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 Anna Kendrick-whose latest project "Woman of the Hour" releases on Netflix on Friday.
Anna Kendrick's Filmography Ranked:
21.The Voices (D)
20.What Expect to When You're Expect Everything (D+)
19.Table 19 (C)
18.Mr. Right (C)
17.Get a Job (C+)
16.Alice, Darling (B-)
15.Cake (B-)
14.Pitch Perfect 3 (B-)
13.The Accountant (B-)
12.Self Reliance (B)
11.A Simple Favor (B)
10.Drinking Buddies (B)
9.Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (B)
8.Pitch Perfect (B)
7.The Hollars (B)
6.Up in the Air (B)
5.Life After Beth (B+)
4.Pitch Perfect 2 (B+)
3.Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (A-)
2.End of Watch (A)
1.50/50 (A)
Top Dog: 50/50 (2011)
50/50's ability to approach the subject matter of a man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his loved ones (Seth Rogen, Anjelica Huston) dealing with his cancer diagnosis/treatment through a combination of raunchy humor and unfiltered heavy emotion without ever devolving into melodrama or developing an inconsistent tone is simply remarkable. I don't know how or why screenwriter Will Reiser has seemingly feel through the cracks of the Hollywood system after this, but hopefully he returns at some point because this script is the kind of gem that only a high-end talent could author.
Bottom Feeder: The Voices (2015)
In the wake of Ryan Reynolds career arc over the past decade or so, it feels kind of wrong to shit on one of the most recent (and likely final) instances of him starring in something outside of his snarky action hero wheelhouse. Then I remember just how much The Voices got on my nerves and those feelings go away pretty quickly. As admirably twisted as the premise is (Reynolds plays a schizophrenic factory worker who finally gives into the murderous impulses that have long tormented him after accidently killing his coworker), the attempts at dark comedy are really poor and Reynolds can't quite pull off the genuinely nice guy/reluctant monster dynamic that the role required.
Most Underrated: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016)
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates isn't just my pick for Kendrick's most underrated movie, it's my pick for the most underrated comedy of the entire 2010's. Everyone from the top of the call sheet down to the bottom is funny as hell (Adam DeVine, Zac Efron, Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Sam Richardson, Sugar Lyn Beard, Stephen Root, Alice Wetterlund, Mary Holland, Kumail Nanjiani) and their talent along with how well they mesh all together goes a long way in making this movie a consistently hilarious ride.
Most Overrated: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
Don't get me wrong, there's a lot to like here between the zany video game-inspired action, Edgar Wright's signature flashy editing/visuals and huge collection of recognizable actors that were part of the ensemble cast (Kieran Culkin, Aubrey Plaza, Kendrick, Chris Evans, Brie Larson, basically everybody else in the film besides Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jason Schwartzman) before their respective breakouts, it just never really dazzled me in the way that it clearly did so many others. Even a rewatch a few years back did nothing to move the needle for me and at this point, I doubt anything will. Oh well, at least the rest of Wright's movies aren't confounding to me at all!
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