The Best and Worst of Woody Harrelson

The "Best and Worst" series profiles the best and worst work of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week I take a look at the filmography of "Triple 9" star Woody Harrelson.

Film starring Woody Harrelson that I've seen:
White Men Can't Jump
Kingpin
The Thin Red Line
Anger Management 
No Country for Old Men
Semi-Pro 
Zombieland
Friends with Benefits
Seven Psychopaths
The Hunger Games
Now You See Me
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Out of the Furnace
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2

Best Performance: Zombieland (2009)
Even though the strongest praise he's received in his career have been for his dramatic turns in No Country for Old Men, The People vs. Larry Flynt and the first season of HBO series True Detective, I found  Harrelson to be at his scene-stealing best in the horror/comedy Zombieland. Harrelson tears up the screen as demented, Twinkie-loving Florida-based zombie killing expert Tallahassee and manages to generate the biggest laughs in a film that is full of non-stop gut-busting moments.    

Worst Performance: N/A
This may seem like a cop out, but I've put a lot of thought into it since I selected Harrelson to be focus of this week's piece last Wednesday and I couldn't find a single one of his performances I didn't enjoy. Harrelson is one of the dozen or so actors working right now that is seemingly incapable of turning in a bad performance.  His versatility and dedication to each role he tackles allows him to thrive every time he's on screen, even when he's given less-than stellar material to work with (Semi-Pro, Friends with Benefits, Kingpin). Harrelson has brought his A-game to the table in every single project he's starred in his 30-year career so far and hopefully that won't change anytime soon. 

Best Film: No Country for Old Men (2007)
Historically, films that win Best Picture are heavily scrutinized due to the prestige surrounding them. When a film wins the Academy Award for Best Picture, audiences expect to be blown away when they see it. However, often times this isn't the case. In just the last decade, there have been numerous Best Picture winners (Slumdog Millionaire, Crash, The Artist) that a majority of the moviegoing public (myself included) felt weren't worthy of the prestigious honor that had been bestowed upon them. The 2007 winner, No Country for Old Men, is one of the rare instances (in recent memory at least) where the Academy actually got it right. From the complex, perfectly constructed script to the top-notch acting ensemble to the stunning cinematography that perfectly matches the dreary nature of the story, No Country for Old Men is a bona fide masterpiece that proves exactly why the Coen Brothers deserve to go down as two of the greatest filmmakers of all-time.

Worst Film: Semi-Pro (2008) 
On paper, Semi-Pro had all the ingredients to be great: a cast full of gifted comedic actors headlined by Will Ferrell, Harrelson and Andy Ritcher, a fantastic premise (a terrible ABA (American Basketball Association) team owned by a one-hit wonder disco singer has to put together a winning season and establish a loyal fanbase in order to be one of the four ABA teams to not be dissolved once the league merges with the NBA) and a script from the co-writer of Old School  and Starsky & Hutch. Unfortunately, Semi-Pro didn't come anywhere close to living up to its impressive comedic pedigree. While its not without its moments, Semi-Pro is a pretty average comedy that committed the ultimate sin of unveiling a majority of its best jokes in the trailers.

Thank you for reading this week's installment of "The Best and Worst of". Next week, I'll take a look at the best and worst work of "London Has Fallen" star Morgan Freeman.