The Best and Worst of Joel McHale

“The Best and Worst of” series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of “The Happytime Murders" star Joel McHale.

Films starring Joel McHale that I've seen:
Spider-Man 2
Lords of Dogtown
The Informant!
Spy Kids: All the Time in the World
What's Your Number?
The Big Year

Ted
Blended
Deliver Us from Evil
Adult Beginners
A Futile and Stupid Gesture

Best Performance: Ted (2012)
Few actors play slimey dirtbags better than McHale and Ted features his finest big screen portrayal of an insufferable douche to-date. While he wasn't my absolute favorite supporting character in Seth McFarlane's hilarious buddy comedy (that title goes to Flash Gordon star Sam Jones playing a hard-partying version of himself), Rex delivers his fair share of laughs and completely serves his purpose as a grating adversary to Mark Wahlberg's likable goofball protagonist.    

Worst Performance: Spy Kids: All the Time in the World (2011)
It's pretty obvious that McHale only agreed to be in this so his kids could finally watch something he starred in. His indifference to the role of superspy/dad Wilbur Wilson is so vast that I actually kind of respect it. Hope your kids enjoyed the movie Joel!

Best Film: Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Before Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy and Jon Faverau's Iron Man cemented the superhero genre's global phenomenon status, Sam Rami laid down the foundation for its success with the first two/thirds of his Spider-Man trilogy. As great as the original was, Spider-Man 2 displayed a level of brilliance that only a select few films about caped crusaders since have achieved. The action scenes are terrific, Peter Parker's character arc is very well-developed and Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus is a strong contender for the most underrated villain in the history of the genre. 

Worst Film: What's Your Number? (2011)
Well hello old friend! It has been a whole month since I last got to express my deep-rooted disdain for you! If you and your overwhelming wretchedness could stay away from this series until sometime next year, I'd really appreciate it!
                                                                                                         Regards,
                                                                                                          Chris

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “Kin” star Zoe Kravitz.