Whatever could it mean to say that a movie is “so bad it’s good?” I argue that this phrase has (at least) two different meanings, each of which is central to a distinct aesthetic practice. On the one hand, “so bad it’s good” can be a way of describing a movie that fails so severely that it becomes entertaining fodder for mockery and ridicule. But on the other hand, it can be a way of describing a movie that departs so impressively from the norms and conventions of the art form that it becomes aesthetically interesting in a way that resembles the avant-garde. I develop an account of the aesthetic practice connected with the latter construal, consider its relationship with the avant-garde, apply it to famous examples including The Room and Troll 2.