Once celebrated for meeting the era's standards, several films would now be dead on arrival due to changing perspectives on what is considered politically correct and what is not. An Internet forum recently highlighted movies from the 2000s that wouldn't pass today's criteria for acceptable content and humor.

1. Bridget Jones Diary (2001)

This fun romantic comedy received favorable reviews from viewers. The primary debate around the movie, which made more than $280 million, was whether American Renée Zellweger was the right choice for the English Bridget.

Two decades on, the backlash has switched to the blatant harassment Bridget had to put up with, including the staggering amount of remarks about her weight and attire. This misogyny will not stand the test of the current social climate, as acknowledged by Helen Fielding, the author of the first two Bridget Jones novels, who said, “You couldn't write that now.”

2. I Now Pronounce Larry and Chuck (2007)

Although the final statement in this comedy about gay marriage insists that homosexuals should be treated equally, the 110 minutes prior are filled with a continual assault of homophobic epithets and slurs. In today's environment, this wouldn't be dismissed as popcorn humor.

Rob Schneider's portrayal of an Asian wedding officiant, which had a racist undertone, is another example. Making fun of Asians is not a winning strategy.

3. White Chicks (2004)

Orbiting around two Black FBI agents who pose as rich white women to investigate a kidnapping case, the movie uses humor from racial and gender prejudices. These  include the employment of whiteface makeup, exaggerated representations of women, and obscene jokes. It is unlikely to be developed with the same idea and tone ever again because this theme would be seen as insulting and inappropriate today.

4. Me, Myself & Irene (2000)

Jim Carey's knack for comedy would have seen a downward spiral if he had played Hank Evans in 2023. After years of suppressed rage and frustration, a Rhode Island state trooper, Charlie (also played by Carey), experiences split personality disorder and transforms into Hank. Hank is a different, violent, and offensive person.

With heightened understanding and consciousness around mental health, the film's outdated approach, which trivializes mental illness for cheap laughs and leans on insensitive humor, harmful stereotypes, and disrespectful portrayals of mental health struggles, renders it unacceptable in today's more considerate media environment.

5. Tropic Thunder (2008)

Robert Downey Jr. plays a Method actor donned in blackface and uses common jargon to play soldier Lincoln Osiris in a Vietnam War movie that spirals out of control. It was aimed at parodying haughty Hollywood movie stars rather than African Americans. But Downey as a guy in blackface would prompt weeks or months of hot takes if it were released in 2023. Further, Ben Stiller's role as a mentally disabled person raised criticism, and no director now would think of conceiving anything close.

6. Team America: World Police (2004)

This movie is an animated or puppet comedy about an elite paramilitary unit. It combines satire and actual events as the group attempts to thwart Kim Jong-Un's plans for North Korea. Legendary actors, including Sean Penn, Matt Damon, and Susan Sarandon, starred in the film. However, it wouldn't get past the idea stage if it were to be conceived today, especially after the entire U.S. and North Korea scenario.

7. Borat (2006)

For those familiar with Sacha Baron Cohen's work, the arrival of Borat in theaters was not entirely unexpected because of the comedian's penchant for outrageous characters and socially insensitive humor.

The director portrays a Kazakh journalist, Borat, who leaves his little hamlet to photograph American culture. The stereotype of a foreign traveler to the U.S. who disparages it as being somewhat similar to his home nation wouldn't find much traction in the industry today as much as it was allowed then.

8. From Justin to Kelly (2003)

This rom-com is not very offensive, unlike most of the movies on this list. However, this love story of Kelly (Clarkson) and Justin (Justin Guarini) would never be produced today.

Hollywood has undergone a significant transformation with streaming, so it's unlikely that the forces that tried to take advantage of American Idol's unintended success would succeed in doing so in this era.

9. National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2003)

The moniker National Lampoon was added to the title even though the movie wasn't a National Lampoon production to conjure the student comedies of the passed, many of which were already horribly outdated. Then, you get to the worst part – an overtly erotic non-plot with Van Wilder (Ryan Reynolds) and Gwen Pearson (Tara Reid), who treat each other like garbage while making crude, insulting remarks.

10. Freddy Got Fingered (2001)

Just the title makes one cringe before you pause to consider that the story of this horrifying Tom Green movie is centered around false charges of incest and pedophilia. Green plays Gordon Brody, who makes up the story that his younger brother Freddy (Eddie Kaye Thomas) was molested by his controlling father (Rip Torn).

The secondary narrative in which their mother (Julie Hagerty) abandons the family for Shaquille O'Neal (playing himself) in a sequence that smells of racial stereotypes of black manhood is also not funny. Well, funny then, but disgusting now.

11. Gigli (2003)

After 20 years of dating, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez got married. Still, it would be great if they were to star in another romantic comedy to test whether a third time would be the charm.

Everything in the film deviated from the plot, except the actors could not capture their connection onscreen. The narrative of this movie is appalling by today's standards, from Larry Gigli's (Affleck) racist, homophobic, and ableist words to abled actor Justin Bartha's terrible faux-Rain Man portrayal as the man Larry kidnaps. 

12. Catwoman (2004)

Although the Catwoman character is nothing like that on the page, the premise of Catwoman as a modest woman with a hyper-sexualized domineering side would never go past development. Her body was presented as an object to be leered out, and no attempt was made to build her character. The fact that her love interest is not Batman should also not even be brought up.

13. How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)

This is a romantic comedy that many people remember fondly, yet it is terribly out of date in many ways. In the post-broadband era, Andie Anderson's (Kate Hudson) entire journalism career is unthinkable. A ladies' man advertising executive named Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey) is likelier to be the antagonist of a contemporary movie than the lead character. Then, you can choose between the gender-stereotypical humor of what Anderson believes men seek from women and Barry's presumptions about how women behave as another reason why this will not be produced today.

14. Shallow Hal (2001)

The film's upbeat theme is about learning to value people for who they are rather than just their outward appearances. However, when concealed by an endless stream of fat jokes, the message becomes more challenging to understand. Since Jack has been captivated to see everyone's inner beauty, he misperceives Gwenyth Paltrow's character's weight and believes she is supermodel slim. She breaks furniture when she sits down, sinks the canoe on her side, and does ridiculous things to get a cheap chuckle.

Paltrow even admitted that she regrets wearing a fat costume in some sequences and that the film failed. Thank goodness that was the early 2000s.

15. Love Guru (2008)

Mike Myers plays a Hindu guru in the film. There is little about this movie's cultural representation that will sit well with moviegoers in today's society. So much of it is just one big joke making fun of the culture. Even in 2008, some Canadians demanded that the film not be released there without having a significant edit first, and a Nevada Hindu leader claimed it satirized Hinduism and Hindus. In addition, it is drenched in disgusting comedy intended to shock, making it difficult to endure.

Source: Reddit