I was watching old 80's music videos, and Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" popped up. It's a fantastic power ballad with a great duet between Grace Slick and Mickey Thomas. But until I watched the video, I had totally forgotten it was on the soundtrack for Mannequin, which is just awful. Not even in a so-bad-it's-good kinda way. Just a remarkably unremarkable high-concept romcom. But the song is so great, it was nominated for an Academy Award, so you can technically say "Oscar-nominated film, Mannequin."
Anyway, this got me thinking, what's the best song written/recorded for the worst movie?
It was actually pretty hard to come up with a bigger quality differential than "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" and Mannequin. The best (worst) I could come up with was "I Will Always Love You", not because The Bodyguard was "bad" (it's fine), but because Whitney Houston's cover was so amazing, even Dolly Parton was like, "It's fine, I'll just sing Jolene."
by littletoyboat
26 Comments
First contender that came to mind: De La Soul x Teenage Fanclub – Fallin, from the Judgment Night SDTK
Say-John Mayer for “The Bucket List”
Smashing Pumpkins’ [**The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning**](https://youtu.be/0fDZD46IZ5Q?si=SHCUJyYfG3KbwkOG).
For *Batman and Robin*, of all movies.
Iris for City of Angels
Wild Wild West by Will Smith. The movie is delightful trash, but the song’s a banger
“Soul to Squeeze” by RHCP for Coneheads
When you’re 13 and already in love with Kim Cattrall because of Big Trouble in Little China, Mannequin is fantastic.
Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road” was written for the Eddie Murphy movie Boomerang.
A View to a Kill by Duran Duran comes to mind
*Duel of the Fates* by John Williams for Star Wars The Phantom Menace.
Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody?” for Eddie Murphy’s *Dr. Dolittle*.
The Purple Rain soundtrack is one of the greatest soundtracks of all time. The movie is one of the worst movies of all time.
I *cannot* hear Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now without picturing Peter Griffin watching *Mannequin* and dying like a victim in *The Ring*
I fucking love Mannequin.
Anyway, here’s the opposite: [worst song for the best movie.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h1D-oMJdNYo)
Rick Ross and Skrillex
Purple Lamborghini
Suicide Squad
[No Shelter](https://youtu.be/IG7sww5NtVA) by Rage Against the Machine. Used a movie soundtrack to release a song calling out Hollywood as a tool of propaganda. Expressly shouts out Godzilla as well “Godzilla pure motherfuckin’ filler, to keep your eyes off the real killer”.
Can’t Fight The Moonlight From Coyote Ugly
[Meet Me Halfway](https://share.google/nLpabOc6bpx3isaHD), Kenny Loggins.
I unironically LOVE Over the Top, but it is not a great film.
To the Stars from Dragonheart
I think the whole Xanadu soundtrack is great. The movie itself is hot garbage.
I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing, by Aerosmith. It’s an amazing song, and as much as I love Armageddon it’s not a *good* film.
My Heart Will Go On is too tied to a great movie, so I will go with Gangsta’s Paradise for Dangerous Minds. The song is an all timer and the movie is mostly remembered because of the song.
It’s wild to see how tastes change. Always loved that song, but for at least twenty-five years after it came out, I heard nothing but ridicule for it.
Who made who. ACDCs entire album is the soundtrack to Maximum Overdrive
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FM – Steely Dan for the film FM