Many movie fans — including the Watch With Us team — often reference Rotten Tomatoes scores as indicators of a movie’s quality.
And yes, a high percentage of positive reviews usually means a film is worth the hype.
But all art is subjective, and sometimes critics just don’t see things the same way audiences do.
So this month, when you’re browsing Netflix, don’t skip past a film just because of its low score. We’ve rounded up three movies that critics panned but we genuinely love — and we think you might too.
‘Wet Hot American Summer’ (2001)
Rotten Tomatoes score — 39 percent
The Watch With Us team’s love of Wet Hot American Summer has been well-documented, but this cavalcade of comedy stars wasn’t exactly beloved by critics. The humor is slapstick and absurd, the characters are nonsensical, and the plot is all over the place — but that’s precisely what makes it fun. The film follows a group of counselors and campers during the last day of summer at Camp Firewood as they try to seal the deal with their crushes, settle rivalries and save the camp from strange, possibly supernatural forces.
If you ever went to summer camp, it just works. And if you just enjoy watching Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, Ken Marino, Bradley Cooper and other comedy icons running around in 1970s camp gear, it works even better.
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‘Hancock’ (2008)
Rotten Tomatoes score — 42 percent
Hancock came out the same year as Iron Man, when the superhero genre was just beginning to redefine itself. Will Smith stars as John Hancock, a hard-drinking, amnesiac hero whose reckless rescues cause almost as much destruction as they prevent. When he reluctantly teams up with PR executive Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) to repair his image, things start to change — especially after Ray’s mysterious wife Mary (Charlize Theron) enters the picture.
Smith and Bateman’s buddy dynamic brings humor and heart, while Smith and Theron’s chemistry adds unexpected heat. The film mixes grounded realism with comic-book spectacle, exploring the emotional cost of being extraordinary in an ordinary world. While Hancock the character doesn’t quite measure up to Tony Stark, Hancock the movie offers a refreshingly offbeat take on superhero mythology — and deserves a second look.
‘Austin Powers in Goldmember’ (2002)
Rotten Tomatoes score — 52 percent
Maybe it’s nostalgia, but we were shocked to learn that Goldmember has such a low Rotten Tomatoes score. The third and final Austin Powers installment holds a special place in our hearts, thanks in large part to Beyoncé Knowles as blaxploitation-inspired secret agent Foxxy Cleopatra. When Dr. Evil (Mike Myers) and Dutch supervillain Goldmember (also Myers) kidnap Austin’s (Myers yet again) father, spy legend Nigel Powers (Michael Caine), the International Man of Mystery must team up with Foxxy to save the day — and maybe resolve a few daddy issues along the way.
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Packed with over-the-top gags, absurd gadgets and endless Myers performances, Goldmember is ridiculous in the best way. It’s a gleefully silly sendoff for the franchise — and in our opinion, it’s still solid gold, baby.
