When asked if he regrettedturning downForrest Gump,John Travoltamade the following statement: “I wouldn’t trade my career for anyone else’s.” It was a bold proclamation, especially considering the turns Travolta’s career has taken over the years. If one takes a look atTravolta’s Rotten Tomatoes page, they’d discover that seven of his films —Look Who’s Talking Now,Speed Kills,Gotti,Staying Alive,The Poison Rose,Trading Paint, andLife on the Line—have a shocking 0% rating. To put it into perspective, only one other actor comes close:Donald Sutherland, who had a role in five 0% rated films. While Travolta’s no stranger to starring in flops likeOld DogsandBattlefield Earth, those were few and far between; he’s been the focus of legitimately great movies includingPulp FictionandFace/Off. So what exactly, makes these seven movies so bad?
‘Look Who’s Talking Now’ and ‘Staying Alive’ Are Sequels to Far Better John Travolta Movies
Before his big break inPulp Fiction, John Travolta starred inLook Who’s Talking, a film where he played cab driver James Ubriacco. James' life is upended when single mother Mollie (Kirstie Alley) gives birth in the backseat of his car, but things get even weirder: the baby, Mikey, is voiced byBruce Willisand tries to push James and Mollie together. Yes, this is the actual plot of the movie. WhileLook Who’s Talkingwasn’t exactly well-received, it was a box office hit, which spawned two more sequels:Look Who’s Talking TooandLook Who’s Talking Now!SinceLook Who’s Talking Tooput its focus on Mikey’s sister Julie (Rosanne Barr),Look Who’s Talking Now!decides….to focus on their dogs, voiced byDanny DeVitoandDiane Keaton. This is the most blatant excuse to extend a film franchise, and critics took notice.Varietyhadone of the best takedowns, writing thatLook Who’s Talking Now!was “stretching a premise that one might say has gone to the dogs.”
Staying Alivewasn’t much better. A sequel to Travolta’s classicSaturday Night Fever, it featured him reprising his role as disco dancer Tony Manero who’s trying to clean up his act while pursuing a role in a Broadway production. On paper, that sounds like some fertile ground for a sequel; the fact thatStaying Alivewasdirected bySylvester Stalloneat the height of his career was the cherry on top. ButStaying Aliveplayed less like a sequel toSaturday Night Feverand more like a vanity project for Stallone, leading to it being dubbed as “one of the worst sequels ever.“It would also spark a downturn in Travolta’s careerthat included theLook Who’s Talkingsequels. It wasn’t untilPulp Fictionpremiered that Travolta found himself on the upswing, though that wouldn’t last.
‘Gotti’ Was Riddled with Controversy from Start to Finish
Gottimight be the most infamous of John Travolta’s misfires, especially with the approach it took to its marketing campaign. WhenGottimade its theatrical premiere, it wasn’t screened for critics —and when reviews did come in, they were brutal. TheNew YorkPostcalled it “the worst mob movie of all time”.Rolling Stonehad a particularly scathing review: “Insane testimonials from Gotti supporters at the end are as close as this shitshow will ever get to good reviews.” Most of the reviews took umbrage with howGottiattempted to paint John Gotti, often regarded as one of America’s most dangerous mobsters, as a folk hero of sorts. There was also the question ofthe major discrepancy between the film’s 0% critic rating and the 88% audience rating; audiences and criticsoften have conflicting views on movies, but this felt suspicious asGottiwasutterly overshadowed in its opening weekendby films includingIncredibles 2andHereditary.
The marketing team behindGottichose to respond to this in arguably the worst way possible:by releasing a bizarre series of Twitter posts that implied that critics tried to bury the film. Some of those posts include referring to critics as “trolls behind a keyboard” and urging audiences to “trust the people and see it for yourself.” But it was revealed that user reviews skewing in a popular direction were created in the same month thatGottiwas released and that the only other movie that got a similar treatment wasAmerican Animals—both films were produced by MoviePass. Travolta consideredGottia passion project, and a film that would earn him an Academy Award (yes, really). But thanks to MoviePass’s absurd marketing,Gottiwent down in history for all the wrong reasons.
John Travolta’s Recent Films Are Utterly Predictable
While you could say a lot of things aboutGotti, the one thing it wasn’t was predictable, which sadlysums up most of John Travolta’s recent films.Life on the Line, which stars Travolta as a lineman working through a deadly storm, is an utterly predictable disaster film.Speed Kills, where he plays a billionaire who smuggles cocaine in speedboats, is an utterly predictable crime film (which is something I’d thought I’d never say about smuggling cocaine in speedboats)Trading Paintis an utterly predictable sports film. Most of the plot points, character journeys, and resolutions are telegraphed in advance, meaning these movies are less entertainment and more an exercise in waiting for the inevitable. Even Travolta looks utterly checked out — a far cry from the actor who brought manic energy toSaturday Night FeverandFace/Off.
The standout, though, isThe Poison Rose. Like the films mentioned above, it tends to be predictable: Travolta plays private detective Carson Phillips, who takes on a missing persons case that eventually unveils a massive conspiracy. What’s genuinely surprising isthe star-studded cast that inhabitsThe Poison Rose:Morgan Freeman,Brendan Fraser,Famke Janssen,Robert Patrick, andPeter Stormareare all great actors, but they all play trite roles, whether it’s Janssen trying to bring life to a thankless love interest or Fraser playing the shady psychiatrist who all but telegraphs he’s the bad guy.The Poison Roseis a key example of John Travolta’s career: it’s a man who’s done better and knows he can do better, going through the motions.
