Very Bad Things
Polygram Filmed Entertainment | Release Date: November 25, 1998 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
33
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
8
Negative:
12
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Peter Berg's scandalous sick-joke thriller is packed with rude and clever twists, and it delves, with surprising force, into the hypocritical postures of corporate-era male bonding. The cast is terrific, especially Christian Slater. Read full review
70
TimeRichard Schickel
Cameron Diaz is sublimely screwy as the single-minded bride determined not to let anything--including the deadly mishaps that keep shrinking the wedding party--spoil her nuptials. [30 November 1998, p. 111]
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
In an era when the words "President" and "penis" can occupy the same sentence and prompt nothing but yawns, this picture actually manages to surprise, to startle, yes, to administer a series of small but genuine shocks. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The tone, which veers uncertainly between dark comedy and suspense, is uneven, and the characters are not vivid enough to stabilize the load of a shifting, runaway plot. Read full review
60
EmpireKim Newman
The film has a real sense of a situation slipping out of control, with marvellous displays of hysteria matched by movie trickery that spreads the edginess to the audience. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
In a world filled with crude movie sitcoms, Berg's bitter, worst-possible-case scenario really does stand alone. Read full review
50
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
The writer of Very Bad Things has done poorly by the director. This is particularly painful because they are the same person, Peter Berg. Director Berg shows lively talent, focused and controlled. Writer Berg shows some talent, too, but he is wobbly in design and purpose. [14 December 1998, p.26]
50
VarietyDerek Elley
Basically a very conventional movie gussied up with a few jaw-dropping moments. Unlike genuinely amoral pics such as "Heathers" or "Shallow Grave," it never seems really comfortable with its characters' actions. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
When it is good, the film by "Chicago Hope" actor Peter Berg is very, very good, but when it is bad it is horrid. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The result is a film that's far superior to Neil LaBute's "Your Friends and Neighbors'' and more entertaining than Todd Solondz's "Happiness.'' Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Very Bad Things only getes worse. [25 November 1998, p. 44]
40
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Humorous slashings and car accidents constitute similar high points in a film that is glaringly short on ''Scream''-style self-mockery to match its dopey mayhem. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
As the characters behave with symbolic excess in situations designed to provoke their bigotry and self-interest, superficial black comedy periodically gives way to painful drama. Read full review
30
Washington PostStephen Hunter
It never makes you laugh that hard. Not even close. And so the thing becomes a bloody assault on the senses that commingles atrocity with tedium. Read full review
25
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Isn't a bad movie, just a reprehensible one. It presents as comedy things that are not amusing. If you think this movie is funny, that tells me things about you I don't want to know. Read full review
25
Rolling StonePeter Travers
This is Berg's debut outing as a director, but other first-timers, namely Joel Coen (Blood Simple) and Danny Boyle (Shallow Grave), had it all over him for blending horror and hilarity. Read full review
25
USA TodayMike Clark
No comedy this vile should be brazenly foolish enough to give itself this title. [25 November 1998, p. 3D]
20
Dallas ObserverMichael Sragow
It poses as an unblinkered look at the hangups and hypocrisies of the bourgeoisie. In reality it's an empty, narcissistic tantrum. Read full review
20
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Hollow, simple-minded and about as profound an experience as stepping in a pile of road kill. Read full review
20
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
It's a worthless bit of low-grade satire that's as sophisticated and entertaining as a pile of twigs. Read full review
20
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Very Bad Things is a guy film, and, as such, it's a dog. The gross-out humor lacks edge, the guilt never kicks in, and the outrages are predictable. It's one flat brewski. Read full review
16
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
A dark comedy about a bachelor party gone awry, it is excessively violent, ghoulish, and gory. Very Bad Things is lack-of-taste taken to the extreme.
11
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
There is a line between gallows humor and tastelessness, but Very Bad Things apparently doesn't have a clue where that might be. Read full review
10
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
Pitched as a black comedy, the film thus far seems to have divided audiences between those who think it unaccountably hilarious and those who see it as the latest manifestation of what might be called the new nihilism. Read full review
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