Spoilers for the movies Clueless, The Object of My Affection, and Our Idiot Brother.
Before we cover the career defining performances that Paul Rudd is known for, we’re going to do one more batch of movies I don’t have many thoughts about. But if you’re worried, don’t be. Next week I cover one of my favorites. So without further ado, I’m going to talk about two movies you’ve never heard of, while simultaneously making Clueless fans hate me.
Clueless(1996)
I probably don’t need to write a synopsis, but I will just in case. It’s about a semi-selfish rich girl named Cher and how she becomes sort of less selfish and ends up falling in love with Paul Rudd, who used to be her step-brother. Donald Faison and Wallace Shawn are in it, so that’s cool. Some people may get irritated that I’m not going to spend more time talking about this. But it doesn’t really have much of a plot, and it’s a little boring. He’s great in it, don’t get me wrong. He’s as attractive as ever. But I’ve never liked that he ends up with her in the end. Even though he may be her ex-step-brother, it’s still creepy to me. So yeah. It’s fine.
Overall Rating: 6.5/10
Rudd Rating: 9.5/10(Would be higher, but he’s barely in it)
I’d watch it if you haven’t yet. It’s entertaining enough.
The Object of My Affection(1998)
The Object of My Affection is one of two movies he’s done with Jennifer Anniston. And, spoiler alert: neither of them are that good. This is the better of the two, though not much happens. All the performances are fairly solid, but it’s a boring movie. Essentially, Paul Rudd is a gay teacher and his boyfriend is cheating on him. He moves out and ends up living with Jennifer Anniston, who knows that he’s gay, but falls in love with him anyway and leaves her husband to raise her baby with Paul Rudd. And then she wants him to devote himself to her, but he won’t for obvious reasons. And then they go their separate ways but are still friends. It’s fine. Alan Alda is in it, and he makes everything more fun.
Overall Rating: 7/10
Rudd Rating: 10/10(He gives a very emotional performance, and a much more serious one than he’s usually allowed to give)
I’d give it a watch if you’d like to see him act a bit serious. It’s not bad.
Our Idiot Brother(2011)
I’m going to list the cast of this movie before I say anything. Because this is a very odd movie and I need to illustrate why. Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, Rashida Jones, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, Steve Coogan, T.J. Miller(We’ll just pretend he’s not in it, actually), and Sterling K. Brown(Pre-This Is Us). And it’s fine, from memory? Paul Rudd plays a hippy brother who can’t do anything right. His siblings are played by Zooey Deschanel, Elizabeth Banks, and Emily Mortimer. I believe Zooey Deschanel is dating Rashida Jones but she cheats on her. And Elizabeth Banks and Adam Scott have like a will they, won’t they kinda thing. Paul Rudd was dating Kathryn Hahn and then she breaks up with him and takes his dog? I don’t know. This is another one where very little happens. And Paul Rudd has long hair and a beard. So a plus for that.
Overall Rating: 5.5/10(It’s not that bad, but if you have all those incredible comedians and half of them go the whole movie without doing anything funny, you’ve done something wrong)
Rudd Rating: 10/10(Hippy Paul Rudd isn’t my favorite Paul Rudd, but he’s lovable and he’s in it)
It’s not really worth tracking down unless you want to be a completionist like me.
Next time I plan to cover the 2008 classic Role Models, so if you don’t want it spoiled for you, track it down before then. Have a Ruddtastic week!
Too Many Servings Of John 