Will Forte Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives and accolades. This week, I'm profiling the work of Will Forte-whose latest project "Studio 666" opens in theaters tomorrow.

Will Forte's Filmography Ranked:

19.Baby Mama (B-)

18.Life of Crime (B-)

17.The Watch (B-)

16.Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics (B-) 

15.A Good Old Fashioned Orgy (B)

14.Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (B)

13.The Brothers Solomon (B)

12.Fanboys (B)

11.A Futile and Stupid Gesture (B)

10.The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (B)

9.Beerfest (B)

8.That's My Boy (B+)

7.Nebraska (B+)

6.The Lego Movie (B+)

5.Good Boys (A-)

4.Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (A-)

3.Keanu (A-)

2.Booksmart (A-)

1.MacGruber (A-)

Top Dog: MacGruber (2010)

MacGruber remaining Forte's crowning achievement nearly 12 years after its release just makes too much sense. Not only is it an incredibly funny, highly rewatchable goof on 80's action movies, it's a project/role that perfectly utilizes his manic comedic gifts and surrounds him with people (Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillipe, Maya Rudolph, Val Kilmer, Powers Boothe) that do an excellent job of playing off the relentless energy he brings to every scene he appears in.  

Lowlight: Baby Mama (2008)

Although it's likely due to a combination of my enjoyment of silly comedies and not seeing a few of the more poorly received projects he's appeared in (Rock of Ages, Scoob!, Don Verdean), it's pretty impressive that a decent comedy that's primary sin is not fully utilizing the talents of Amy Poehler and Tina Fey is my least favorite Forte movie. Not too many actors have a filmography that is dud-free in my book, so congrats Will for receiving this completely useless deceleration.     

Most Underrated: Keanu (2016)

The likely final ever on-camera live action collaboration between Keegan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele is a delightful little whacked-out gem of a buddy comedy that has hilarious performers (Key, Peele, Forte, Method Man, Tiffany Haddish) sprinkled throughout its ensemble and some surprisingly strong action sequences.   

Most Overrated: Beerfest (2006)

Describing Beerfest as overrated feels pretty ridiculous, but this movie was discussed and quoted to such an insane degree during my first couple years of high school that I've always viewed it that way. To be fair, Beerfest is an amusing effort from the Broken Lizard crew and a notable improvement over their previous film Club Dread. However, it's way more hit or miss than Super Troopers and there were a handful of movies released that same year (Borat, Clerks II, Grandma's Boy, Talladega Nights, Accepted, Jackass: Number Two) that I find to be significantly funnier.     

Best Use of Forte's Comedic Gifts in a Small Role: Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (2012)

In just a few scenes worth of screentime, Forte manages to be the single best thing about the unsung absurdist comedy classic Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie. His turn as a short-tempered sword shop owner is some of his finest gonzo madman work to date and the perfect showcase for the incredible timing, delivery and commitment to selling silliness that has made him a legend in this particular subgenre of comedy.    

Best Post-90's Adam Sandler Comedy Outside of The Longest Yard: That's My Boy (2012)

While Sandler has proved himself as an elite dramatic actor over the past 2 decades, the bulk of the comedy movies that he's released from 2000 through the present day haven't been particularly good. One of the few times that he got it right came in what might be the most polarizing film in his entire catalog. That's My Boy is a huge departure in terms of tone and content as it's an R-rated comedy in which Sandler plays an absolutely vile jackass of a character and that change in delivery is a crucial part of its success. Going to vulgar, morally dubious extremes with the jokes and content of its story while also harkening back to the wall-to-wall silliness that made his 90's movies work so well gives That's My Boy a winning combination of uncharted territory and comforting familiarity that results in a steady stream of laughs.