After a recent trip to the cinema to see Mean Girls, we immediately got the inspiration to write this article on the top 5 Worst Musical Movies.
With some people walking out of theatres and others clinging to their seats with excitement the new Mean Girls musical has divided many.
A Mean Girls movie made for a modern TikTok generation falls flat on its ‘dancing for-likes’ face as inconsistencies reign supreme in addition to over-sexualisation instantly condemning it into one of the worst musical movies I’ve set my eyes upon.
What I will say though however is that Renée Rapp who plays high school queen bitch Regina George did an incredible job from start to finish and was the sole reason I didn’t walk out of this absolute dumpster fire of a tone-deaf musical.
Musical movies have the power to transport audiences to fantastical worlds where song and dance weave seamlessly into storytelling however the ones we are about to dive into, do not.
Let’s take a look at our top 5 worst musical movies that failed to hit the high notes.
Glitter (2001)
Mariah Carey is used to hitting all of the right notes but this is one particular feature where absolutely NONE of the right notes were hit.
Despite showing off her very impressive catalogue of hits the musical was plagued with a lacklustre script and some horrendous acting from Carey herself.
Glitter was a box office disaster panned by critics for a shallow plot and disjointed musical sequences.
The opportunity to make a memorable musical film was given a huge boost with such an iconic soundtrack but sadly not even Mariah Carey could save her own self-indulgent dumpster fire of a movie.
From Justin to Kelly (2003)
Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini were roped into this movie to capitalize on their American Idol fame as the first-season winner and runner-up were on a one-track road to superstardom via any means necessary.
It’s safe to say this film did them no favours as a clichéd plot and awkward dialogue made From Justin to Kelly a cringe-worthy experience.
I don’t think I made it through 30 minutes of this movie before turning it off and coming back to it at a later time.
Trying so hard to capture the magic of a real musical it clearly showed two stars with talent who just couldn’t make this cinematic disaster work.
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stage musical is celebrated worldwide as is the case with many of Andrew’s on-stage productions.
The same cannot be said about the film adaptation directed by Joel Schumacher.
The Phantom of the Opera failed to live up to expectations despite a cast that included Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum.
Over-the-top production design and a lack of direction were the least of the film’s problems as the iconic centrepiece of the entire movie, Phantom, had absolutely no vocal prowess required.
Think Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia bad!
Sorry Gerard, stick to action films man, you’re one hell of an actor but not a singer.
Fans of the musical were left disappointed as the film failed to capture the enchantment of the original stage production.
Rock of Ages (2012)
Rock of Ages really should have been scrapped and turned into a film similar to Get Him to the Greek.
Infant Sorrow the Musical would have been a much better alternative as you get to enjoy the movie and then have it crammed full of Infant Sorrow classics to pad out the musical feature.
Unfortunately, whilst Russell Brand does feature in Rock of Ages even he cannot save this one!
Featuring an ensemble cast including Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, and Alec Baldwin, “Rock of Ages” attempted to celebrate the 1980s rock music scene.
Attempted is most definitely the appropriate word to use here as inconsistent tone, lack of character development and a script that struggled to blend the musical numbers with a good narrative.
A star-studded cast failed to resonate with audiences further proving that no matter how many big names you have not all musicals can successfully bring the magic of the stage to the big screen.
Cats (2019)
Another Andrew Lloyd Webber creation but one that even Andrew Lloyd himself wished he could pretend never existed as Cats is perhaps not only the worst musical made in recent memory but the worst musical of all time.
CGI-heavy visuals made Cats just an awkward creepy watch as humanoid cats on the big screen made for an uncomfortable experience for many.
The film naturally became a meme frenzy and it was panned by almost everyone who gazed their eyes upon it.
A critical and commercial flop in every sense and no one can quite understand how this film was made in the way it was.
Taylor Swift, Idris Elba and more A-list names feature in Cats and I can only imagine they took the role for a nice paycheck as it certainly wasn’t a film chosen based on artistic integrity.
So, here are our top 5 worst musical movies. What are yours? Comment below.
