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 Bill Hader-whose latest project "The Cat in the Hat" releases in theaters on Thursday.
Bill Hader's Filmography Ranked:
30.Year One (D)
29.You, Me and Dupree (C-)
28.It: Chapter Two (C-)
27.The Addams Family 2 (C)
26.They Came Together (C)
25.The To Do List (C)
24.Inside Out (C)
23.Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (B-)
22.Lightyear (B-)
21.Beau is Afraid (B)
20.Monsters University (B)
19.Adventureland (B)
18.The Brothers Solomon (B)
17.Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (B)
16.Finding Dory (B)
15.Paul (B)
14.Pineapple Express (B)
13.Power Rangers (B)
12.IF (B+)
11.Men in Black III (B+)
10.Sausage Party (B+)
9.Forgetting Sarah Marshall (B+)
8.Tropic Thunder (B+)
7.The Skeleton Twins (B+)
6.Trainwreck (A-)
5.Toy Story 4 (A-)
4.Knocked Up (A)
3.Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (A)
2.Superbad (A+)
1.Hot Rod (A+)
Top Dog: Hot Rod (2007)
Hot Rod isn't just a movie that made me laugh a ton, it recalibrated my entire sense of humor. Ever since I saw this in an effectively empty theater on a rainy August afternoon 19 years ago, I've gravitated towards comedy that is offbeat, absurd and playful more than anything else. This huge revelation paired with its endless rewatchability is why Hot Rod is my favorite comedy of all time.
Bottom Feeder: Year One (2009)
Seeing a legend like the late Harold Ramis go out on a note as disastrous as Year One is a serious bummer. His Book of Genesis spoof is one of those rare comedies where the material is so weak that it drains the powers of its actors to the point where it becomes impossible for them to help improve it. What makes this particular case of this rare cinematic phenomenon so mystifying is how Ramis was able to pull it off with a cast that features a deep roster of stellar comedic performers including Jack Black, Michael Cera, Olivia Wilde, Oliver Platt, David Cross and Hank Azaria that have been elevating projects throughout their careers. That would be like if you put Tyrese Maxey, Shai Gilegous-Alexander, Cooper Flagg, Jayson Tatum and Victor Wembanya on the floor together and they were so out of sync with each other that they lost to a group of guys who play together once a week at their local rec center. Alas, bad miracles somehow find a way to happen and Year One is among the most egregious I've ever seen.
Most Underrated: The Skeleton Twins (2014)
One of the biggest highlights of my time watching Saturday Night Live was watching Hader and Kristen Wiig work together. It's just so rare to watch two performers have such a fundamental understanding of each other that they can make any situation feel natural. Seeing them explore the dynamic they built at 30 Rock in a dramatic piece of work made me develop an even deeper appreciation for their beautiful creative partnership. They navigate the complicated relationship between twin siblings who have become estranged as adults after being inseparable as kids with the utmost grace, and their ability to find the honesty in these character's earnest efforts to reconnect in the face of immense tragedy is the main reason The Skeleton Twins doesn't drift into clunky melodramatic territory.
Most Overrated: Inside Out (2015)
Full disclosure: I haven't seen Inside Out since its initial release and did enjoy the sequel quite a bit, so it's very possible that my opinion on it has changed. However, my current feelings towards it are very blah. The big emotional arc involving Richard Karn's imaginary friend character Bing Bong didn't land with me at all and the volume of laughs is surprisingly low for a movie from Pete Docter.
