The Best and Worst of Tracy Morgan

The "Best and Worst" series profiles the best and worst work of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week I take a look at the filmography of "Fist Fight" star Tracy Morgan.

Films starring Tracy Morgan that I've seen:
Half Baked
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
How High 
Head of State 
The Longest Yard
Little Man
First Sunday
Cop Out
Death at a Funeral
Top Five
The Night Before

Best Performance: Death at a Funeral (2010)
I'll concede that Morgan's forays into the world of film have been nowhere near as strong as his career-defining small screen turns on Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock. That being said, he's still been pretty good in a number of the movies he's starred in and his relatively major part in the Death at a Funeral remake tops the list. Morgan gets a lot of laughs as the obnoxious cousin of the Barnes brothers (Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence) that serves as one of the primary catalysts for the dysfunction that occurs at their father's funeral in this highly underrated remake of the 2007 British cult classic.

Worst Performance: First Sunday (2008)
Watching First Sunday helped me understand why people don't like Morgan as a performer. He's an annoying, unfunny and deeply unlikable presence for the duration of this really awful movie.

Best Film: Half Baked (1998)
Stoner comedies is a subgenre that I have well-noted affinity for and in my eyes, the genre has never spawned a finer film than Half Baked. Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan delivered an early showcase of the biting comedic genius that made Chappelle's Show an all-time great TV series with this wild, surreal and highly quotable piece of dumb comedy gold.

Worst Film: First Sunday (2008)
Here we are again.... First Sunday has been in my crosshairs multiple times during this series and for good reason, it's an insufferable piece of garbage. It's preachy, unfunny and worst of all, it made me briefly turn against a trio of performers (Ice Cube, Morgan, Katt Williams) that I really admire.

Thank you for reading this week's installment of "The Best and Worst of". Next week, I'll take a look at the best and worst work of "Get Out" star Catherine Keener.