George Clooney: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

5 That Sucked

5. Matt Stevens - Return Of The Killer Tomatoes (1988)

It may seem rather unfair to concentrate too much on Clooney's earliest performances, given how far he has come since ER gave him his big chance, but it is precisely for that transformation that roles like this, in disposable, silly movies are so notable. It's a stark reminder that Clooney was once a jobbing actor, picking up paychecks for projects like this, and his recurring role on Roseanne, before he had fully honed his craft thanks to the rigours of filming long episodes of ER in what amounted to cinematic conditions. And it's not just that the film is terrible - that's sort of the point of that sort of schlocky material (which Clooney had already become accustomed to a year before with Return To Horror High) - it's how incredibly bad Clooney is as Matt Stevens. The idea of course here is spoof, but the best spoof movies have a degree of artfulness about them (which is precisely why dross like A Haunted House and Scary Movie 5 missed their mark) - they aren't just stupidity and fart jokes, but Return Of The Killer Tomatoes is sadly devoid of either a brain or straightly presented, well-acted lead performances, so there's nothing to make the comedy work properly. And the result feels like some high school gore fans put together their end of term project starring that kid who lives on the corner who once said he wanted to act.