It's no secret anymore than January has become a "dumping ground" for unwanted movies. These are movies that the studios have tested and are resigned to taking a loss. They often don't press screen these movies, hoping for a strong opening weekend based only on advertising and not on reviews. This January, frankly, wasn't so bad. The Book of Eli, directed by Allen and Albert Hughes, was a fairly solid genre movie, and so was the vampire movie Daybreakers. Youth in Revolt opened to mostly good reviews, though I did not see it. Andrea Arnold's very good Fish Tank also turned up in limited release this January.

But of course, there were a load of movies that ranged from duds to stinkers: Leap Year, The Spy Next Door, The Tooth Fairy, Extraordinary Measures, Legion, Edge of Darkness and When in Rome. Two dull awards-season duds opened wider in January: The Last Station and The Lovely Bones. Even some indies like Wonderful World, 44 Inch Chest and Saint John of Las Vegas looked like they were dumped. Tim Allen's directorial debut, Crazy on the Outside, captured the coveted 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. There were a lot more, many of which only opened sporadically, or in secondary markets. Maybe you saw something really awful that I didn't mention here, but I know which one is #1 on my "worst" list so far...
The loser is: When in Rome. The more I think about this torture device the more I hate it. I hate that they actually filmed in Rome and that it still feels like a Hollywood backlot. I hate all those loser supporting characters who are defined by a single trait. I'm embarrassed by Jon Heder's portrayal of a weird street magician. I'm embarrassed by Will Arnett's dumb Italian accent. I'm even more embarrassed by Danny DeVito, who restored to playing the "sausage king," giving the girl packages of sausage instead of flowers or jewelry. But I'm most embarrassed for Angelica Huston, who gets stuck with all the expository dialogue. I'm miffed that Mark Steven Johnson gets to keep working, and I'm concerned that Kristen Bell, who I like and who was very good on her TV series "Veronica Mars," will never get another decent shot after this.

How about it, dear readers? Was there anything you hated more than I hated When in Rome?