Brad Pitt continues to be one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. The award-winning actor is known for various onscreen performances, including those in Inglourious Basterds, Se7en, and of course, Fight Club. Not only that, Pitt also served as a producer for the Oscar-winning film Moonlight, as well as Selma and Okja for Netflix.
Despite all these outstanding projects, however, Pitt also has his fair share of rather unremarkable work. Just look at these films that received relatively low scores on IMDb:
The Counselor, 5.3
In this 2013 crime thriller from Ridley Scott, Pitt is joined by an all-star cast that includes Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, Michael Fassbender, and Penélope Cruz. The story centers on Fassbender’s Counselor, a lawyer who ends up getting involved in drug trafficking after being persuaded by Bardem’s character. Meanwhile, Pitt plays Bardem’s business associate who helps Counselor get millions worth of cocaine.
Despite the film’s premise and its impressive ensemble of talent, the movie is seen as a failure, something that Scott himself couldn’t fathom. “You’ve got Brad [Pitt], you’ve got Cameron Diaz, you’ve got Javier Bardem, you’ve got Penelope Cruz, you’ve got Michael Fassbender…are you f****** kidding me?” Scott remarked while speaking with Indie Wire. He also believes that it was 20th Century Fox’s approach to marketing the film that also derailed it at the box office. “After the marketing and advertising on that, I was ready to kill somebody. You don’t preview films like that. You keep them in a box.”
By The Sea, 5.3
Understandably, expectations were high on this 2015 drama. After all, it marked the first time that Pitt and his then-wife, actress Angelina Jolie, reunited on the big screen following the romantic action hit Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Just like in their first film, the couple also played a married pair who have been trying to fix their marriage here. However, there are no assassins, car chases, or action scenes involved. Directed by Jolie herself, the film’s focus is purely on the couple’s relationship woes and that may have been the reason why it didn't do as well.
By the Sea may have some good points (Jolie is generally praised for her directing here). However, critics have also admitted that the movie, despite being centered around one of Hollywood’s most fascinating couples, evokes boredom. On the other hand, the film had been a passion project for Jolie and Pitt who decided to make the film while on their honeymoon. “There were certainly a few days when we thought this wasn't the best idea,” Jolie admitted while speaking with Buro. “In the end we thought it was the best honeymoon in history because no matter how stormy it was, we stayed together.”
Cool World, 4.9
Several years before the release of the box office hit Space Jam, there was Cool World, which sees a much younger Pitt enter a dark animated universe where he meets a sexy blond cartoon figure named Holli Would. Later on, Holli Would becomes human herself and transforms into Kim Basinger. Especially at that time, the film was ambitious. In the end, however, it was criticized for its confusing plot and underdeveloped characters.
Reflecting back on the film, its director, Ralph Bakshi, believes that Cool World’s shortcomings may have been due to a lack of collaborative spirit between himself and the studio. “First of all, over the years I may have acted certain ways about Cool World. But I think, in retrospect and after getting older, the thing that really happened, which I wasn’t prepared for and is not unusual, is that it wasn’t a Bakshi production,” Bakshi told Cartoon Brew. “It was a Paramount picture, the first one I ever did.” He also revealed that he “couldn’t get the exact casting I wanted” for the film.
Cutting Class, 4.4
This 80s whodunnit movie centers on a string of murders at a high school. Here, Pitt stars as Dwight, a student suspected of committing the murders. Around this time, Pitt was still a relatively new actor and according to reports, the film’s producer, Rudy Cohen, wasn’t completely sold on the idea of casting him. However, director Rospo Pallenberg reportedly found four women who managed to persuade Cohen to cast the actor.
While working on the film, Pitt also ended up dating co-star Jill Schoelen. They also become engaged for a few months before splitting up for good. According to Pitt, it was because Schoelen was in love with someone else. The actor discovered this after flying to Budapest to visit Schoelen who had been shooting another movie. “I got there, went straight to the set where she was filming and that night we went out to dinner,” Pitt recalled while speaking with The Sun. “She told me that she had fallen in love with the director of the film. I was so shocked I said, 'I'm outta here.'”
Pitt hasn’t appeared in a film since 2019’s Ad Astra. That said, fans will soon see the veteran actor in the upcoming action film Bullet Train. In addition, Pitt is also attached to two other upcoming pictures, namely Lost City D and Babylon. And by the looks of it, these films are poised to perform better.