“The Darwin Awards” is one of those direct-to-DVD movies that you watch, wondering why anybody bothered to make it at all. The Darwin Awards themselves are amusing yet viciously cruel, and director Finn Taylor seems to have no clue what to do with them as a narrative device. Instead, we’re stuck with a miscast Joseph Fiennes stumbling around like he’s in an old screwball comedy with no discernible comedic timing, and he has about zero chemistry with co-star Winona Ryder, who deserves much better than this poor excuse for a comedy. It’s good that there’s a parade of celebrity cameos to keep things relatively interesting, because otherwise this would be unwatchable.
Rating: ★★ (out of 5)
