10 Films That Were Clearly Vanity Projects

9. Swept Away - Madonna & Guy Ritchie

Swept Way was a remake of the 1974 film of the same name, directed by none other than Guy Ritchie and starring Madonna in the leading role. Madonna has proven in the past to be mildly competent when needed in an acting role. Her 1996 Evita proved that while playing to her strengths, notably her singing ability, she could act convincingly. Her performance in Swept Away is something entirely different. Madonna flounders through her lines, merely reading them aloud than performing them, giving off a tepid, wooden performance. Coming in the middle of her €œI€™m British€ phase, Madonna€™s accent wobbles between shrill posh aristocrat to poorly honed impression. Swept Away is a project that seems to be even too ambitious for Madonna, with her response being to ask her husband at the time Guy Ritchie to direct. Swept Away is such a contrast to Ritchie€™s other work that it seems unthinkable as to the reasoning behind taking this project on. He may possibly have thought that with wife Madonna in the starring role, he must therefore direct. Or possibly the reasoning comes from his success with Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, with the thought he could turn any film into a hit. Either way, what was produced was an utter mess and one that has arguably ruined that acting career of Madonna and took years for Ritchie to recover from.