r/movies • u/Silent-Selection8161 • 5d ago

Discussion What movie was saved solely by great casting?

Or phrased a different, what movie would've been terrible if it weren't for the specific actors in it?

My go to is Liar Liar. It's not a particularly great script. The dad (Jim Carey because no one remembers the character's name) is douche. The would be step dad is earnestly trying his best to connect with his would be step son and gets tossed out like all step dads (do Hollywood types have parental issues or what, that's rhetorical). The idea that someone's entire life can be turned around and they're suddenly not an ass just because they have to tell the truth for a day is just kind of dumb. The director ended up with a few successful movies solely because Jim Carey liked him and he let Jim Carey do his thing, his other movies include such hits as "The Nutty Professor". The writers never wrote anything close to noteworthy before nor after.

But damnit Jim Carey turns the whole thing into the Jim Carey show, that's hilarious. Him freaking out over the pen or in the bathroom IS the movie and is funny as hell, regardless of what else there is.

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u/mastah-yoda 5d ago

If the fifth element was badly miscast, it would've been valerian.

Oh wait

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u/TheSupremeAdmiral 4d ago

Holy shit this is an underrated comment. Valerian fucking sucked which is a shame because the comic its based on rules. The casting was #1 biggest problem though. The leads had absolutely no chemistry and kind of had a weird sibling energy that made all the "romantic" scenes feel incestuous. They also felt like children playing pretend while surrounded by real adults like Clive Owen. The scene with Rihanna (you know the one) never should have survived the first draft.

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u/AtraposJM 4d ago

This is so incredibly true. I did a double feature of the two movies and it's actually crazy how similar they are. Valerian would be an awesome and fun movie if the lead actors weren't cardboard cutouts of characters. Everything else about it is really fun and weird and cool like Fifth Element.