Cameo Schmameo

Unexpected cameos by big stars almost always make a movie more entertaining. Who doesn't like surprises? Well, sometimes a cameo appearance can be so baffling that it becomes irritating. So in the tradition of the Worst Movie Fights of All Time, here are seven of the worst cameo appearances ever:

7) Dan Aykroyd, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - I remember as a kid this completely threw me. You hear Aykroyd's voice early in the film and sorta see him, and I just kept thinking "Hey when's Dan Aykroyd coming back? I thought he was in this movie. That was him right? Where'd he go?"

6) Burt Reynolds, Smokey and the Bandit III - The finale of this trilogy is flat out horrible, but even more head-scratching is the cameo by Burt. In order to escape the clutches of Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason), Cletus (Jerry Reed) sits very still, and for whatever reason this enables Buford to see The Real Bandit (Reynolds). They have a brief exchange of dialogue, and that's that. I included this though not because of the bizarre circumstances that enable it to happen, but because in the network TV version Burt's cameo is substantially longer. This means at some point, someone involved with the making of one of the worst movies of all time actually said "There's too much Burt in this movie... cut him down to 45 seconds."

5) Chris Elliott, Nutty Professor II - I can't really tell if this was a cameo appearance, a case of being left on the cutting room floor, or if Elliott's star has really fallen all the way down to the level of a background extra. In one scene in a diner, Elliott is seen in the background playing the "Restaurant Manager". I had to rewind the DVD after the scene was over because I couldn't believe that was Chris Elliott just milling about in the background.

4) Sylvester Stallone, Staying Alive - Sly directed this sequel to Saturday Night Fever and in an early scene where John Travolta is walking through the city streets, he bumps into Stallone who turns around and looks at him. And that's that.

3) John Travolta, Boris & Natasha - Never heard of this live-action Rocky and Bullwinkle movie? Don't feel bad, it's hideous even without Sally Kellerman. But at one point a character opens a door (to meet a blind date, I believe) and it's John Travolta standing there. If I recall correctly, the door is then slammed in his face 5 seconds later. This was clearly the lowest point of Travolta's pre-Pulp Fiction career.

2) Walter Matthau, Earthquake - Matthau appears briefly as a very 70's pimp-ish looking drunk.   

1) Robert Duvall, Invasion of the Body Snatchers - I'll never, ever understand this one. After an early scene the camera pans over to a playground swing set, and on one of the swings is Duvall, dressed as a priest and somehow managing to swing in a sinister fashion. It's never explained and we never see him again.