Originality isn’t in Hollywood, with its insecurities and cultural appropriation. Oh, that book is popular? that movie made money? Adaptations, sequels, and remakes. Even when another country fires on every creative cylinder, you buy the machine and call it your own—there are no patents in entertainment. Thus is the case with the Oscar-winning foreign film, Another Round also known as its original title, Druk (Danish for “binge drinking”).
The movie follows a group of teachers, led by Mads Mikkelsen, who consume alcohol daily to see how it affects their social and professional lives, to disastrous results. As we all know, it’s hard to stop at one. According to Deadline, Another Round is ditching those pesky subtitles and getting an English-language remake starring Hollywood’s resident and eternal bachelor, Leonardo DiCaprio. We’re here to tell Uncle Sam that we’re better off without it, as is the case with these other remakes.
Photo: Hulu
Better off with: Yes, Glenn Close Really Twerked at the Oscars and You’re Going to Want to See it
The flipside: 21 Great American Remakes of Foreign Language Films
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worst foreign remakes
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'Swept Away' (2002)
Remember that god-awful Guy Ritchie romantic comedy starring his then-wife, Madonna Louise Ciccone? It’s okay, no one does but we do. It was called Swept Away and once again proved the Queen of Pop is not the Queen of the Silver Screen. The film is also a remake of the 1974 Italian film Travolti da un insolito destino nell'azzurro mare d'agosto (say that three times fast).
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'Ghost in the Shell' (2017)
Scarlett Johansson plays the cybernetic human, Major Mira Killian, in a white-washed adaptation of the 1995 Japanese animated movie of the same name and the Masamune Shirow manga. Like other state-side anime/manga remakes—that don’t seem to respect their source material—Ghost in the Shell was a huge disappointment for long-time fans of the franchise.
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'Oldboy' (2013)
2003’s Oldboy contains some of the best action sequences in cinematic history. Following its lead character’s (Choi Min-sik) attempt to find the person responsible for his mysterious, fifteen-year imprisonment, it’s also twisted and emotionally complex. The South Korean film was inevitably remade in 2013 with Josh Brolin as its star; however, where the original’s action (and brutality) contributed to the story, the remake was just a violent, superficial, and ridiculous example of diminishing returns.
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'Godzilla' (1998)
Gojira is perhaps the most beloved movie monster of all time. The kaiju first appeared on screen in the 1954 Japanese original and, following multiple sequels/spinoff, eventually made his way stateside. Godzilla (1985) lacked the campy charm of the originals and 1998’s Godzilla is more than forgettable. Legendary’s MonsterVerse is easily Hollywood’s best attempt at doing the King of the Monsters justice, even if it’s only okay it’s better than whatever Mathew Broderick thought he was doing in the 90s (outside of The Lion King).
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'The Wicker Man' (2006)
The Wicker Man might have set Nicholas Cage’s precedent for shit films. The 2006 remake of The Wicker Man was based on the 1973 British mystery movie of the same name. Cage plays a police sergeant investigating the disappearance of a young girl—whose community claims she never existed. Any and all of the original’s suspense is diminished to laughter in the remake; it’s bizarre and has since been condemned by the original's director, Robin Hardy.
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'City of Angels' (1998)
There would be two Nicholas Cage joints on this list. In 1998’s City of Angels he plays Seth, a ghost tasked with shepherding the deceased into the afterlife. His vocation is complicated by Meg Ryan’s Dr. Maggie Rice, a young doctor that, of course, he falls for and therefore takes on a human form. The film is a loose remake of the 1987 German film Der Himmel über Berlin. The latter is emotional and unique, the former formulaic.
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'Dinner for Schmucks' (2010)
The Paul Rudd, Zach Galifianakis, and Steve Carrell-led Dinner for Schmucks is actually a remake of the 1998 French comedy Le Dîner de Cons. Where the original thrives off its humor, the remake comes off as mean-spirited and cringe-worthy. It’s a wonder why a film, that largely ignores its source material’s best aspects, needs to be made in the first place? With comedic talents like Rudd and Carrell, just make a sequel to The 40-Year-Old Virgin...or anything else.
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'Taxi' (2004)
Ever try to pirate Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver and download Taxi by mistake? If not, you’ve lived an impeded life. If you have, then you realize how nauseating Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon-led comedy is. Thankfully, Fallon has found success in the realm of late-night talk shows because this remake of the 1998 French action-comedy essentially tanked his acting career.
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'The Vanishing' (1993)
The 1988 Dutch-French thriller, The Vanishing, is a crime thriller of epic proportions. The remake, 1993’s The Vanishing, not so much, indulging in a variety of clichés and ultimately becoming a dumbed-down version of the original (as are most remakes).
