Six Essential Performances By John C. Reilly
BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997), THE GOOD GIRL (2002), WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY (2007), THE PROMOTION (2008), TERRI (2011), WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (2011)
John C. Reilly’s role in this summer’s Guardians of the Galaxy is small (really small). But what he lacks in the size of role he makes up for in quality, as Reilly brings his standard, affable everyman to yet another film with complete commitment. Able to go easily from comedy to drama (often in the same film) the beloved character actor still feels somewhat underrated in Hollywood. From his first appearances in the dark Causalities of War as one of the deviant soldiers and his hilarious performance in We’re No Angels as a lovable young priest, he proved he had range.
Able to go easily from comedy to drama (often in the same film) the beloved character actor still feels somewhat underrated in Hollywood.
As the husband of Jennifer Aniston in The Good Girl, Reilly’s supporting role holds the movie together. His character isn’t doing anything terrible in his marriage, but his co-dependent relationship with his best friend and his lazy love of TV makes her frustration with her marriage seem (at least at first) completely reasonable. And as annoyingly hilarious as he is when on the couch (or bed) with his friend watching television, the brief moments of intimacy with Aniston show why they are together…and leave no doubt that he truly loves his wife. This was the movie that made audiences take a second look at Aniston’s acting abilities, but Reilly’s performance is just as good, especially in their finally emotional scene together.
Reilly became one of the go-to best friend/cuckold husbands in films for a few years, always committing to his supporting roles. But he finally landed a leading role in the painfully unappreciated Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Playing on every single music biopic cliche, Reilly gave one of the funniest performances of 2007. And as he proved once again (after his nominated performance in Chicago) Reilly is also a talented singer. The movie was a box-office disappointment (and still hasn’t been embraced as a true cult hit), but was praised by critics who pointed out Reilly for fully committing to playing his ridiculous character with absolute realism, rather than ever winking at the audience.
Reilly is so compassionate as the one decent, positive adult figure in Terri’s life, it becomes his film as much as it was newcomer Jacob Wysocki’s.
Decency is arguably the most dominant trait in his character in the film Terri where he plays a concerned high school vice-principal. Wanting to make a difference in his school, he takes an interest in the well-being of Terri, an overweight, depressed social outcast who wears pajamas to school. Despite the movie being essentially a teen dramedy, Reilly is so compassionate (owning to his own experiences as a “loser”) as the one decent, positive adult figure in Terri’s life, it becomes his film as much as it was newcomer Jacob Wysocki’s. And there is something wonderful about Reilly’s ability to play off of teen actors with the same give and take chemistry he has with his best adult co-stars.
The compassion and chemistry he had with teen actors is on display in the other movie he made 2011, but couldn’t have been more different. Both about troubled teens, his role as all too decent father Franklin in We Need to Talk About Kevin is one of the most disturbing films, and roles, in Reilly’s filmography. Unwilling to accept his cold wife’s insistence that their son has violent tendencies, he continually believes the best in his son; despite seeing multiple examples that at best his son is troubled and at worst his son is a psychopath. As an audience, we know from the beginning that his son did commit crimes, which makes seeing Reilly’s character insist that his son is “a good kid” painful, infuriating, and yet, completely reasonable. How could a loving parent see that kind of evil in their own child?
Reilly appears in Guardians of the Galaxy this week and Life After Beth August 15th.
What is John C. Reilly’s greatest performance?
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