The first decade of the 2000s was a transition period between the more varied movie landscape of the 20th century and the blockbuster-oriented box office we have now.
Back then, there were still a lot of excellent movies from all genres, even if their IMDb rankings don’t reflect that.
The Watch With Us team recently revisited 2000s cinema and identified the films whose critical and audience reception wildly differed.
These are the five great 2000s movies with shockingly bad IMDb ratings.
‘Hamlet’ (2000)
There are a lot of Hamlet movies, even relative to the numerous William Shakespeare films that have been made since the dawn of cinema. In 2000, writer/director Michael Almereyda re-staged Hamlet in present-day New York while retaining most of Shakespeare’s dialogue. For this version, Ethan Hawke plays Hamlet, the heir to his father’s Denmark Corporation. Or at least he was before his uncle, Claudius (Kyle MacLachlan), murdered Hamlet’s father and took his wife, Gertrude (Diane Venora).
Critics were divided by Hamlet‘s take on the story, but IMDb users are apparently even more disdainful towards it. Small wonder then that Hamlet has largely faded into memory as other traditional takes on Shakespeare’s story remain more easily accessible to watch.
Hamlet is available on Hoopla.
‘The Good Girl’ (2002)
Friends was still on the air when Jennifer Aniston took the lead in The Good Girl, a film that seemed designed to help prepare her for a career after her hit sitcom. Aniston plays Justine Last, the unhappy wife of Phil Last (John C. Reilly) and a store worker whose life is going nowhere fast. That’s why Justine is so open to having a deep emotional connection with her coworker, Thomas “Holden” Worther (Jake Gyllenhaal).
When that connection leads to a full-blown affair between Justine and Holden, she has to hide it from her husband and her other coworkers. That leaves Justine vulnerable to blackmail and other bad choices that may bring her life crashing down on top of her.
The Good Girl is not available to stream.
‘Idiocracy’ (2005)
Idiocracy was a flop in theaters before it became a cult classic, and it seems to have been oddly predictive for our present. A very ordinary man, Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson), and a prostitute named Rita (Maya Rudolph) take part in a suspended animation experiment that is quickly abandoned. Hundreds of years later, Joe and Rita are awakened from stasis and find themselves in a future where the stupidest people rule the world and intelligence has become a thing of the past.
Compared to everyone else, Joe looks like a genius. That’s why President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho (Terry Crews) gives him a cabinet position and seven days to solve the nation’s problems or else Joe will face public execution. Even with the film’s rehabilitated reputation, 6.5 is shockingly low for its IMDb ranking.
Idiocracy is streaming on Hulu.
‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’ (2009)
Heath Ledger passed away before he had finished filming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, but director Terry Gilliam came up with a unique way around Ledger’s absence that actually fit the story. This is a fantasy film about Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), his daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole), and their traveling troupe. Their act includes a magical imaginarium that sends users into their personal fantasies and either leaves them transformed for the better or condemns their souls to the devil, Mr. Nick (Tom Waits).
The troupe’s latest recruit, Tony Shepard (Ledger), has a talent for getting the imaginarium to work, although his face changes during each trip. (That’s what allowed Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to step in and play Tony in Ledger’s absence.) Even with Tony’s help, Parnassus faces the loss of his daughter’s soul over a deal he struck with Mr. Nick years earlier. And Tony may not be able to be trusted either. This was a fantastic film that perhaps didn’t connect with audiences in the way that Gilliam hoped.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is available to rent on Prime Video.
‘Adventureland’ (2009)
Adventureland may have the highest IMDb ranking on this list, but that number still doesn’t accurately reflect the quality of the film. The story is set in the late ’80s as college student James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) is forced to work at the local amusement park for the summer. It doesn’t take long for him to fall hard for his coworker, Em Lewin (Kristen Stewart).
James and Em have a lot in common, but her romantic attention is on Mike Connell (Ryan Reynolds), an older man who works at the park. Mike is already married, and even that can’t keep Em from being drawn to him. She’s going to have to choose which man she really wants, while James has to decide how far he’s willing to go to win Em’s heart.
Adventureland is streaming on MGM+.
