Sylvester Stallone Labels This Comedy as the Worst of His Career—Find Out Why!

Sylvester Stallone’s career is a storied one, from the Oscar-winning heights of Rocky to the explosive action of Rambo. But not every film has been a winner. In fact, Stallone himself has pointed to a particular comedy as the nadir of his filmography, a role he took on in an attempt to emulate the success of his longtime rival Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Chasing the Comedy Crown

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Stallone was navigating a tricky moment in his career. Although he’d achieved monumental success with his Rocky and Rambo franchises, both series were showing signs of fatigue at the box office. Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger had found a new formula for success, branching out into comedy with Ivan Reitman’s Twins (1988). That film, which paired Schwarzenegger with Danny DeVito, grossed over $200 million worldwide, showing that even action stars could conquer the comedy world if the material and timing were right.

Stallone took note. Determined not to be outdone by his rival, he ventured into comedy with Oscar (1991), a screwball gangster farce directed by John Landis. Despite a strong supporting cast that included Don Ameche, Tim Curry, and Marisa Tomei (in a breakout role), Oscar failed to resonate with audiences. It wasn’t a catastrophic flop, but it didn’t provide the career boost Stallone was hoping for, continuing a streak of underperforming films.

The Breaking Point: Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot

Still eager to make comedy work, Stallone followed Oscar with Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992), a buddy-comedy-meets-family-farce pairing him with Estelle Getty. The film was a disaster both critically and commercially, panned for its broad humor and implausible scenarios. Over the years, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot has been cited as one of Stallone’s worst missteps—so bad that even Stallone himself has said he regretted making it.

In interviews, Stallone has admitted that his decision to take on Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot was influenced in part by Schwarzenegger’s comedy success. In fact, there’s an infamous Hollywood tale in which Schwarzenegger reportedly pretended to be interested in the script, tricking Stallone into taking the role out of competitive spite. Whether or not this story is entirely true, it underscores just how much the rivalry between the two action legends shaped their career choices at the time.

Stallone’s Own Words

Looking back, Stallone has been candid about his comedic misfires. He’s called Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot the worst film in his career, acknowledging that the attempt to pivot into humor was misguided. In a 2006 interview with Ain’t It Cool News, he described it as “one of the worst films in the entire solar system, including alien productions we’ve never seen.” The brutal self-assessment reflects not only his frustration with the movie itself but also the pressure he felt to compete in an arena that perhaps wasn’t his strongest fit.

Lessons Learned

After Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, Stallone largely retreated from comedy, focusing instead on action films that played to his strengths. He rebounded with hits like Cliffhanger (1993) and later found new success with more character-driven performances in Cop Land (1997) and a return to his iconic Rocky and Rambo roles in the 2000s. While his foray into comedy remains a cautionary chapter in his career, Stallone’s willingness to own his mistakes has endeared him to fans, reminding audiences that even the biggest stars can stumble—and then rise again.

In the end, Stallone’s comedic ventures might not have won him critical acclaim, but they serve as a fascinating footnote in a long, varied career. They also highlight the competitive spirit of two Hollywood giants who continually pushed each other, sometimes to comedic extremes.