The Best and Worst of Linda Cardellini

“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 Curse of La Llorona” star Linda Cardellini.

Films starring Linda Cardellini that I've seen:
Good Burger
Legally Blonde
Scooby-Doo
Grandma's Boy
Kill the Irishman
Super
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Welcome to Me
Daddy's Home
The Founder
Daddy's Home 2
A Simple Favor
Hunter Killer
Green Book

Best Performance: Grandma's Boy (2006)
What's not to love to about Cardellini's character from Grandma's Boy? Samantha is cute, smart, charming, funny and endlessly likable. Bonus points for being responsible for the greatest karaoke rendition of Salt and Pepa's "Push It" ever put on film.

Worst Performance: Scooby-Doo (2002)
The live action remake of Scooby-Doo was a dark moment for everybody involved. With the possible exception of Matthew Lillard as Shaggy, all of the leads seemed miscast and gave super stiff performances. Cardellini's career trajectory continued to trend up after this, so clearly casting directors were able to overlook her poor work here and realize she was capable of far better things.

Best Film: Grandma's Boy (2006)
The 2000's were a particularly fantastic era for cult stoner movies. Dude Where's My Car?, How High, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle and Pineapple Express were able to bring a tremendous amount of joy to millions of people under the influence of the sweet leaf (as well as people like myself who don't partake, but love anything that's silly and doesn't require any thinking to enjoy). As great as all of these movies are, Grandma's Boy remains my favorite from this golden era for dumb, marijuana-driven comedies. The way this movie revels in its absurdity by consistently putting its lovable oddball characters into unexpected outrageous situations makes it one of the most creative and hilarious comedies to come out in the past 15 years.      

Worst Film: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
With the release of Avengers: Endgame imminent, MCU retrospective conversations are being had all over the world. If you were to ask me what the worst movie Marvel has put out over the past 11 years, the no-brainer answer would be Avengers; Age of Ultron. Quite frankly, I don't think their other missteps (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, Captain America: The First Avenger, Iron Man 2) come anywhere close to matching the vast ineptitude of this stinker. Joss Whedon tried to stuff way too shit into 150 minutes and it results in a convoluted, headache-inducing mess that is legitimately painful to sit through.  

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “Avengers: Endgame” star Chris Hemsworth.