10 Rip-Off Movies (That Messed Up What They Copied)

Let’s face facts - there’s no way on earth that this middling teen movie effort from 2008 would ever have made its way to cinema screens if it weren’t for the unexpected sleeper success Superbad winning over audiences and critics alike a year earlier.

The latter film focused on a warm and surprisingly tender depiction of male friendship beneath the surface level of menstruation-related gross out gags and the protagonist’s questionable quest to find alcohol for a rager in order to curry favour with his crush.

Sex Drive, however, shared none of the charms which we were surprised to find in Greg Mottola’s raunchy but ultimately sweet bromance. Instead the film revelled in gross out that the Farrelly Brothers would have dismissed as outdated and went for a broader, bigger tone which made it harder to believe in - or care about - the feckless protagonists.

Despite its hard-R humour the film came closer to 2006’s neutered college comedy Accepted than the Apatow style it was so clearly aiming to ape, and audiences were less than impressed. Despite a stellar turn from James Marsden as a likeable meathead, the film was not a success, though creator Steve Pink would go on to redeem himself with 2010’s Hot Tub Time Machine.