The Best and Worst of Bill Hader (2019)

“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 “It: Chapter Two” star Bill Hader.

Films starring Bill Hader that I've seen:
You, Me and Dupree
Knocked Up
Hot Rod
Superbad
The Brothers Solomon
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Pineapple Express
Tropic Thunder
Adventureland
Year One
Paul
Men in Black III
Monsters University 
The To Do List
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
Her
They Came Together
The Skeleton Twins
Inside Out
Trainwreck
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Sausage Party
Finding Dory
Power Rangers
Toy Story 4

Best Performance: The Skeleton Twins (2014)
Craig Johnson's wildly underrated dramedy The Skeleton Twins proved to be the ideal platform for Hader to demonstrate that he's much more than just a scene-stealing comedian and renowned impressionist. As a man who moves in with his estranged twin sister (Kristen Wiig-also fantastic) following a suicide attempt, he gives a raw, fearless and revelatory performance that made me wish he tackled serious roles more often.

Worst Performance: Men in Black III (2012)
Hader is so naturally funny that failure almost seems inconceivable. Men in Black III proved it was possible. His extended cameo as an alien-hunting version of Andy Warhol is a spirited, but ultimately unsuccessful exaggerated take on the famous painter.  

Best Film: Superbad (2007)
Superbad has been revisited a bit of late in the wake of fellow teen party comedy Booksmart's runaway critical success, which makes me glad because I will take any excuse I can get to bask in the timeless glory of this movie. Superbad was to me what Booksmart will likely end up being for people that are between the ages of 14 and 18 right now. It's a really warm, relatable movie about maintaining a friendship as the burdens of the real world start to creep into a young person's life that also happens to be an over-the-top vulgar comedy with no shortage of vibrant side characters, insane narrative detours and big laughs. I don't want to sound like a condescending dick that's writing off every future entry in the genre, but I know deep down that another high school comedy won't ever connect with me like Superbad did.  

Worst Film: Year One (2009)
It's a damn shame that this ended up being Harold Ramis' final project. Outside of a tremendous scene with David Cross and Paul Rudd as Cain and Abel, Year One is an inexplicably unfunny Biblical-era comedy that sinfully wastes an outstanding ensemble cast (Jack Black, Michael Cera, Olivia Wilde, Hader, Hank Azaria, June Diane Raphael) on trash material.    

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