The 20 Worst Romantic Movies Ever Made

“Fifty Shades of Grey” is the film adaptation of E. L. James’s best-selling novel by the same name. It follows the story of literature student Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) and her affair with the wealthy Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) as she learns about his unconventional desires. Most audience members who rated the film for Rotten Tomatoes disliked it, as did more than three-quarters of movie critics. Despite the poor reviews, the movie pulled in over $166 million at the box office.

There was apparently very little to like about the 2012 rom-com “Playing for Keeps,” which tells the story of a former soccer player (Gerard Butler) trying to reconcile with his ex-wife by coaching his son’s soccer team. Critics despised the movie, with just 4% of pro reviewers giving the film a positive review, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Michael Compton of the Bowling Green Daily News called it “a predictable piece of romantic comedy fluff that just goes through the motions.” “Playing for Keeps” fared better among moviegoers, but still, only 41% of audience members said they liked it.

“Sex and the City 2” follows familiar faces Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha as they head to Abu Dhabi for vacation, but critics felt the film left all the charms of the original series back in New York City. Reviewers said the film was bloated with a two-and-a-half hour run-time, and just 16% gave it a positive review, per Rotten Tomatoes. Unlike the first SATC film, which 77% of audience members enjoyed, moviegoers largely disliked the sequel, with an audience score of just 43%.

Rom-com “Aloha” is the story of a military contractor (Bradley Cooper) who finds himself smitten with an old flame (Rachel McAdams) as well as a fighter pilot (Emma Stone) assigned to work with him. The film is the worst-reviewed project from acclaimed director Cameron Crowe, as just 20% of reviewers and 28% of audience members said they liked the film, per Rotten Tomatoes. The film also drew criticism — and eventually apologies from Crowe and the actress herself — for casting Emma Stone as a character with Hawaiian and Asian heritage.

As the title suggests, “Sex Tape” is about an adult film — specifically one made by a married couple (Segel and Diaz), parents of two, who aim to reignite their romantic life. But the film gets inadvertently uploaded to the internet. Critics largely found the movie uninteresting and unfunny, with just 16% of those listed on Rotten Tomatoes giving the film a positive review. Audiences largely disliked “Sex Tape” as well, with just 33% saying they enjoyed it.

In “The Accidental Husband,” radio DJ Emma (Uma Thurman) learns her upcoming wedding has been spoiled because she has been married without her knowledge. After she advised a listener to break off her engagement, that listener’s fianceé (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) fakes a marriage certificate to Emma without her knowledge. Critics pilloried the film — Anthony Quinn of the Independent said it had “insufferable silliness,” Richard Cline said it had a “hodge-podge of random story elements,” and Matthew Turner from ViewLondon called it a “romantic comedy that gets everything wrong.” Just 36% of Rotten Tomatoes users who reviewed the movie said it was worth watching.

In romantic drama “The Lifeguard,” Kristen Bell stars as a high-achieving reporter who quits her job in New York to return to her hometown where she takes a job as a lifeguard and sparks up a romance with a troubled teen. Reviewers took issue with the tone, soundtrack, and actors’ performances, with just 16% positive reviews of the reviews compiled by Rotten Tomatoes. The film didn’t fare much better with audiences, with a 26% audience score.

“Little Fockers” is the third installment of the Meet the Parents film franchise after “Meet the Parents” and “Meet the Fockers.” Most critics agreed that the dynamics of these fictional families was already well-trod territory. Just 34% of audience members and 9% of reviewers said they liked the film on Rotten Tomatoes. Allen Almachar of The MacGuffin wrote, “There is nothing new here, no interesting character developments and no new insight to the dynamics of these people.”

In 2009’s rom-com “I Love You, Beth Cooper,” the nerdy high school valedictorian (Paul Rust) confesses his love for the most popular girl in school (Hayden Panettiere) and is surprised to receive an invitation to her graduation party. Film reviewers were unsparing in their criticism. Daily Telegraph called the movie “soul-starved and lethally bland.” Empire Magazine said it was “painfully unfunny.” Felix Vasquez Jr. of Cinema crazed even called the film a “mean spirited exercise in sadism.” Just 13% of critics and 32% of moviegoers on Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a positive review.

In “Mr. Woodcock,” an author (Seann William Scott) sets out to stop his mother (Susan Sarandon) from marrying his former gym teacher and grade school tormentor (Billy Bob Thornton). Critics found the film bland and predictable, and 35,000 reviewers on IMDb gave the film a combined score of 5.2/10.

The movie’s plot centers around a financial executive who loves her job and her family but struggles to balance both. The Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes describes “I Don’t Know How She Does It” as “a limp comedy with a hopelessly outdated viewpoint on gender.” Just 17% of critics gave the movie a positive review, while fans were a bit more positive with 32% liking it.

“Silk” is a movie about a love triangle — while he is on a trip away from his wife, a married man becomes obsessed with the concubine of a local man. Anna Smith of Empire Magazine writes about the movie: “A flat story, lean characters and a miscast lead make this a poor facsimile of period epics like Farewell My Concubine.” Just 7% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes and 29% of audiences liked the movie.

Even award-winning actors such as Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence who starred together in critically-acclaimed “Silver Linings Playbook” and “American Hustle” could not save “Serena.” The film follows a timber baron and his wife, who can’t have children, and her plans to murder the mother of her husband’s illegitimate son. Only 16% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a positive rating.

“Fifty Shades Freed” is the third and final installment in the Fifty Shades franchise. Christian Grey and Anastasia, now his new wife, must fight to prevent their secrets from coming to light. Just 11% of reviewers and 37% of audience members on Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a positive review, and over 56,000 reviewers on IMDb gave the film a score of 4.5/10. Reviewers panned the movie, with Josh Kupecki of the Austin Chronicle saying it had “no narrative spark whatsoever.”

“Diana,” starring two-time Oscar nominee Naomi Watts in the title role, failed to win over both critics and fans. “Naomi Watts tries hard in the title role, but ‘Diana’ buries her efforts under a shoddy script and clumsy direction,” according to Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus. Just 26% of the audience gave the film, which tells the story of the late princess of Wales and her secret love affair with a Pakistani surgeon, a positive review.

“The Romantics” follows the story of two best friends who have been in love with the same man and one of them is about to marry him. Directed and written by Galt Niederhoffer, who adopted the screenplay from her own novel, the movie has been described as “pretty” but having “no idea how silly it is” by Jennie Yabroff of Newsweek.

“Miss March” is a teen rom-com about a young man in high school who falls into a coma before his senior prom and awakens four years later to discover his ex-girlfriend has posed for Playboy. Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes said that “even by the modest standards of the teen sex comedy genre, the crass, poorly made ‘Miss March’ misses the mark.” Little wonder the film only has a 5% Freshness rating among Rotten Tomatoes critics.

Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock (Best Actress, “The Blind Side”) and eight-time Oscar-nominee Bradley Cooper star in this romantic comedy about a talkative crossword puzzle writer who falls in love with a news station cameraman. Only 6% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes returned positive reviews for what is described by Critics Consensus as “an oddly creepy, sour film.” Audience members were slightly more generous, with 30% liking it.

Mike Myers (of the Austin Powers franchise) plays a man raised in an Indian ashram returning to his native America to become a self-help expert. However, he’s struggling in helping a star hockey player save his marriage. Only 14% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a positive rating. Audiences were more forgiving, with 33% of them liking the rom-com.

The cringe-inducing title should be warning enough. David Jenkins of Time Out called “The Hottie & the Nottie” “an execrable Z-grade eugenics parable. The film has a 6% Freshness rating among Rotten Tomatoes critics, and 31% of audiences liked the gross-out, sexist comedy.