Ben Stiller's Favorite Acting Experience Is This Brat Pack Movie With 0% On Rotten Tomatoes

Ben Stiller has appeared in some of the most beloved movies of all time. He's been directed by Steven Spielberg ("Empire of the Sun"), Wes Anderson ("The Royal Tenenbaums"), and Noah Baumbach ("Greenberg"). He's personally directed two of the most quotable comedies ever made ("Zoolander" and "Tropic Thunder"). The son of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara was practically born a showbiz veteran. He's seen it all. So when you sift through his career and try to guess what he would consider his favorite filmmaking experience, you might justifiably guess it was one of the aforementioned classics. And you would be absolutely wrong.

In a recent interview on The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway, Stiller surprisingly cited his co-starring role in the largely forgotten 1988 romantic drama "Fresh Horses" as his most satisfying experience on a movie set. As a native Ohioan, I'm thrilled to hear that he had a grand time shooting this film in and around Cincinnati. Nevertheless, I find it curious that this modest production, which reunited "Pretty in Pink" stars Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy, was a joy to work on because it was a massive flop. The film currently holds a wretched Tomatometer score of 0% at Rotten Tomatoes, though, to be fair, none of these reviews were written when the film received a surprisingly robust release (1,272 screens, just a little over 100 short of the weekend's top-grossing film, "The Land Before Time"). Why didn't "Fresh Horses" catch on, and was it really that bad?

Directed by David Anspaugh (best known for his uplifting sports films "Hoosiers" and "Rudy") and written by Larry Ketron (who adapted his Off-Broadway play, which received an approving notice from the notoriously vicious New York Times drama critic Frank Rich), the movie possesses that blue-collar authenticity that calls to mind the filmmaker's iconic classics. But it's a dour story where neither of our star-crossed lovers is destined to get what they want. McCarthy's Matt is a product of a wealthy family who is destined to go on to great things once he graduates from the University of Cincinnati. Ringwald's Jewel is stuck in a loveless, abusive marriage from which she can't extricate herself. Nevertheless, they fall hard for each other, though it's often difficult to differentiate the affection from the raw physical attraction.

This is not "Pretty in Pink." It's sexy. It's tough. And Stiller aces his assignment as McCarthy's best friend, who's full of bad advice. For Stiller, who had yet to join the cast of "Saturday Night Live," the role felt like a dream come true. As he told Scott Galloway:

"I was like, 'Oh man, I'm going to be in the Brat Pack. I'm going to be in the movies, just, this is it. This is my moment.' The movie just tanked, but it was, literally to this day, my favorite experience ever making a movie."

The "Zero Effect" star went on to say it was just a bunch of young adults "making a movie and having fun and hanging out and hooking up." I don't know if the film is ripe for reappraisal, but, at the time of its release, the Los Angeles Times' Michael Wilmington said there was "a lot to admire in the film." I remember feeling that way, too. So don't let that 0% Tomatometer turn you off, especially if you're a "Pretty in Pink" fan.