The Best and Worst of Mary Elizabeth Winstead

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 "The Hollars" star Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

Films starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead that I've seen:
Death Proof
Live Free or Die Hard
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
The Thing
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Smashed 
A Good Day to Die Hard
The Spectacular Now
Kill the Messenger
10 Cloverfield Lane

Best Performance: Smashed (2012)
During her first seven or eight years in Hollywood, Winstead wasn't really on my radar. I had enjoyed some of the films she starred in (Live Free or Die Hard, Death Proof, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), but she failed to leave any sort of positive or negative impression on me. That all changed when I saw the criminally underappreciated indie drama Smashed in the spring of 2013. Winstead's portrayal of an elementary school teacher who is battling severe alcoholism is heartbreaking, emphatic and alarmingly authentic. Her powerhouse performance here showcased a remarkable level of talent that had somehow been buried for years and she has since gone onto become one of the most reliably impressive actresses in Hollywood.


Worst Performance: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
This is yet another case of a poor performance primarily caused by the script and not the actor itself. Winstead plays Ramona Flowers, the mysterious yet enchanting Amazon.ca delivery girl that Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) can only date if he defeats her eight evil ex-lovers in combat, who serves as more of plot device than a fully fleshed-out character. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is full of flaws, but the poor development of its female lead and subsequent underwhelming performance from Winstead is near the top of the list.  

Best Film: The Spectacular Now (2013)
Audiences are treated to at least a half-dozen indie, coming-of-age films each year, but there aren't many that are as well-done as James Ponsoldt's The Spectacular Now. The Spectacular Now makes up for its well-worn premise (a popular high school senior boy falls in love with the misunderstood, quiet girl) with phenomenal acting from its primary cast (Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Winstead, Brie Larson, Kyle Chandler) and a level of heart and realism that you typically don't find in these films. Without question, one of my favorite films of the 2010's far.  

Worst Film: A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)
Unlike most long-running franchises, the Die Hard series maintained a remarkable level of consistency over multiple decades. 1988's Die Hard, 1990's Die Hard 2: Die Harder, 1995's Die Hard with a Vengeance and 2007's Live Free or Die Hard are all damn near-perfect action films that are funny, clever and highly entertaining. Then A Good Day to Die Hard came along and brought the franchise's hot streak to a screeching halt with a film that didn't come anywhere close to capturing the spirit and fun of the earlier films. The action scenes were completely forgettable, Jai Courtney was flat-out abysmal as John McClane's son and worst of all, Bruce Willis displayed almost none of John McClane's trademark charisma and snark. Shout-out to Skip Woods, John Moore and whatever dingus at 20th Century Fox that greenlit this film for tarnishing the legacy of Hollywood's greatest action franchise with a half-assed and completely unnecessary sequel that went against everything that made the Die Hard films great.  

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  "Morgan" star Brian Cox.