A compilation of reader-submitted reviews detailing their most 'excruciating' and disappointing experiences with various films, TV shows, and theatrical productions, ranging from the unintentionally hilarious to the utterly unwatchable.
This article compiles reader submissions recounting their worst experiences with entertainment. 'Playmobil: The Movie' was deemed 'excruciating,' a garish and loud 'soulless cash grab' where the biggest laugh came from the early death of parents. 'Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp' was described as 'exploitative and vile,' with dressed-up chimpanzees and cheesy dubbed dialogue. 'Waterworld,' surprisingly, was an 'unintentionally hilarious' experience for one viewer, despite its 'zero-star' cultural merit, due to Kevin Costner's earnestness and Dennis Hopper's over-the-top performance. Ricky Gervais's 'After Life' was criticized for relying heavily on the c-word for jokes, depicting Gervais's character as rude and obnoxious but excused due to his wife's death, and for its jarring shifts between sentimentality and crude humor. The 1999 play 'Moonshine' was an 'absolute disaster' with an incomprehensible plot and stultifying dialogue, causing most of the audience, and even the critic, to leave at intermission. 'The Room' was acknowledged as a cult classic for its terribleness but still considered 'completely unwatchable' and endless. The musical 'An Officer and a Gentleman' in Sydney was 'godawful,' featuring bad Aussie accents, unnecessary nudity, and causing more than half the audience to leave. '28 Years Later' was a major disappointment, with its ending featuring tracksuits and 'ninja-style zombie killing' ruining the film for a horror fan. M. Night Shyamalan's 'Unbreakable' lost a viewer early on when a character likened Egyptian hieroglyphics to comic books. The late 90s TV show 'Babes in the Wood' was slammed as 'wafer-thin' and instantly irrelevant compared to its contemporaries. Finally, 'Ishtar' was called 'aversion therapy' for fans of its stars, a 'plotless slog' less exciting than a 'tricycle accident' and less witty than a 'stunned mollusc.'
