10 Most Cringe-Worthy Vanity Projects In Movie History

10. Swept Away

If you want to get an idea of how misguided Madonna's career has often been thanks to her persistently overactive ego, you only have to look at her continual efforts to break through as an actor in the face of ongoing critical, and frequently commercial, failure. When news came out that she was teaming up with her husband, the British director Guy Ritchie, to star in Swept Away, a remake of a 1974 movie of the same name, few people were expecting the end result to be even half decent.

Those who were optimistic enough to anticipate even something barely passable were in for a shock - Swept Away's levels of terrible acting and poor direction surpassed even the most cynical critic. Having a woman prone to vanity directed by her superficially talented directing husband was hardly going to result in anything much better than Swept Away, but its fully deserved status as a flop hasn't stopped Madonna from appearing in front of the camera since. Fortunately most people have realised it's far easier to just avoid anything she appears in.