Film's One-Hit Wonders: 30 Directors With Only One Good Movie

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – April 15, 2018

Even the worst directors have one good film in them. Well, at least some of them do. In the gallery above, we've identified 30 filmmakers from the past four decades who have directed at least five features but have managed to receive positive reviews for just a single one of their films.

Seth Gordon

After making an impressive debut with the 2007 videogame documentary The King of Kong, Gordon transitioned into narrative filmmaking. But it's been a bumpy ride since then, as none of his four films (all comedies) connected with reviewers. (He's had much better luck in television, directing episodes of acclaimed comedies such as Parks and Recreation and The Office and dramas such as Sneaky Pete.)

Gordon isn't the only person afflicted by the curse of Kong, however. That film's main antagonist, gamer Billy Mitchell, has just been stripped of his records thanks to a cheating scandal.

The one good film:
83 The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

Everything else:
41 Four Christmases (2008)
57 Horrible Bosses (2011)
35 Identity Thief (2013)
37 Baywatch (2017)

Where To Buy