Netflix has changed the entertainment landscape with its endless library of content, especially with its original content. From shows like Stranger Thingsto films like Glass Onion, you have access to a wide range of stories like never before.
Despite the streamer’s huge budgets and big-name stars, though, a lot of Netflix originals fail to hit the mark. Whether it’s weak plots, clichéd characters, orbadly developed storylines, some Netflix films are best left unwatched.
10
‘He’s All That’ (2021)
No one knows why Netflix decided a She’s All That(1999)remake was a good idea. The original film was a quintessential 90s teen rom-com. Sure, it has its flaws, but its rewatch value has stood the test of time, especially because of Rachel Leigh Cook and Freddie Prinze Jr.’s amazing chemistry. He’s All That, on the other hand, was not only unnecessary but it was also blatantly disrespectful to its predecessor. What could have been a modern, fun twist on the original film’s charm premise, the remake ended up being aTikTok-inspired disaster. He’s All That follows influencer and now singer Addison Rae as Padgett, a popular girl who takes it upon herself to give the socially awkward Cameron (Tanner Buchanan) the makeover of a lifetime.
The biggest issue I have with the film is the mediocre acting. I’m sure that Rae brought a lot of eyeballs to Netflix with her internet fame, but her performance was barely mediocre. Her lines were flat, and she failed to bring any kind of depth to her character. As the lead, she wasn’t strong enough to carry the film. There’s no denying that Buchanan was a little more convincing in his role, but the chemistry between him and Rae is almost non-existent. Not to mention the plot really dumbs down the premise of the original and tries to throw in weird TikTok references that just come off as awkward. If Netflix were trying to market to a younger, Gen-Z audience, they really missed the mark on that.
9
‘The Out-Laws’ (2023)
Sometimes, it’s okay to turn your brain off and enjoy a goofy comedy for what it is, but you can’t do that with The Out-Lawsbecause of how mind-numbingly bad it is. The film follows Owen (Adam DeVine), a bank manager whose wedding week starts on the wrong note when his bank his robbed by a couple of criminals. However, when Owen meets his fiancée, Parker’s (Nina Dobrev) parents for the first time, he suspects that the criminals might have been his future in-laws.
If you were thinking of watching the film for Pierce Brosnan and Ellen Barkin, who play Parker’s parents, Billy and Lilly, you’re in for a huge disappointment. The veteran actors are reduced to one-dimensional characters, and their performances lack any kind of depth. As far as the leads go, DeVine’s acting is a bit too over-the-top, and in contrast, Dobrev delivers a completely flat performance. I almost forgot that Owen and Parker were getting married to each other in a few days because their love was so convincing. The heist trope never really gets boring, but The Out-Laws is a predictable, clichéd mess that is bound to waste an hour and a half of your life.
8
‘The Night Clerk’ (2020)
I was really expecting The Night Clerk to deliver since the film had all the makings of a compelling crime drama. The story follows Bart (Tye Sheridan), a hotel night clerk who has Asperger’s syndrome. Bart starts secretly recording the guests to learn how to record people, but ends up at the center of a murder investigation at the hotel. As interesting as the premise is, The Night Clerk completely fails in execution.
Sheridan deserves a round of applause since his portrayal of someone with Asperger’s syndrome is nuanced and believable and never comes across as insensitive. Ana de Armas is also great as Andrea, Bart’s love interest. Unfortunately, though, the writing does both of them a disservice since the film tries to balance every genre at the same time. The dialogue is too forced, and the murder mystery part lacks any real suspense. By the end, I knew who the killer was because the story is so predictable. The Night Clerk is an honest attempt at representation of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions, but its lack of emotional depth makes it a forgettable watch.
7
‘Mother of the Bride’ (2024)
Mother of the Brideis another Netflix film I had high hopes for, because the premise sets it up to be a classic family comedy. Unfortunately, though, it falls short in every aspect. The film’s impressive cast includes Brooke Shields, Miranda Cosgrove, Benjamin Bratt, and Chad Michael Murray, so it’s hard to understand how this Mark Waters directorial turned into the mess it is. The plot follows Emma (Cosgrove), who is marrying RJ (Sean Teale) in Thailand. However, things take a turn when her mother, Lana (Shields), realizes that RJ’s father, Will (Bratt), is an ex she still has feelings for. As great as the premise is, when Lana and Will start rekindling their romance, Emma’s wedding takes a total backseat.
The entire family dynamic shifts because Lana and Will start thinking of getting back together as they completely disregard their children’s position in all of this. You tune in expecting to watch the younger couple’s love story, but this sudden change in tone, accompanied by the film’s awkward attempts at humor, just feels forced. The pacing of Mother of the Bride is another major issue, and the film never really settles into a rhythm. There are too many things happening at once, which means you never have the time to get invested in the characters’ personal growth. Mother of the Bride tries to offer a modern take on the typical family wedding comedy, but the weird incestual love story that it spirals into takes away from all of that.
6
‘A Family Affair’ (2024)
After Prime’s The Idea of You, Netflix offered its own take on age-gap romance with A Family Affairstarring Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, and Joey King. The story follows Brooke (Kidman), a successful older woman who finds herself falling for Chris (Efron), a Hollywood star who just so happens to be her daughter Zara’s (King) boss. Sadly, though, the film never really explores the characters’ personalities beyond extremely superficial traits. As intriguing a pair as Efron and Kidman make, their acting feels forced and stiff, to the point where it’s really hard to buy into their connection.
I have to admit that King does a great job and brings a lot of heart to her role. Her and Kidman’s mother-daughter dynamic is the highlight of the film for me, but it’s not enough to make A Family Affair enjoyable. It almost feels like, in trying to capitalize on the success of The Idea of You, the Netflix film becomes too predictable and flat. Even moments that should have been emotional and impactful, such as Brooke and Chris’s reunion, are sluggish and awkward, which defeats the point of the whole thing.
5
‘The Do-Over’ (2016)
I love an Adam Sandler film just as much as the next person, but The Do-Overis one of his worst performances of all time. The buddy comedy stars Sandler and David Spade as Max and Charlie, respectively, two friends who fake their deaths and start fresh. Now, humor and chemistry are the two most important factors of a buddy comedy, and the fact that The Do-Over lacked both of these is absolutely ridiculous. Whatever witty banter Spade and Sandler do share is uncomfortable with endless lowbrow gags and sexist jokes.
The female characters are treated like plot devices, and the constant jokes that attempt to make them the butt of the joke are tasteless. All of this might have worked back in the 2000s, but for a movie that came out in 2016, it did not sit well with anyone. Not to mention the gross body humor gets a little too much after the first half. By the end, you realize that the film doesn’t have any redeeming qualities, almost as if the writers just wanted to shock the audience rather than actually tell a story that makes sense or is entertaining.
4
‘Tall Girl’ (2019)
Tall Girldelivers exactly what the name suggests: A tall, female protagonist and a plot that revolves around how tall she is. The story follows Jodi Kreyman (Ava Michelle), a 16-year-old who has spent her entire life being bodyshamed because she is 6’2. I do think that the film was trying to address body image issues and deliver a message about how we should embrace our bodies as they are. Unfortunately, it only scratches the surface and ends up being a cringefest. The way Jodi is portrayed as an outcast is extremely unrealistic, and the situations she gets into are too exaggerated.
Her romance with Swedish exchange student Stig (Luke Eisner) and longtime best friend Jack (Griffin Gluck) isn’t anything to write home about either. The main issue with the film, though, is that it just doesn’t know what tone to stick to. In some moments, you feel like you’re watching a light-hearted commentary before turning to an on-the-nose commentary on body image. For a film that pitches itself as empowering for women, I was also a little shocked at how casually Tall Girl made light of things such as pregnancies and C-sections. By the climax, I was wondering how Netflix greenlit something that was executed so poorly.
3
‘Atlas’ (2024)
Atlashad the potential to be Netflix’s standout sci-fi thrillerwith a story that revolved around artificial intelligence, especially with its big-budget visuals and a pretty interesting premise. The film stars Jennifer Lopez as Atlas Shepherd, a counterterrorism analyst who is hunting down a rogue AI set to destroy humanity. This gave the writers a lot of room to build an expansive, futuristic world and immerse the audience in it.
Sadly, though, the plot lacked substance, and Lopez’s over-the-top performance just did not feel right for the genre. Since the movie is heavily focused on her character’s emotional arc, Lopez’s one-dimensional portrayal with exaggerated crying and screaming ruins the whole thing. It’s not like she doesn’t have the acting chops, but for some reason, she wasn’t able to bring any kind of nuance or depth to the character. The worldbuilding in Atlas feels surface-level, and the film’s pacing never allows tension to build to anything satisfying. No wonder the film wasn’t able to make a mark in the competitive world of sci-fi.
2
‘Uglies’ (2024)
Ugliesis based on Scott Westerfeld’s 2005 book series of the same name. The story follows Joey King as Tally Youngblood, a teenager who lives in a world where everyone has to undergo cosmetic surgery once they turn 16 to become “Pretty.” Just like the novel, the Netflix film set out to explore the emotional and societal consequences of a system where physical appearance is everything. King is a great performer otherwise, but she really couldn’t pull Tally off. It’s almost like she is too focused on hitting the beats of the story than actually making her character relatable or complex.
Her friendship with Shay (Brianne Tju) is one of the very few redeeming qualities of the film, but so much of it is left unexplored because of the film’s rushed pacing. What’s worse is that, unlike the novel, the contrast between the Uglies and the Pretties is never really striking because King’s makeup makes her appear picture-perfect, without a hair in place. The fact that she is not perceived as pretty before the surgery is a little unrealistic and weakens the film’s central message. All in all, it felt like the film prioritized visuals and well-executed action sequences in the emotional depth of Westerfeld’s story. As of now, Netflix has not confirmed a sequel, which goes to show that the film was definitely not received too well.
1
‘The Kissing Booth’ (2018)
I went into The Kissing Boothknowing that it was a teen romance, but there’s a limit to how nonsensical a story can be. The movie revolves around Elle Evans (Joey King), a teenager who has a secret crush on her best friend Lee’s (Joel Courtney) older brother, Noah (Jacob Elordi). As Elle begins a relationship with Noah, she risks destroying her friendship with Lee forever. Now, I’ll admit that the film has a pretty strong cast, which includes Molly Ringwald as Noah and Lee’s mother, along with appearances by Meggane Young, Stephen Jennings, and Chloe Williams, among others. Even the leads do a great job with whatever material they have, but the problem lies in the story itself. The dynamic between Elle and Noah is downright unhealthy, with Noah controlling her every move.
Not to mention Lee’s overly possessive nature, which only perpetuates tired tropes, including the clichéd bad-boy romance and love versus friendship situation. Noah’s troubled behaviour is never explained until he suddenly starts dating Elle, and is a completely new person. All the characters in the film feel superficial at best, and King’s character is reduced to nothing because she spends the entire movie trying to keep Noah and Lee happy. I’m honestly surprised at how The Kissing Booth got not one, but two sequels that are equally as bad as the first one.
