Donnie Darko
From: Donnie Darko
Sandwiched between two high-achieving sisters -- a soon-to-be Yale scholar and a young dancing whiz -- middle child Donnie seems perfectly content to spend his time hanging out with his friends debating the genealogy of the Smurfs and sketching creepy giant rabbits. He's so laid-back, he barely blinks an eye when a freakin' jet engine touches down in his room.

Lloyd Dobler
From: Say Anything
It's not that this kickboxing enthusiast and professional dreamer completely lacks the drive to succeed. He's just directing his energies towards dubious goals, like dating the school valedictorian and the whole kickboxing as a career thing. (Although the recent rise of MMA shows that he may have been on to something.) It's sweet that he considers being a good boyfriend a viable career option, but that's not going to keep the lights on when Con Ed comes calling.

Paul Metzler
From: Election
Granted, anyone would look like an underachiever next to fellow hyper-efficient student body presidential candidate Tracy Flick, but popular jock Paul (clearly the model for Glee's Finn Hudson) is still impressively resolute about doing the bare minimum required to win higher office. Who does he think he is, Newt Gingrich?

Ferris Bueller
From: Ferris Bueller's Day Off
If the wisecracking Bueller put the same energy and enthusiasm into studying for school that he does skipping it, he'd be teaching classes in place of Ben Stein. For some reason though, he'd prefer to squander his talents on stealing Ferraris, impersonating sausage kings and leading all of downtown Chicago in a rousing version of "Twist and Shout." On second thought, that sounds like a lot more work (and a lot more fun) than just cramming for a test.

LouAnne Johnson's Entire Class
From: Dangerous Minds
It's hard to blame the kids at L.A.'s Parkmont High School for not caring much about their studies -- after all, they have been spending most their lives living in a gangster's paradise. But they're never going to escape that environment if they don't lay off the trash talk and let their ex-Marine instructor teach them a thing or two. She may not understand, but she's gonna try her best to reach them.

John Bender
From: The Breakfast Club
The '80s answer to James Dean's rebel without a cause, John Bender arrives for Saturday detention sporting a vintage underachiever uniform -- ripped jeans, flannel shirt and a major attitude. Though that tough, uncaring exterior is revealed to be something of a front before the day is out, it's pretty clear that he's not going to be arranging study sessions with Brian or Andrew anytime soon.

Napoleon Dynamite
From: Napoleon Dynamite
The painfully awkward Napoleon excels at consuming tater tots, drawing ligers, grooving to Jamiroquai... and not much else. So technically you could say that -- like Wolverine -- he's the best there is at what he does, but what he does isn't all that impressive.

Jeff Spicoli
From: Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Moving through life in a haze of pot smoke, the quintessential surfer dude doesn't see anything out of the ordinary with having a pizza delivered right in the middle of history class. Eventually he discovers the joys of learning through a late-night, eight-hour private lesson with his nemesis Mr. Hand, which just goes to show you that if this guy can be taught, anyone can.

Who is your favorite film underachiever? Sound off below.

Look back at the careers of Art of Getting By stars Emma Roberts and Freddie Highmore.

What are people saying about your favorite shows and stars right now? Find out with Talk Without Pity, the social media site for real TV fans. See Tweets and Facebook comments in real time and add your own -- all without leaving TWoP. Join the conversation now!