I've been laid out with a cold for a couple days, and I've been excited to press the streaming TV into service. I've watched quite a few Netflix movies. Last night: Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Is there a good movie more marred by a single performance than Four Weddings is by Andie MacDowell's? She's just dreadful. Her leaden line readings suck the life out of not only her own scenes, but out of adjacent scenes. And it's bloody impossible to believe that Hugh Grant would wreck his insides over her. You have to work hard to imagine it.
I think the answer to my question may well be Jerry Maguire. Tom Cruise is cringe-inducing in what's otherwise a good movie, but considering that he's in every single scene, the impact is lethal. He needs to play a man verging on insanity, but it's a bizarre, clueless portrayal by an actor who hasn't known "sane" for quite some time. The first time I watched that movie, I couldn't help but wonder how much better it would have been with John Cusack or, better yet, Robert Downey Jr. in the title role. Any real actor, really.
Honorable mention: baseball "expert" Susan Sarandon in the batting cage in Bull Duhram. Yikes. Keep your eye on the ball. Put your weight into it. And for the love of God, wear a bra.