Prior to “17 Again,” Matthew Perry appeared in another film that got decent reviews from fans to make up for the so-so (at best) critic reviews. During a break from “Friends,” he starred in the 2000 crime comedy “The Whole Nine Yards” opposite Bruce Willis. In the film, Perry played an unassuming dentist named Nicholas “Oz” Oseransky, who develops a crisis of conscience after befriending his new next-door neighbor, the notorious mobster Jimmy Tudeski (Willis).
“The Whole Nine Yards” earned a 44% aggregate rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics but was embraced by movie fans with a 64% audience score. Validating audiences’ more positive reaction to “The Whole Nine Yards,” the film earned $85.5 million at the worldwide box office against a $24 million budget.
Unfortunately, one of Perry’s worst Tomatometer scores came with 2004’s “The Whole Ten Yards,” the aptly titled sequel to the aforementioned film. Critics trashed the follow-up, which again starred Perry and Willis, as it got a paltry aggregate rating of 4%, with an underwhelming 40% audience score. The film also sputtered at cinemas, taking in $26.3 million in ticket sales at the global box office against a $30 million production budget.
