Congrats are in order to Eddie Murphy, who with his latest comedy A Thousand Words joins the heralded ranks of filmmakers who've achieved perfection, of a sort -- the perfect 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It's the white whale of film criticism, a feat so rare that only films like One Missed Call or last year's Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star have earned the distinction. So let's raise a glass to A Thousand Words' now-guaranteed eventual Razzie nomination and remember a few of the best-worst films to earn the double zero distinction!
Distinction, you ask? Surely not! But consider: Even titles that have reigned at the bottom of the pile in past years have gone on to see their snake eyes ruined by an errant positive review or three. Basic Instinct 2, Alone in the Dark, and many other once-zero percenters have made it out of the depths in the years since release -- even Corky Romano, that comedy classic, no longer can claim its rightful place in the 0% club.
One great title that held its 0% over the years, with no indication that it'll ever make it out, is the Lucy Liu-Antonio Banderas spy flick Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever. 108 reviews to date, and none of them good!
Some films, mostly of the sequel or direct to video kind, were always destined for the single digits or low tens; it may come as no surprise that Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 sits at zero on Rotten Tomatoes, for example. But Roberto Benigni's live-action Pinocchio, with Benigni directing and starring himself as the titular wooden hero? Ten years after release it still can't get a single critic to sign off with an even mixed-positive endorsement.
So take heart, Eddie, and know that you're in the rarest of company! While the Thousand Words reviews are still rolling in, my fingers are crossed that the ever-elusive career low remains intact. Still, I fear for an upset because really -- is it possible that any movie could be worse than The Adventures of Pluto Nash (6 percent) or Norbit (9 percent)?