The Best and Worst of Amy Poehler

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 "The House" star Amy Poehler.

Films starring Amy Poehler that I've seen:
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
Wet Hot American Summer
Mean Girls
Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny
Blades of Glory
Mr. Woodcock
Southland Tales
Baby Mama
Monsters vs. Aliens
They Came Together 
Inside Out
Sisters 

Best Performance: Mean Girls (2004)
Poehler's work in Mean Girls is the work of a higher comedic power. The early-to-mid 2000's Saturday Night Live standout proved why she was one of the brightest comic talents on the planet by running away with this (very funny) move in less than 15 minutes of screen time. Her turn as the "hip" mother of Regina George (Rachel McAdams) is an eerie, hilarious embodiment of the stereotypical wealthy suburban housewife that's desperately trying to recapture the glory days of their youth.
 
Worst Performance: Mr. Woodcock (2007)
To be fair, Poehler was easily the highlight of this atrocious comedy about a successful self-help author (Seann William Scott) whose joyous life hits a sudden roadblack when he discovers his widowed mother (Susan Sarandon) is dating the cruel gym teacher (Billy Bob Thornton) that bullied him as a child. However, she still generated significantly less laughs than she usually does and that's more enough for this to go down as the lowest moment of her career to-date.

Best Film: Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
This low-budget indie comedy that featured a plethora of future Hollywood stars (Poehler, Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper, Elizabeth Banks) is a film that I hold in the highest regard. Almost every scene in this bizarre, often moronic sendup of '80s sex comedies reduces me to a giggling, flailing  mess every single time I watch it. I fully understand why Wet Hot American Summer has gotten trashed by critics and Netflix users who were blindsided by the sheer volume of insanity this film contains, but it's an undisputed god-tier comedy to me. 

Worst Film: Southland Tales (2007)
The level of excitement I had for Southland Tales was palatable. At the time of its release, Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko) was one of the most exciting up-and-coming filmmakers in Hollywood and the premise surrounding a present-day United States that had descended into chaos and mass fear after a nuclear attack in Texas was fascinating. Sadly, Southland Tales ended up being a plodding, convoluted disaster. Kelly's attempts at satirizing the sensationalist media-driven, fear-mongering culture of the United States don't land at all, every single actor in the massive ensemble is woefully miscast and the story's manipulation of time elements rehash a ton of plot points from Donnie Darko. Even as this film closes in on its 10-year anniversary, the disheartening sting of disappointment and feeling of wasted opportunity that overcomes me every time I think of Southland Tales hasn't wavered in the slightest.

 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 "Spider-Man: Homecoming" star Michael Keaton.