Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of David Wain-whose latest project "Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass" releases in theaters on Thursday.
6.They Came Together (C)
5.The Ten (B-)
4.Wanderlust (B-)
3.A Futile and Stupid Gesture (B)
2.Role Models (B)
1.Wet Hot American Summer (A)
Top Dog: Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
Happy 25th anniversary to this masterpiece. This demented, consistently uproarious absurdist comedy is one of the purest examples of a cult classic I can think of and I'm glad that the weirdos who are roughly 5-10 years older sang its praises loud enough so that future generations of weirdos would be able to discover it.
Bottom Feeder: They Came Together (2014)
As excited as I am to check out Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, none of Wain's returns to the absurdist comedy well post-Wet Hot American Summer have impressed me all that much. His 2014 romcom sendup They Came Together particularly underwhelmed me. Despite having a gifted ensemble led by his old friends/collaborators Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler, They Came Together strings together a pretty average joke hit rate and has no bits that are overly memorable.
Most Underrated: Role Models (2008)
Weirdly enough, this is one of the few late 2000's comedies that did alright at the box office that has struggled to build an enduring fanbase. While I don't think Role Models is a classic by any means, it does a good job of combining raunch with heart, Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott are a well-matched buddy duo that should've worked together after this and the supporting cast full of ace comedic character actors (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jane Lynch, Ken Jeong, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Kerri Kenney-Silver) steal damn near every scene they're in.
Most Overrated: They Came Together (2014)
I'll fully admit this is kind of a stretch as They Came Together is just a minor cult movie. That being said, the passion for this movie is just something I've never been able to get behind as I've long felt that it's considerably less funny than every other movie in Wain's filmography.
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