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GUY RAZ, host:

Welcome back to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz.

Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg: None of these fine directors will be mentioned in this next segment because today, our film critic Bob Mondello and I will be talking about the worst films of the decade.

Now, Bob, I know you've been looking forward to this one.

(Soundbite of laughter)

BOB MONDELLO: Actually, I kind of have, but remember, I'm a sweetheart. I am a total sweetheart.

RAZ: Bob's been coming in on the program all month to look back at the last 10 years in film. And Bob, let's set some ground rules here. There are plenty of bad films that go to DVD right away, but we're not going to talk about those, right?

MONDELLO: That's right. What I think we should do is talk about films that have burned enough people so that it's fair to talk about them. So I'm - let's say that it has to have hit at least four million people, which at $7.50 a pop would be about $30 million. But however, that makes me not talk about one picture that I'd really like to mention for a second: "The Hottie and the Nottie."

(Soundbite of laughter)

MONDELLO: "The Hottie and the Nottie" starred Paris Hilton. It made $27,000 in the United States, all right? However, I looked in and it made $1.5 million, and I thought: Where did it make it if it didn't make it in the United States? It made it in Russia. So we did win the Cold War.

RAZ: Paris Hilton in Russia, God bless them. Bob, let's start with worst romance.

MONDELLO: All right. I considered "Gigli," the Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez specialty.

Raz: Oh, yes.

MONDELLO: But the public somehow knew about that, and they didn't go to it. On the other hand, they did go to the Matthew McConaughey picture "Fool's Gold." It was enough to put me off the whole genre. Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson.

RAZ: Who else?

(Soundbite of laughter)

MONDELLO: Exactly. They were a recently divorced couple searching for hidden treasure. They're spitting venom at each other through most of this film.

(Soundbite of movie, "Fool's Gold")

(Soundbite of music)

Mr. MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY (Actor): (As Benjamin Finnegan) If we don't go after that treasure, it's gonna haunt us for the rest of our lives, and you know it. You really think I'd lie about this?

Ms. KATE HUDSON (Actor): (As Tess Finnegan) Why not? You're a liar.

Mr. McCONAUGHEY: (As Benjamin) I mean, this is such an inappropriate time to dwell on that.

RAZ: Bob, this is so painful.

MONDELLO: It was. They were amazingly bad, and, you know, it was clear that they had complete contempt for the material, and Matthew McConaughey, if I ever see him again, it'll be too soon.

RAZ: Ouch. Ouch.