One Day is about to open in theaters and it’s all over the Internet how Brits everywhere are concerned about Anne Hathaway‘s inaccurate English accent. Perhaps she should’ve taken a cue from Gwyneth Paltrow after such on-point twists of the tongue in films like Shakespeare in Love, Sliding Doors, and Possession. However, there are many more crimes against dialect that we’ve seen in Hollywood.
Movie Line has put together an interesting list of the top 10 worst movie accents and I was surprised (but not really) to see the name of one actor appear three times! I added my own commentary on each posting on the list, but feel free to share your own thoughts if you agree or disagree with Movie Line.
10. Angelina Jolie, Alexander. I never saw the movie, never wanted to either. Just seeing Colin Farrell’s beach blonde locks was enough to keep me away. If Angelina Jolie is on the list, what about her questionable accent in The Tourist? Critics panned the movie, but she and Johnny Depp both earned Golden Globe nominations for their work in the European caper. I love Depp, but putting the two together with unclear accents only made what could have been a good movie a little silly. When the Tomb Raider movies came out, that was the same time people still liked Jolie so her Lara Croft accent wouldn’t have made the list.. maybe for the sequel?
9. Charlton Heston, Touch of Evil. Anyone have a comment about this? I do not. Perhaps this is too old of a reference?
8. Keanu Reeves, The Devil’s Advocate. Even his Bill & Ted voice was spared from the list.
7. Keanu Reeves, Little Buddha. Stick to Neo.
6. Keanu Reeves, Bram Stoker’s Dracula. He didn’t even have the right look for the movie. But I think that applies to half of his filmography too? Anyone agree?
5. Harrison Ford & Liam Neeson, K-19: The Widowmaker. Weren’t they Russian in this movie? Neeson can pull off an American accent well, but the Irish-born late-blooming action star sometimes can’t hide his roots, so I don’t even wanna know what that sounded like. As for Ford, he’s got that all-American good cop / cowboy / archaeologist / president thing down- and it works, which is why he’s one of the last great American movie stars!
4. Julia Roberts, Mary Reilly. Julia Roberts is only good for one thing and that’s a modern-day romantic comedy (with the ONE exception of Mona Lisa Smile). This period piece about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde could’ve been a good fit for co-star John Malkovich, but there’s a reason why Roberts is considered America’s sweetheart. We’ll give her the Southern accent in Steel Magnolias since the actress is a Georgia native.
3. Sean Connery, The Untouchables. He can’t hide that Scottish accent for anything. As James Bond it came out, but wasn’t so obvious to the American ear. Also, playing the father of Indiana Jones was unusual, but since he had so much comical chemistry with Harrison Ford’s legendary character, we’ll forgive that. However, Connery doesn’t belong in Chicago.
2. Drew Barrymore, Ever After. Now I’m gonna argue with this because after all, this movie is a fairy tale, made for teenagers and young girls! Who’s really gonna notice the delicate touch of British-ness in a few wrong places? The re-telling of Cinderella was one of my favorite movies of the late 90s. I was fifteen after all when it came out in 1998, waiting around for my Prince Charming and glass slipper. Perhaps in the eyes of critics, Barrymore has proven her accent chops since her Golden Globe and SAG winning role in Grey Gardens.
1. Kevin Costner, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. This is another movie I grew up watching (since I have an older brother and there was only one television in my house for a long time…. GASP). Maybe it’s safe to say that accents in fairy tales, fables, or legendary adventure movies of this sort (like Ever After too) are allowed a handicap? In my opinion, this is definitely not the worst of all, but I guess not enough people paid attention to Daniel Day-Lewis shaming Italians everywhere with his dribbling speech in Nine, in order for him to make the list over Costner.
Did Movie Line forget anyone? What about Megan Fox in Jonah Hex? Reese Witherspoon in The Importance of Being Earnest?
Who are your picks for worst movie accents? Who has the best movie accents?
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