The Best and Worst of Billy Bob Thornton

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 "Bad Santa 2" star Billy Bob Thornton.

Film starring Billy Bob Thornton that I've seen:
Sling Blade
Armageddon 
Bad Santa
Love Actually
Friday Night Lights
Bad News Bears
School for Scoundrels
Mr. Woodcock 
Eagle Eye
Faster
Puss in Boots
The Judge
Entourage
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Best Performance: Sling Blade (1996)
There aren't too many performances that have blown me away more than this one. Thornton's portrayal of a mentally-handicapped Arkansas man that's recently been released from a psychiatric hospital after killing his mother and her abusive boyfriend as a teenager is sensitive, heartbreaking and utterly mesmerizing.  

Worst Performance: Mr. Woodcock (2007)
While he usually gravitates towards dramatic fare, Thornton has shown a knack for comedy over the years with hilarious performances in Bad Santa, Bad News Bears and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Those  comedic chops were nowhere to be found in Mr.Woodcock. Despite playing the type of snarky asshole character he's perfected over the years, Thornton was unfunny and obnoxious for the entirety of this cinematic dumpster fire.    

Best Film: Friday Night Lights (2004)
Sports dramas don't get much better than Peter Berg's Friday Night Lights. The phenomenal acting, emotional heft and genuine insight on high school football culture in rural American towns makes this film a consistently compelling, highly rewatchable triumph.

Worst Film: Mr. Woodcock (2007)  
I consider myself to be someone that is easily amused. I've found widely-panned films such as Freddy Got Fingered, Along Came Polly and Sex Drive to be absolutely fucking hilarious. Craig Gillespie's Mr. Woodcock is one of the rare films that completely failed to tickle my easily-triggered funnybone. Mr.Woodcock wastes a capable cast (Seann William Scott, Thornton, Susan Sarandon, Amy Poehler, Ethan Suplee) on a film full of awful characters and jokes that are so played-out that most CBS sitcoms wouldn't use them.

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 "Jackie" star Natalie Portman.