The Elizabeth Banks Movies Ranked
My earliest recollection of Elizabeth Banks the actor was as Betty Brant in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies. Otherwise, Banks has appeared in a million movies and TV shows (she has 94 acting credits on IMDb as of this writing), often providing a welcome, sharp wit in comedies and dramas. I love seeing her on screen and within the past decade she’s gone behind the camera for a few directorial efforts. Since beginning with a segment of MOVIE 43 in 2013 (oof, we’ll get to that in a second), Banks has directed or co-directed four films in ten years. As opposed to my usual delight for her performances (30 ROCK being a special highlight for me), her track record as director is rocky at best.
#4 — MOVIE 43 (2013)
Segment: “Middle School Date”
MOVIE 43, if it hasn’t already sunk into total obscurity, is renowned for being one of the worst films of all time. But I’ve seen worse; JOE DIRT 2: BEAUTIFUL LOSER (2015) sticks with a man. Anyways, this anthology picture is chock-full of stars in front of and big names behind the camera, too much to even really want to list here. Indeed, MOVIE 43 is mostly a miserable affair, leading with one decent sketch before devolving into painful attempts to “shock and offend.” Banks appears in the closing scene (perhaps the movie’s worst, which is saying something), but she also directs a segment in the middle of the movie called “Middle School Date.” Just that portion is the basis for this placement, not the whole of MOVIE 43. To Banks’ credit, “Middle School Date” is one of the better sketches in the film, for what that’s worth. Briefly poking fun at men and boys’ inability to handle a tweenage girl’s first period and starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Patrick Warburton, Matt Walsh, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, the segment is actually relatively inoffensive both in terms of terribly written comedy and the subject matter. “Middle School Date” got a chuckle or two out of me in the middle of the trash fire that is MOVIE 43, but it’s certainly the most insignificant aspect of Banks’ directing career.
#3 — COCAINE BEAR (2023)
Banks’ latest comedy and the impetus for this piece has received its fair share of a marketing push based on its amplification of a “true story” (that a bear got into some cocaine and died in the 1980s). The idea of turning this news curio into a horror comedy is a good one, and in some scenes, COCAINE BEAR taps into the exploitation trash vibe it should carry throughout. But weirdly enough, the movie doesn’t make things cheesy enough, instead focusing on disparate ensemble storylines that eventually and mostly intertwine. The quality of the performances and scenarios vary throughout, making COCAINE BEAR an uneven experience, and its over-the-top gore isn’t really executed with a hand skilled at drawing out such things. Ray Liotta (rest in peace) and Isiah Whitlock Jr. are far and away the best performers in the whole thing, although O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Alden Ehrenreich also come through with enjoyable presences. Ultimately, though, COCAINE BEAR features too much “freak out and yell at each other” comedy with too little horror chops to back it up.
#2 — CHARLIE’S ANGELS (2019)
I don’t mind Banks’ soft reboot of the Charlie’s Angels franchise (it in fact takes place in the same “universe” as the TV show and previous two movies). In fact, I kind of like it. Unlike COCAINE BEAR, CHARLIE’S ANGELS leans more effectively into the vibes of its incredibly cheesy predecessors while featuring adequate modern action sequences. The chemistry between Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska doesn’t always gel, but their camaraderie is felt effectively enough and Banks herself as a new Bosley is a fun on-screen presence. Cited as a box office bomb and critical failure, Banks’ second feature, which came after the biggest gap in her directing career at four and half years, faded into obscurity fairly quickly. But for a mostly mindless bit of action comedy, especially today, you could do a lot worse than CHARLIE’S ANGELS.
#1 — PITCH PERFECT 2 (2015)
After producing and appearing in PITCH PERFECT (2012) as the a cappella commentary partner of John Michael Higgins, and acting in that duo as the best part of that movie, Banks took the director’s chair for its sequel (something she would not do for PITCH PERFECT 3 [2017]). I’d have to imagine the consensus for the Pitch Perfect series is that the first movie is the best, but I found myself cringing too much watching it and being pleasantly surprised by PITCH PERFECT 2’s improvement on comedic timing. It’s clear that a stronger comedic mind and improvisational force was behind the camera, as the movie excised the dead air and flat edit that made the first movie’s jokes often land with a thud. Not everyting is made perfect, however, in PITCH PERFECT 2, as I think its song selection and musical number choreography is probably inferior to its predecessor. And in spite of its stronger comedic writing and performances, it’s not like there aren’t plenty of flops uttered throughout the movie. PITCH PERFECT 2, as Banks’ first feature, may simply be the top choice in a director’s filmography of middling-to-no-good movies, but it’s entertaining enough to warrant consideration as a better sequel than it’s maybe given credit for.
