The Best and Worst of Vince Vaughn

“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 “Dragged Across Concrete” star Vince Vaughn.

Films starring Vince Vaughn that I've seen:
Swingers
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Clay Pigeons 
Old School
Starsky & Hutch
DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Be Cool
Mr & Mrs. Smith
Wedding Crashers
The Dilemma 
The Watch
The Internship
Delivery Man
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
Unfinished Business 
Hacksaw Ridge
Fighting with My Family

Best Performance: Wedding Crashers (2005)
Vaughn is a likable, gifted comic actor that has had the misfortune of being frequently overshadowed by his co-stars (Will Ferrell in Old School, Ben Stiller in DodgeBall, just about everyone in Anchorman). Wedding Crashers marks one of the rare instances where he's managed to outshine his similarly talented counterparts. As terrific as the oddball supporting cast including Rachel McAdams, Bradley Cooper and Isla Fisher is, Vaughn's quick wit, terrific chemistry with Owen Wilson and underrated ability to make arrogant douchebag characters that should be irredeemable easy to root for anchors this hilarious cult classic.

Worst Performance: Be Cool (2005)
I consider Be Cool to be a horrific career lowpoint for everyone that was involved with it. Upon reflecting on the massive collective stink that this production gave off, I'd argue that no one embarrassed themselves here more than Vaughn. His white wannabe gangsta routine is a lazy, cringeworthy piece of acting that someone of his caliber should never have to rely on for attempted laughs.

Best Film: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
Long before he became a two-time Oscar nominee for satirical biopics The Big Short and Vice, writer/director Adam McKay had mastered the art of absurdist comedies. Out of this batch of beautifully dumb, infinitely rewatchable movies (Step Brothers, The Other Guys, Talladega Nights),  Anchorman remains my favorite. Its perfectly-assembled cast that puts everything they've got into their respective roles (Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell, David Koechner, Fred Willard, Kathryn Hahn, Vaughn) paired with its frenzied, wildly effective bizzaro humor helped make this one of my all time favorite comedies.

Worst Film: Be Cool (2005) 
How a director with as strong of a resume as F. Gary Gray (Friday, Straight Outta Compton) and an ensemble cast featuring so many strong performers (John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Dwayne Johnson, Vaughn, Harvey Keitel, Cedric the Entertainer) could churn out something that is so staggeringly inept from top to bottom is mystifying, infuriating and just plain sad. This flaming pile of dog shit is about as ugly, unfunny and creatively bankrupt as a comedy can possibly be, and while I forget roughly 99.9% of what occurred in Be Cool, I'll always remember the sheer disgust that coursed through my veins the entire time I was watching it.  

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