The Best and Worst of Elizabeth Banks

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 "Power Rangers" star Elizabeth Banks.

Films starring Elizabeth Banks that I've seen:
Wet Hot American Summer
Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2 
The 40-Year Old Virgin
Slither
Invincible 
Spider-Man 3
Role Models
Zach and Miri Make a Porno
Our Idiot Brother
Man on a Ledge
The Hunger Games
Pitch Perfect
Movie 43
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 
The Lego Movie
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part I
Pitch Perfect 2
Love & Mercy 
Magic Mike XXL
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part II

Best Performance: Zach and Miri Make a Porno (2008)  
Banks cut her teeth in Hollywood with supporting roles in R-rated comedies (The 40-Year Old Virgin, Role Models, Wet Hot American Summer), so when she finally landed a starring role in Zach and Miri Make a Porno, it wasn't even remotely surprising that she crushed it. She's funny, charming and most importantly, possesses the low-key vulnerability to make the friendship that eventually blossoms into a romance with Zach (Seth Rogen) feel completely authentic.

Worst Performance: Love & Mercy (2015)
While Banks has fared pretty admirably in the dramatic projects (The Hunger Games franchise, Man on a Ledge, Invincible) she's appeared in over the years, comedy has been her strong suit since her first notable on-screen role in the 2001 cult comedy classic Wet Hot American Summer. Her limitations as a dramatic performer are fully on display in the somber Brian Wilson docudrama Love & Mercy. Banks falls flat in the film's emotional scenes and her lack of chemistry with John Cusack make their on-screen romance really hard to buy.

Best Film: The 40-Year Old Virgin (2005)
I swear I don't keep picking actors to profile here just so I can keep gushing about this movie.. Outside of its non-stop laughs, The 40-Year Old Virgin will go down as a landmark film in my eyes because it launched the careers of a number of major players in comedy right now (Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Banks, Leslie Mann) and re-defined how R-rated comedies examine sex and relationships. With the possible exception of Superbad, I don't think there has been a more important or influential comedy to come out of the 2000's so far. 

Worst Film: Movie 43 (2013)
Movie 43 is one of the most widely-panned movies of the last few years and for good reason, it really stinks. The idea of making a film that's solely comprised of short comedy sketches starring a revolving door of A-list actors is a noble one, but unfortunately it amounts to a bunch of poorly-conceived bits that aren't edgy, clever or funny.   

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 "Ghost in the Shell" star Scarlett Johannson.