10 Worst Practical Effects In Movie History

5. The Baby - American Sniper

Worst Practical Effects Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3
Warner Bros.

American Sniper is remembered for two things. One is its status as half of the one-two punch alongside Guardians of the Galaxy that proved Bradley Cooper was an actor to be taken very seriously, and the other is the fact that they really, honestly, wanted you to believe Cooper was holding an actual baby, instead of an obviously fake baby doll right out of Toys R Us.

Director Clint Eastwood attempted to find an actual baby to use in this movie, but kept running into the problem of the babies they brought on getting sick in the middle of filming. At his wits end, he ended up going with a fake baby (via Screen Rant).

Even if you somehow don't immediately notice the baby itself is fake, the way Sienna Miller and Bradley Cooper hold it will clue you in quickly that this is not a real baby. The weight is just off, and Miller and Cooper act in more exaggerated body language to try and sell it, which ironically just makes it more noticeable.

 
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John Tibbetts is a novelist in theory, a Whatculture contributor in practice, and a nerd all around who loves talking about movies, TV, anime, and video games more than he loves breathing. Which might be a problem in the long term, but eh, who can think that far ahead?