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MONEY
Did you know
Earned back only 33% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Very Bad Things
"They've been bad. Very bad."
1998 1h 40m EN
😐
6.3
MID
🥫
40%
ROTTEN
😬
33
METACRITIC
⭐
6.3
IMDB
★6.3TMDB · 720🥫40%Rotten Tomatoes●33Metacritic★6.3IMDB · 50,332
ComedyCrimeThriller
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
Kyle Fisher has one last night to celebrate life as a single man before marrying Laura, so he sets out to Vegas with four of his best buddies. But a drug and alcohol filled night on the town with a stripper who goes all the way, turns into a cold night in the desert with shovels when the stripper goes all the way into a body bag after dying in their bathroom. And that's just the first of the bodies to pile up before Kyle can walk down the aisle...
“They've been bad. Very bad.”
Cast
Christian Slater
Robert Boyd
Cameron Diaz
Laura Garrety
Jon Favreau
Kyle Fisher
Leland Orser
Charles Moore
Jeremy Piven
Michael Berkow
Daniel Stern
Adam Berkow
Jeanne Tripplehorn
Lois Berkow
Rob Brownstein
Man
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Peter Berg
- Writers
- Peter Berg
- Languages
- English
- Countries
- United States of America
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
2 / 8
ERA
Did you know
28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by Peter Berg, shot by David Hennings. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Original score by Stewart Copeland. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor Dan Lebental shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Christian Slater and Cameron Diaz and Jon Favreau carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 8
FACT
Did you know
Marketing tagline: "They've been bad. Very bad.".
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
8 / 8
WILD
Did you know
IMDB entry: tt0124198 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
MoodPlayr · trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Peter Berg directs. David Hennings behind the camera. Stewart Copeland scores. Dan Lebental cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Earned back only 33% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
- 228 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
- 3Directed by Peter Berg, shot by David Hennings. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 4Original score by Stewart Copeland. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 5Editor Dan Lebental shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 6Christian Slater and Cameron Diaz and Jon Favreau carry the top of the cast.
- 7Marketing tagline: "They've been bad. Very bad.".
- 8IMDB entry: tt0124198 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 9Classified under 13 themes, including "hotel", "prostitute", "psychopath", "cocaine".
The technical file
- Cinematography
- David Hennings
- Original score
- Stewart Copeland
- Editing
- Dan Lebental
- Production design
- Dina Lipton
- Costume design
- Terry Dresbach
- Stunt coordinator
- Chris Howell
- Runtime
- 100 min · 1h 40m
- Aspect ratio (typical)
- 1.37:1 (Academy)
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $30,000,000
- Box office
- $9,898,412
- Return
- 33% of budget
- Original language
- EN
- Certification (US)
- R
- Rotten Tomatoes
- 40% 🥫 Rotten
- Metacritic
- 33/100
- IMDB rating
- 6.3/10 · 50,332 votes
- MPAA
- R
Awards
2 wins & 3 nominations total
Also by
Peter Berg
Stills · wallpapers
Selected frames
Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Community reviews
What people are saying
- JPV852★ 8/10
This is a movie I saw many years ago, probably when it was first released on DVD, and if memory serves, I didn't like it all that much. Watching it again all these years later, and perhaps getting older helped me appreciate the dark (pitch black really) comedic elements. Found myself laughing so much. Christian Slater has never been better playing such a psychopath. Really good first film from Peter Berg. 3.75/5
Production companies
Who made it
- VB
VBT Productions
- IN
Initial Entertainment Group
US
Interscope Communications
US
- BA
Ballpark Productions Partnership
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
US
Key crew
- Executive ProducerTed Field
- ProducerCindy Cowan
- ProducerJoanna Johnson
- ProducerMichael Schiffer
- Executive ProducerChristian Slater
- ProducerDiane Nabatoff
- Executive ProducerScott Kroopf
- Line ProducerLaura Greenlee
- Art DirectionMichael Atwell
- CastingDebi Manwiller
- Production DesignDina Lipton
- EditorDan Lebental
- Costume DesignTerry Dresbach
- Executive ProducerMichael A. Helfant
- Set DecorationKathy Lucas
- Stunt CoordinatorChris Howell
- Third Assistant DirectorBasti Van Der Woude
- StuntsSpiro Razatos
- Second Unit DirectorChris Howell
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- hotel
- prostitute
- psychopath
- cocaine
- black humor
- stag night
- friends
- murder
- marijuana
- wedding
- las vegas
- death
- accident
Release history · US
When it landed
- Theatrical1998-11-25R
Also known as
International titles
- Malos pensamientosAR
- Uma Loucura de CasamentoBR
- Sairasta sakkiaFI
- Poly megales kakiesGR
- Very Bad Things - Albtraum ohne EndeDE
