Seth Rogenis a very rare breed in the film industry. He’s a talented film actor, but that talent is not only matched, but superseded by his skilled hand as a writer and producer. Thanks to his partnership withEvan Goldberg, his relationships with filmmakers likeJudd ApatowandJonathan Levine, and his network of standout comedic actors, Rogen has earned himself a position as one of the foremost voices of modern cinematic comedy.
As a performer, you kind of know what you’re getting with Rogen. He’s a fantastic comedic presence and a charming on-screen persona, but he’s not a character actor. It’s not that all his characters are the same, but Seth Rogen always looks like Seth Rogen and he always sounds like Seth Rogen. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because Seth Rogen is a great person to be! However, as a writer and creator, Rogen is incredibly creative and diverse. Sure, if he has a byline on the script, you can all but guarantee some substance abuse and at least one dick joke, but beyond that, you can also expect some madhouse high-concept scripts that are even more surprising for their uncompromising honesty. That makes him one of the most exciting creators in the industry. He’s not just content to take the good roles his colleagues make for him, he brings it to the next level and makes even better ones for himself. Ultimately, given the common perception of him as a regulation “stoner type”, it’s a little bit surprising how strong Rogen’s resume is, and there are plenty of worthy films I left off the docket, but these are the definitive, pinnacle films that rise above the rest.
9. Pineapple Express
Here’s the thing aboutPineapple Express. It’s not actually that good, but at the time, it seemed like something special. The film hinges on the leading duo, Seth Rogen as Dale, andJames Francoas his weed guy, Saul. Dale doesn’t take Saul seriously and Saul thinks they’re best friends. Enter the underground drug world. Dale is a shady process server who’s so immature he’s dating a high schooler, and when he goes to deliver an ill-fated jury summons, joint in hand, he witnesses a murder and brings the hellfire of drug dealers down upon himself, his friends, and family. He also gets Saul into the mix, and from there it’s a completely ridiculous buddy comedy as the two attempt to escape the wrath of a vicious drug lord.
WhenPineapple Expresshit, it was in the days Franco was still largely known as the Green Goblin, or if you weren’t nerd-inclined, just a gorgeous heartthrob actor. Which is to say, there was still a tremendous novelty in seeing him act bizarre and unseemly. Nowadays, that’s pretty much par for the course, but back then, that was some engaging shit. Beyond the measure of Franco’s new-developing oddity,Pineapple Expresswas a triumphant comedy debut for the continually surprisingDavid Gordon Green,who has an eye for delivering the fun with a sense for well-choreographed action set-pieces, and a fine motion picture debut for the Franco/Rogen pairing that would become such a delightful duo of modern comedy.
8. Neighbors
Neighborsis a damn entertaining comedy. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s a juvenile laugh-fest based on a clever, but thin conceit. A pair of new parents buy a house only to learn a frat house moved in next door, and after a bit of shoddy communication, they end up bitter rivals. That’s it. That’s the whole jam. There are moments of character honesty: the moment Seth Rogen andZac Efron’s characters forge a bro-lationship, the momentDave Franco’s frat boy realizes they’ve gone too far because he was a child of divorce, the moment I realized they might all be terrible people because they’re putting an infant’s life in danger (a lot)… but most of these fall second stance to the moments of hilarity that come in between.
Rogen pulls a heavy weight here, being somewhat of a tether for the audience, but it’s the ever-underestimatedRose Byrnewho truly takes home to gold. They have a killer dynamic, and Byrne has worked hard to earn her spot as a figure of female comedy, but ifNeighborshas proved anything more, it’s the way that Rogen has the good sense to sometimes let a killer co-star take the lead and win the show.
7. Take This Waltz
Take This Waltzis Rogen’s most mature performance to date; without of a trace of schtick and nary a stoner laugh in sight. Writer/directorSarah Polley’s sophomore feature followsMichelle Williams’ Margot, an aspiring writer who’s happily married to Ira (Rogen) when she meets an artist, Daniel (Luke Kirby), who sweeps her off her feet. The rest of the film is a bit of a dance between the two potential lovers, as Margot tries to stay faithful to her husband (and fails) while falling very hard in love.
What makesTake This Waltzsuch an interesting film isn’t the generic plot of a woman finding love after a well-worn marriage, but the way it handles the subject with honesty and forgiveness. It’s not that Margot gets away clean with her misdeeds, because though it might seem that way at a first glance, the true bottom-line of the story is that your choices have consequences, not just for you, but for everyone around you. “New things get old,” and when they do, everybody pays. There is no shining white light at the end of this story. In fact, what makes the film special is the way it explores the consequences, which ripple through an entire family’s worth of lives. And ultimately, Margot can never be happy because she’s rooting that happiness in others. It’s a bit of a lesson and it’s occasionally cinematically indulgent, but always unwavering in the pursuit of emotional honesty, and it always forgives its characters enough to indulge them in pure honesty.
Perhaps the most intimate and touching film on Rogen’s resume,50/50starsJoseph Gordon-Levittas Adam and Rogen as Kyle, two twenty-something best friends whose lives are turned upside down when Adam learns he has an incredibly rare and deadly form of cancer. Based on screenwriterWill Reiser’s real-life fight against cancer (which Rogen really did fight by his side), and directed with keen sensitivity byJonathan Levine,50/50deftly navigates the terrain of a sensitive subject, balancing heart-breaking and terrifying glimpses at mortality with laugh-out-loud moments of levity. You might think life-threatening illness is no laughing matter, but anyone who’s ever really been in the shit can tell you that humor is a part of the human condition, and it can be found in even the darkest of places.50/50has the respect to honor that.
The film has its fair share of flaws, most notably the entirely weird relationship between Adam and his therapist-in-training played byAnna Kendrick. Kendrick is charming enough that you almost forget how wildly unethical theirshared affection is, but only almost. Fortunately, the film has a spirited tenderness to spare and it’s more than enough to make up for that odd tangent. High marks also go toAngelica HoustonandBryce Dallas Howardfor their supporting roles, which serve to further explore the spectrum of how illness affects those around the diagnosed. All told, it’s a thoughtful, heartfelt andoccasionally challenging glimpse at friendship, family, and learning to love life for the gift of living.
5. The 40-Year-Old Virgin
WhatKnocked Updid for Seth Rogen,The 40-Year-Old Virgindid forSteve Carell, launching the comedian to superstardom with a starring role as the titular, lovable manchild on the cusp of maturity. While Carell owns the movie as Andy, his ensemble of bro buddies including, Rogen,Paul Rudd, andRomany Malco, are also a huge part of what makes the film such a delight to watch, with their rapid-fire banter and childish antics.
However, all the chest-waxing and bookstore flirting in the world wouldn’t amount to much if the central relationship at the film’s core didn’t sell. Thanks to Carell and the alway-astoundingCatherine Keener, you invest thoroughly in their burgeoning love as the film juggles the raunch and the romance with precise balance. Judd Apatow’s first film, and still one of his finest,The 40-Year-Old Virginis a vibrant, energetic display of comedic chops and the pinnacle display of Apatow’s signature blend of subversion and comedy that goes down like comfort food.
4. Steve Jobs
Steve Jobsis such a weird film to put on a list of “Seth Rogen movies”, but it technically is, and it’s so good you can’t ignore it.Danny Boyle’s biopic of the infamous genius who revolutionized modern living surprisingly failed to connect with audiences last year, but it’s a hell of an achievement in theatrical filmmaking. In fact, perhaps it should have been a play. Set over the course of three acts, each taking place at a different product launch over the decades leading up to Apple’s ultimate industry domination,Steve JobsfollowsMichael Fassbenderas the title pioneer in his meticulous and demanding quest to reinvent the tech world (and maybe learn to not be an awful father).
As Steve ‘Woz’ Wozniak, Rogen adds a well-needed dose of humanity as Apple’s kinder, gentler co-founder, and while he’s a relatively small part of the film, he’s still an important one.Steve Jobshas the unflinching moral honesty and clever turns of phrase that mark all ofAaron Sorkin’s best films, and it’s livened up by Boyle’s always energetic filmmaking, ensuring it as one of the best films on Rogen’s resume, and more generally, one of the most intelligent films in recent memory.
3. This Is The End
This Is The Endis Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s weirdest and most ambitious film to date, and it’s also one of their best — an achievement made even more impressive by the fact that it was their directorial debut. A full-out apocalyptic horror meets bro comedy,This Is The Endreunites a cast of Rogen’s usual suspects – James Franco, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride and Jay Baruchel (and cameos from just about every comedic actor in Hollywood), who are trapped together in Franco’s home after the biblical apocalypse. What’s more, all the actors play quasi-real versions of themselves, givingThis Is The Enda completely left-of-center appeal.
Beyond the novelty of the film’s conceit, and the absolutely deranged nature of its plot, there’s a surprising headiness to the proceedings thanks to the authentic relationships at the film’s core, and even more so, due to the delicate handling of morality and religion.This Is The Enddoesn’t deride Christianity, nor those who don’t follow any religion, but it does ask the question: What if you found out you weren’t a good enough person to get into heaven? When the group of semi-friends realize they’ve been left behind in the rapture, it opens the floor for a good stretch of genuine soul-searching (though always counterbalanced with giant demon dicks, natch). It’s a bit of a (no pun intended) miraculous balancing act that dances easily between the horrific and the hilarious, delivering a truly one-of-a-kind movie.
2. Knocked Up
It’s only fitting that Judd Apatow, the writer-director who gave Rogen his start withFreaks and GeeksandUndeclared, would launch him into stardom with his first leading role.Knocked Upstars Rogen as Ben Stone, a deadbeat stoner who ends up a baby daddy after a drunken one-night stand withKatherine Heigl’s Alison. The two couldn’t be more different; Ben is a schlubby guy trying to profit off of celebrity nudity and living off a disability settlement, while Alison is an ambitious television personality at the beginning of a promising career. Basically, they never would have talked again under normal circumstances, but with the decision to keep the baby, their lives are inextricably intertwined, making room for an unconventional romance to blossom.
In true Apatow fashion,Knocked Uptackles the realities of modern maturity with a mix of savvy sophistication and boisterous goofiness. The film takes an honest and uncompromising look at courtship, commitment, ambition and aging, and Like all of Apatow’s films,Knocked Uphas a crazy roster of comedic talent in the cast includingPaul Rudd,Jonah Hill,Martin Starr,Alan Tudyk,Kristin Wiig,Bill Hader,Jay Baruchel,Jason Segel,Ken Jeong,Craig Robinson, and even the legendary Harold Ramis as Ben’s lovely father. It’s hilarious, it’s enduring, and bottom line, it’s one of the best romantic comedies in ages.
1. Superbad
Superbadis quintessential Seth Rogen (and Evan Goldberg): a hefty serving of sophomoric humor that belies an undercurrent of thoughtfulness and earnest sentimentality. The film followsJonah Hill’s Seth andMichael Cera’s Evan (yes, very much named after the eponymous screenwriters), two slightly uncool, but deeply insecure teenagers who see their invitation to a drunken house party as an opportunity to finally get laid before heading off to college. On paper, it sounds like the set up for just about every raunchy high school comedy ever, but put through Rogen and Goldberg’s lens, it’s uproarious, a bit bonkers, and surprisingly intimate.
The duo started writing the script at the age of 13, and stuck with it over the decade. Naturally, that means it’s a personal script, and as a result, it’s got a whole lot of heart. While the kid’s foul-mouthed antics are the source of huge laughs, it’s the sincerity of Seth and Evan’s friendship and their journey towards maturity that makesSuperbadtranscend your average sex comedy fare. On top of a strong script, you’ve got confident, subtly stylish direction fromGreg Mattolaand a fantastic soundtrack. Plus, it introduced the world toEmma Stoneand McLovin, and there’s just nothing not to love about that.
