Tuesday, April 3, 2018

The Best and Worst of Leslie Mann

“The Best and Worst of” series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of “Blockers” star Leslie Mann.

Films starring Leslie Mann that I've seen:
George of the Jungle
Big Daddy
Orange County
Stealing Harvard
The 40-Year Old Virgin
Knocked Up
Drillbit Taylor
Funny People
Rio
The Change-Up
This is 40
The Bling Ring
The Other Woman
Vacation
How to Be Single

Best Performance: Knocked Up (2007)
While she shined in a bit part in The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Mann's status as a first-rate scene-stealer wasn't affirmed until Knocked Up. Mann's flawless deadpan delivery made her standout in a supporting cast full of comedic titans (Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, Jason Segel, Kristen Wiig) and allowed her long-deserved breakout in the industry to occur after a decade of grinding it out in largely mediocre affairs (Orange County, Stealing Harvard) that buried her talent.   

Worst Performance: The Other Woman (2014)
As the revenge-seeking wife of a serial cheater (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, at his peak level of awfulness), Mann displays zero chemistry with her co-stars (Cameron Diaz and Kate Upton) and provides an uncharacteristically low number of laughs.

Best Film: The 40-Year Old Virgin (2005)
It's been about a year since I've gotten a chance to gush about this film, so brace yourself for some masturbatory writing people. Judd Apatow's directorial debut is one of the seminal films in my life. Not only did it serve as an introduction to some of my favorite actors in Hollywood (Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Jonah Hill), but it was the first time I'd ever seen an R-rated comedy successfully intertwine vulgar humor and sincere, heartwarming charm. As much as I love the genre, it would be an earth-shattering upset if any comedy went onto to oust The 40-Year Old Virgin as my all-time favorite.

Worst Film: The Other Woman (2014)
After rumors started swirling in early 2017 about her future in the industry, Cameron Diaz recently confirmed her retirement from acting in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Although she starred in two other films after this (Sex Tape and Annie), I'd like to believe that The Other Woman was the catalyst behind this surprising decision. Watching a comedy that's as joyless, poorly-acted and constantly unfunny as this is like going to jury duty: It's an experience that you only have to endure periodically, but it never fails to be a huge fucking bummer.

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “Rampage” star Naomie Harris. 

No comments:

Post a Comment