Sylvester Stallone’s worst movie is still a thorn in the side of the action hero. Probably also because Arnold Schwarzenegger is to blame for the misery.
Alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone was the absolute action god of the 80s. The fact that some of the hits weren’t necessarily Rocky-level doesn’t bother the extremely laid-back Expendables 4 pensioner. However, the horrible comedy Stop! Or my mommy shoots! still burns in his soul. Presumably also because Sly only accepted the role because of a nasty trick played by Schwarzenegger.
Sylvester Stallone still hates his worst movie
Both had the same problem in the early 90s: the era of the indestructible biceps warrior was slowly coming to an end and both action heroes were looking for other role profiles. In 1992, Stallone opted for Stop! or my mommy shoots! And got the worst slap in the face of his career.
Curious? Buy or rent Stop Or My Mommy Will Shoot on Amazon
Watch the trailer for Stop! Or my mommy shoots here
The story about the hard-boiled cop Andrew (Stallone), who gets into all kinds of trouble with his resolute helicopter mother Tutti (Estelle Getty), was completely torn apart by critics and audiences alike. “Completely moronic and downright droningly unfunny” is the consensus of the critics’ website Rotten Tomatoes. Critic Roger Ebert wrote that the movie was “so stupid that you can only stare at the screen in stunned disbelief”.
And Stallone seems to fully share this judgment. In an internet discussion with fans on the site Ain’t it Cool he revealed in 2006:
‘The worst movie I’ve ever made. Maybe even the worst in the whole solar system. […] A tapeworm could write a better script. In China, they show the movie once a week to reduce the birth rate to zero. At twice a week, the whole of China would be extinct in 20 years
Arnold Schwarzenegger is to blame for Sylvester Stallone’s biggest flop
Perhaps the misery would only be half as painful for Stallone if Schwarzenegger, his biggest rival, hadn’t had a hand in it. He obviously knew how to use the fierce competition between them to his advantage: He declared that he absolutely wanted to take the lead role in Stop! Or My Mommy Shoots, even though he thought the script was terrible. Stallone eventually heard this too, as he described on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon:
My agent then told me, ‘You have to do the movie, Arnold will do it otherwise! I’m telling you, if you don’t grab Stop! Or My Mommy Shoots, he will.’ So I said, ‘All right, I’ll do it.
For Arnold Schwarzegger, Sylvester Stallone’s debacle was “a piece of shit “
His rival on Jimmy Kimmel Live made a similar statement:
The script was a piece of shit […] but Sly called me and asked me about it and I said, ‘I think I’ll do it.’ And since we had a rivalry going, he immediately called the producers and said, ‘Whatever it takes, I’ll do the movie!’
Anything but a mixture of respect and juicy anecdotes seems to have remained of the hate-filled rivalry. But even old fans will probably confirm: Stop! Or my mommy shoots is still underground.
