“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” (2004)
Were I to leave off this now-canonized comedy classic surely the top brass at Playlist HQ would put my head on a stake, or at least they’d hopefully let me fight for my freedom at our annual film critic gang fight (I call the trident for a weapon!). We’ve made no secret of our collective love for this endlessly quotable picture (funny how often that descriptor can be used safely for many a Rudd comedy), that birthed one of modern comedies great team ups in Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. Pretty much everyone’s hilarious here, but Rudd as field reporter Brian Fantana, complete with Sex Panther cologne (“60% of the time, it works every time”) and dirty perv ‘stache, is lights-out perfect in support of Ferrell’s titular 70s broadcaster. His mix of cocksure swagger, childlike naiveté, blinkered sexism and total idiocy might not have gotten the immediate kudos that Steve Carell‘s Brick Tamland (or some of the A-list cameos) received, but he’s the film’s secret weapon, and between this and the following year’s “40-Year-Old Virgin,” he managed to reinvent his career in a big way.
“Knocked Up” (2007)
Here’s Rudd, again, just doing what he does so well: supporting the leads and shining in his limited opportunities. So much so, that writer/director Judd Apatow decided to spin off his and Leslie Mann’s struggling-but-still-giving-it-their-best-shot married couple for “This Is 40” in 2012. While it may have proven to be his weakest directorial effort to date, you can’t fault Apatow for wanting to give Rudd more to do, within this specific role that he fits like a glove. In “Knocked Up,” his Pete character comes into the picture via sister-in-law Alison (Katherine Heigl) and her one-night-stand pregnancy with Seth Rogen’s stoner Ben. Though some may point instead to “The 40 Year-Old Virgin” as the best Apatow effort that features Paul Rudd (it is another hilarious turn), but for my money, “Knocked Up” is still the most complete and funny effort. It’s also the film where the comedy auteur used his discursive plot and character style, in which extended little avenues of comedy and/or drama are followed in hopes of broadening the world, to greatest effect. That’s why Rudd’s character, and the rest of the cast are so valuable, and why they elevate the material to be more than just a dumb comedy.
