The 15 dumbest movie characters
Stupid is as stupid does
Clark Griswold (National Lampoons Christmas Vacation)
The Character: A well-intentioned oaf, the patriarch of the Griswolds notoriously gets himself into sticky situations on account of his cluelessness.
Dumbest Moment: Insistent on securing his own tree for Christmas, Clark shepherds the whole family to the woods to select the finest fir. Only, when he gets it home, and snaps the ties, the branches fling outwards, smashing the living room windows.
And lets not forget theres a squirrel that comes flying out of it...
Best Quote: Lets burn some dust here. Eat my rubber.
Derek Zoolander (Zoolander)
The Character: The extremely good-looking model Zoolander has spent his limited cerebral capacity on perfecting his catwalk performances, leaving few brain cells left for general common sense.
Dumbest Moment: When Mugatu presents Zoolander with a miniature model of The Derek Zoolander Center For Kids Who Cant Read Good, the brainless buffoon smashes it to the ground. Raising his voice in disgust he asks What is this? A center for ants?
Best Quote: If there is anything that this horrible tragedy can teach us, it's that a male model's life is a precious, precious commodity. Just because we have chiseled abs and stunning features, it doesn't mean that we too can't not die in a freak gasoline fight accident.
Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter
Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox
Frank Drebin (The Naked Gun: From The Files Of Police Squad!)
The Character: Somehow maintaining a job as a police detective despite his overwhelming incompetence, Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) always gets his man. Through blind luck, mostly.
Dumbest Moment: After forgetting to put his car in park, Drebins police cruiser launches down the street nearly mowing him down. Holding up his badge toward the car shouting Police! Halt! he proceeds to empty his clip into the runaway car which explodes into flames. He then asks onlookers if they caught the license plate.
Best Quote: "Jane, since I've met you, I've noticed things that I never knew were there before: birds singing, dew glistening on a newly formed leaf... stoplights."
Brick Tamland (Anchorman series)
The Character: A simple-minded weatherman, Brick (Steve Carell) is part of Ron Burgundys news team who often spouts nonsensical gibberish and fails to grasp lifes most fundamental concepts.
Dumbest Moment: As the gang gather round for lunch, Ron asks Brick what hes eating, so he proceeds to tell everyone about his delicious falafel hotdog with cinnamon and bacon he got from the food basket at the end of the buffet.
Its a used coffee filter with cigarette butts in it.
Best Quote: I love lamp.
Inspector Clouseau (The Pink Panther series)
The Character: One of the most iconic bumbling law enforcers in cinematic history, Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) showcases his dim-wittedness as a result of his belief that hes actually smart.
Dumbest Moment: In the 1976 sequel, The Pink Panther Strikes Again, his clumsiest encounter comes as he commences an interrogation. After he careens down a flight of stairs head first, he stomps on an old ladys foot, before crashing into a suit of armour... you get the idea.
Best Quote: A beekeeper who has lost his voice, a cook who thinks he's a gardener, and a witness to a murder. Oh, yes. It is obvious to my trained eye, that there is much more going on here than meets the ear.
Harry and Lloyd (Dumb & Dumber series)
The Character: A couple of aimless, dim-witted friends, Harry (Jeff Daniels) and Lloyd (Jim Carrey) are incapable of carrying out the simplest tasks without invoking dire consequences. During a cross-country road trip their absent-mindedness results in a trail of unfortunate victims.
Dumbest Moment: At a late-night gas station stop, Harrys attempt to impress a woman sees him light her cigarette, throw the match over his shoulder and set fire to his own legs. Meanwhile, Lloyd cowers in a toilet cubicle awaiting a unfortunate encounter with a meathead called Seabass...
Best Quote: Police Officer: Pullover!
Harry Dunne: No, it's a cardigan but thanks for noticing.
Lloyd Christmas: Yeah, killer boots man!
Gem Seddon is 12DOVE's west coast Entertainment News Reporter, working to keep all of you updated on all of the latest and greatest movies and shows on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Outside of entertainment journalism, Gem can frequently be found writing about the alternative health and wellness industry, and obsessing over all things Aliens and Terminator on Twitter.