In this selection of our favorite Ben Stiller movies we find some classics that we couldn’t leave out for the world. We’re talking about ‘ There’s Something About Mary ‘, an iconic movie from the 90s and an absolute blockbuster courtesy of the Farrelly brothers and their unleashed humor and sometimes also a bit of poo-ass-fart-pee.
Here we have ordered the best Ben Stiller movies , the essentials of his career. Do you agree with the selection?
10. While We’re Young (Noah Baumbach, 2014)
Clearly influenced by Woody Allen ‘s cinema , this Noah Baumbach film put the characters of Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts in a difficult position: they are in their forties accepting the generational change, which comes in the form of the gorgeous Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried . The director analyzes his characters with a great sense of humor and a critical eye, although this is a hilarious comedy and one of Adam Driver’s best films.
9. What Happened to Brad (Mike White, 2017)
” Ben Stiller has been polishing that character of defeated by life that reaches its paroxysm in this relentless essay on the distorted fantasies of our psyche, derived from the frustration that the alienating culture of success inevitably generates “, reads the review of ‘What Was de Brad’ de Fotogramas, perfectly encapsulating the essence of this Mike White indie tragicomedy .
8. The Meyerowitz Stories (Noah Baumbach, 2017)
This Noah Baumbach film not only experienced a historical circumstance (it was one of the first, and also one of the last, Netflix films at the Cannes Film Festival), but it is also one of the best films of his filmography. And it is, in part, because it managed to get gold from its leading roster: Ben Stiller , Adam Sandler , Dustin Hoffman , Adam Driver , Emma Thompson and more. Could this be one of Dustin Hoffman’s best movies?
7. Zoolander (Ben Stiller, 2001)
Ben Stiller led and directed this hilarious, bewildering and zany film that pokes fun at the fashion industry. He left us iconic elements such as “the blue steel gaze” with which the protagonist causes chaos to his catwalk opponents and also a surprising cameo by David Bowie .
6. Flirting with Disaster (David O. Russell, 1996)
Before becoming the king of the most absurd and unbridled American comedy, Ben Stiller starred in this enjoyable ‘road movie’ alongside Patricia Arquette , which discusses adoption with a great sense of humor and the David O. Russell touch .
Synopsis : Mel Coplin is a young New Yorker who, although he loves his wife and son, feels the need to meet his biological parents. The adoption agency sends him to a psychologist to accompany him in his obsessive search for him.
5. Her Parents (Jay Roach, 2000)
Remake of ‘Meet the parents’ from 1992, this comedy was an absolute success at the American box office and benefited from the chemistry between Ben Stiller and his fictional father-in-law, Robert de Niro . It is a comedy of the new century, but with a classic soul, which continued to confirm Stiller as the funniest man in the United States. It is also one of Robert de Niro’s best films.
4. Greenberg (Noah Baumbach, 2010)
Ben Stiller’s first collaboration with Noah Baumbach (they would repeat it in ‘While We’re Young’ and ‘The Meyerowitz Stories’) ended up being one of the best roles of his acting career. Critics raved about this ‘indie’ tragicomic take on Stiller, which he delivered in a fantastic performance opposite Greta Gerwig .
3. Tropic Thunder, a very bitchy war! (Ben Stiller, 2008)
The best comedy directed by Ben Stiller? Possibly. The actor and director signed this parody in two directions: on the one hand, collecting all the clichés of the best war films in cinema and, on the other, offering an implacable look at the film industry, from the actors who live too much in their roles ( Robert Downey Jr. ‘s ‘blackface’ got him an Oscar nomination) to producers with a God complex (a delusional Tom Cruise ).
2. The Tenenbaums: A Family of Geniuses (Wes Anderson, 2001)
This is one of Wes Anderson’s best films, capable of combining comedy and drama in a brilliant way, creating some iconic images that we still remember today. So he gets Ben Stiller , in his red tracksuit and curly hair as the eldest son of the Royal Tenenbaums. He was accompanied, equally amused, by Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson and Bill Murray , among others.
1. There’s Something About Mary (Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly, 1998)
This absolute 90s classic, and one of the best American comedies, is the film in which Ben Stiller really showed what he was capable of. His physical comedy is absolutely hilarious, and together with Cameron Diaz (always remembered for how the semen sticks to her hair) and Matt Dillon , he managed to make this movie iconic and hugely successful.
