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 Krumholtz-whose latest project "Supergirl" releases in theaters today.
David Krumholtz's Filmography Ranked:
20.Hail, Caesar! (C-)
19.Guess Who (C)
18.The Santa Clause 2 (C)
17.The Santa Clause (C)
16.Mr. Popper's Penguins (C+)
15.The Judge (B-)
14.A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (B-)
13.Serenity (B-)
12.Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (B-)
11.10 Things I Hate About You (B-)
10.A Futile and Stupid Gesture (B)
9.Oppenheimer (B)
8.The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (B)
7.Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (B)
6.Ray (B)
5.Sausage Party (B+)
4.Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (B+)
3.Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (B+)
2.This is the End (A)
1.Superbad (A+)
Top Dog: Superbad (2007)
The biggest tragedy of the significantly lower volume of theatrical comedies we've seen since the genre stopped making money consistently around 2017/18 is being deprived of the joy that comes with being in a room full of people laughing their asses off. Seeing Superbad on opening weekend was pretty much a spiritual experience as the entire packed theater was going berserk for 2 straight theaters. I'd love the opportunity to relive that experience as that special kind of electricity has pretty much gone extinct in the modern era where people claim they want to see comedies in theaters but mostly stay home whenever one releases.
Bottom Feeder: Hail, Caesar! (2016)
Ethan Coen has gotten a lot of flak for both of the movies he's made as a solo director (Drive-Away Dolls, Honey Don't!) since him and Joel took a hiatus from working together following their 2018 Netflix project The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Personally, I think both of Ethan's movies are funnier and more interesting than Hail, Caesar! As somebody who will proudly go to bat for stuff like Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers, I was pretty shocked by how flat most of the jokes in the Coen's '50's-set Hollywood farce are. This famous bit is really the only scene that's laugh-out-loud funny, which is a depressing thing to say about a movie that features such a stacked ensemble (George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, Ralph Fiennes, Alden Eherenreich, Channing Tatum, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, about a dozen or so other terrific character actors) that has proven that they're adept at comedy. I can say with zero hesitation that this is my pick for the weakest Coen Brothers movie I've seen, and I'd be pretty surprised if that changed upon seeing the handful of titles of theirs (Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, The Hudsucker Proxy, The Man Who Wasn't There) that I've yet to catch.
Most Underrated: Sausage Party (2016)
Sausage Party's bad rap is easy to understand as it's a really bizarre mix of lowbrow gross-out comedy and serious commentary on religion. Ironically, that brazen, surprisingly coherent mix of ingredients is the main reason it's so endearing to me. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are just unapologetically swinging for the fences here and I'm kind of in awe that Sony gave them the money to make something that was guaranteed to alienate the bulk of its viewers.
Most Overrated: Oppenheimer (2023)
Man, Krumholtz got an even more insane underrated pairing with Oppenheimer than Emily Blunt did earlier this month. At the risk of repeating myself, I just think there are several prolonged stretches and supporting performances in this movie that are very uneven and I would've given it precisely zero of the 46 Oscars it won had I been in control of handing out the awards. What I will give Oppenheimer credit for is not leaving me with a gigantic fucking headache like Tenet did, so thanks for taking it easy on the old noggin Mr. Nolan!
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