The Best and Worst of Ben Stiller

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 "Zoolander 2" star Ben Stiller.

Films starring Ben Stiller that I've seen:
Heavyweights
Happy Gilmore
There's Something About Mary 
Mystery Men
Keeping the Faith
Meet the Parents
Zoolander
The Royal Tennenbaums
Duplex 
Along Came Polly
Starsky & Hutch
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Meet the Fockers
School for Scoundrels
Night at the Museum
The Heartbreak Kid
Tropic Thunder
Little Fockers
Tower Heist
The Watch
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Best Performance: Zoolander (2001)
It's pretty ironic that the guy who has made a career of being the straight man in ridiculous comedies turned in the best performance of his career playing a ridiculously over-the-top character. Stiller brings a remarkable amount of zany energy and commitment to the role of braindead male model Derek Zoolander and that level of dedication to the role went a long way in making him one of the most beloved movie characters of the 2000's so far.

Worst Performance: Little Fockers (2010)
Stiller's performance in Little Fockers is a prime example of a gifted comedic actor phoning it in. I have no idea if it was the weak script or just general fatigue with the series that was responsible for Stiller's lazy performance, but there's no denying that he basically sleptwalk through his third turn as male nurse and perpetual screw-up Gaylord "Greg" Focker.

Best Film: Happy Gilmore (1996)
Happy Gilmore is one of those movies that I could gush about for hours on end. Not only was it the film that solidified Adam Sandler as a comedy superstar, it also happens to be one of the most consistently funny and endlessly quotable comedies ever made. Happy Gilmore is pure comedy nirvana and I doubt they'll ever be a day where it isn't among my all-time favorite films.   

Worst Film: The Royal Tennenbaums (2001)
I've gotten more than a fair amount of grief from my close friends for hating this movie, but as hard I've tried to understand the appeal of this film, I just can't do it. The Royal Tennenbaums is a 109-minute showcase of everything I hate about Wes Anderson as a writer and director. Every single character is abnormally quirky, the dialogue sounds like it was written by aliens who were trying way too hard to assimilate to life on Earth and the level of pretension and general douchebaggery present is astronomical. I can say without hesitation that The Royal Tennenbaums is one of the most painful and enraging experiences I've had watching a movie in my nearly 24 years on this earth. 
 
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 "Race" star Jason Sudekis.    

The Best and Worst of George Clooney

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 "Hail, Caesar!" star George Clooney.

Films starring George Clooney that I've seen:
Batman & Robin
The Thin Red Line
South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut 
Three Kings
The Perfect Storm
O, Brother Where Art Thou?
Ocean's Eleven
Ocean's Twelve
Michael Clayton
Ocean's Thirteen
Burn After Reading
Up in the Air 
The Ides of March
The Descendants 
Gravity
The Monuments Men
Tommorowland

Best Performance: The Descendants (2011)
Despite being one of the most powerful figures in all of Hollywood, I feel Clooney doesn't get nearly enough props for his acting chops. The strongest evidence of his immense talent came in his highly complex role in Alexander Payne's excellent dramedy The Descendants. Clooney plays Matt King, a Hawaii-based attorney whose life is turned upside down when he simultaneously finds out that a boating accident has left his wife in coma and that she was having an affair with the real estate agent (Matthew Lillard) that was tasked with selling the valuable piece of land his family owns. Clooney captures the variety of emotions that overcome his character in a very genuine, believable way and his vulnerable performance is the primary reason the film's balance between offbeat comedy and heavy melodrama manages to work so well.  

Worst Performance: Batman & Robin (1997)
Let's get real here, Clooney is hardly the worst thing about Joel Schumacher's idiotic and overly silly take on the Batman universe, but there's no other movie in his filmography where his trademark charisma doesn't flash through for even a millisecond. Clooney chose to play it straight while all of his co-stars were redefining over-the-top acting and it leads to a performance that is just straight-up lifeless.  

Best Film: Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Steven Soderbergh has made multiple films with more depth and lasting impact than Ocean's Eleven, but he's never made anything else that anywhere near as fun. The ensemble cast made up almost exclusively of Hollywood A-listers all kill their respective roles and the climatic heist sequence is cinematic magic at its finest. I can say without hesitation that Ocean's Eleven is one of the most purely entertaining and endlessly rewatchable movies I've ever seen.
 
Worst Film: Tommorowland (2015)
The impressive six-film hot streak Brad Bird (The Iron Giant, The Incredible, Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol) started his directional career on came to a screeching halt with the misguided sci-fi "epic" Tommorowland. The film's message of being optimistic about the future is admirable, but when that message comes in a film that contains a wildly incoherent story and about as much intrigue and excitement as a marathon of Antiques Roadshow, it loses all of its effectiveness.  

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 Zoolander 2" star Ben Stiller.