Some movies just have a really dumb premise. As much as it’s not a comment on the quality of the finished film, it’s an unavoidable fact. Bad ideas don’t necessarily mean bad movies, but that doesn’t make the initial pitch any better.
A while back, we looked at dumb movie premises, but it turns out that there’s more. Many more. Having trawled through hundreds of really stupid ideas, we’ve picked out some of the all-time stupidest.
Some of the following are simply too ludicrous to be believable, while others are a case of twisting a good idea past any reasonable metric. Though they differ on the details, all of these movies have a really dumb premise. We’ve also assessed whether or not the film made its brainless set-up work, because honestly, it’s surprising how often that happens.
8. Brewster’s Millions (1985)
The dumb premise: A minor league baseball player discovers he stands to inherit $300 million, on one condition. He must spend $1 million in 30 days without having anything at all to show for it. Cue various hijinks and schemes to try to offload money without actually giving it away.
To be fair, Brewster’s Millions is based on a novel by George Barr McCutcheon, and it’s the seventh adaptation. Still, the 1985 film is arguably the most famous, which is why it’s the one taking all the heat here. Starring Richard Pryor and John Candy, Brewster’s Millions details the extensive conditions of Brewster’s inheritance.
Did it work?: Not really. With mixed-to-negative reviews, Brewster’s Millions couldn’t make its over-complicated story seem particularly funny. It’s entertaining, but it’s utter nonsense through and through.