplayed out more like an unproduced sitcom pilot than a star-studded comedy from one of the era’s greatest directors. As a film filled with meandering chase scenes and gags that don’t land, De Palma (viaBusiness Insider) himself said it was “a movie I wish I hadn’t done.”
5Roman Polanski
Pirates (1986)
It’s hard to imagine the same director who madeRosemary’s Baby,Chinatown, andThe Pianistwas also behindPirates, but it’s true. As a swashbuckling adventure inspired by Roman Polanski’s childhood love of classic pirate films, everything about this film fell flat on its feet, and not even comedy star Walter Matthau could save it.
As a majorly disappointing release,the behind-the-scenes controversy surroundingPirateswas even more upsetting. As a controversial figure, Polanski has several charges of sexual assault against him, and in 2010,Piratesactress Charlotte Lewis came forward with more accusations of assault against the director (viaABC.) WhilePirateswas marketed as a comedy, there’s nothing funny about its horrid legacy.
4Ron Howard
The Dilemma (2011)
Ron Howard is a director who proved himself capable across many genres, with Best Picture winners likeA Beautiful Mindand historical dramas such asApollo 13standing out. However, his career has also had several misfires, like the divisiveStar Warsspin-offSoloandthe hugely underwhelming comedy-dramaThe Dilemma.
WhileThe Dilemmasignaled a low point for Ron Howard, the filmmaker has made other comedies that have found success, includingSplash,Parenthood, andHow the Grinch Stole Christmas.
As a strange film that’s never quite sure if it wants to be comedic or serious,The Dilemmatold the story of a businessman struggling to tell his friend he witnessed his wife kissing another man without ruining their crucial upcoming presentation. AsThe Dilemmajumps between intense psychological drama and slapstick comedy, it’s clear Howard never got the balance right.
3William Friedkin
Deal of the Century (1983)
As the director of classics likeThe French ConnectionandThe Exorcist, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker William Friedkin has proved his talents across action, crime, horror, and neo-noir. Yet, it was Friedkin’s 1980s Chevy Chase comedyDeal of the Centurythat marked a low point in his career and now stands at an abysmal10% on Rotten Tomatoes.
With Chase as an arms dealer attempting to sell weapons to a South American dictator,Deal of the Centurywas a disappointing collection of lazy stereotypesthat lacked the satirical bite needed to make a story like this work. As a disappointing release that failed to get the best from either Friedkin or Chase,Deal of the Centurywas best forgotten about entirely.
2Steven Spielberg
1941 (1979)
The name Steven Spielberg is synonymous with great movies, and in the 1970s this director proved himself one of the most exciting up-and-coming names around. From his breakout success withJawsto the artistic integrity ofClose Encounters of the Third Kind, at one point, it felt like Spielberg could do no wrong.
However, this excitement came to a screeching halt with1941, a World War II comedy that just wasn’t funny. With major comedy stars like Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and John Candy among its cast, on paper,1941looked like a recipe for success, but in practice it was a frantic mess that was packed with jokes that never seemed to land.
While Spielberg’s incredible talents are on display throughout, and the film looks absolutely fantastic, this was not enough to save1941from mediocrity. Spielberg can get comedy right when it’s paired with other genres, like action inIndiana Jonesor crime inCatch Me If You Can, but when he tries to be funny,like in1941,it just doesn’t work.
1Francis Ford Coppola
Jack (1996)
It’s truly hard to make peace with the fact that the same director who madeThe GodfatherandApocalypse Nowwas also responsible for the cinematic abomination that wasJack. With Robin Williams as a boy with a medical condition that makes him age four times faster than normal,the juvenile humor ofJackwas truly bottom-of-the-barrel stuff.
As a nominee for Worst Picture at the 1996 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards,Jackjust couldn’t strike the right balance between its strange narrative and unnerving performance from Williams. Although Williams is clearly a comedy master, this material just wasn’t right for him, and it’s hard to imagine anyone making this movie work as intended.
Coppola has had plenty of missteps in his long and varied career, with his most recent release,Megalopolis, being yet another big swing for the fences. However,Jackcan’t even be admired as an artist trying and failing, as it was presented as a broad comedy only for audiences to be confronted with something that was totally unwatchable.
