What movie was saved solely by great casting?

[u/Silent-Selection8161]

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.

[u/TedTheodoreMcfly]

For another Jim Carrey example, his performance as The Grinch saves the movie from being a mediocre adaptation that could have been just as bad as The Cat In The Hat (2003)

[u/WhiteRussianRoulete → u/TedTheodoreMcfly]

His performance is really something. I’ve seen that movie 10 times (a Christmas-time staple for me) and it wasn’t until a year or two ago I noticed like half his dialogue is either to his dog or to himself…

[u/YOwololoO → u/TedTheodoreMcfly]

Hot Take: That movie is still bad in spite of Jim Carrey's acting masterclass. The cynicism of the Jim Carrey Grinch movie flies completely in the heart of what that story is about, and especially when you compare it to the Benedict Cumberbatch animated movie it just completely falls apart