Welcome back to the weekly Top 10 list. Each week we come up with a topic, go create our separate lists, and then come together to create a top 10 consensus. This week with An American Pickle now out, we decided to countdown the best Seth Rogen movies. This man took over comedy quickly and became a hitmaker. He is bold and daring while also being accessible by being one of the few filmmakers willing to dissect religion. This was a fun list to make and we hope you enjoy it!
10. The Pineapple Express
Starting off the list is the film that most people associated with Rogen to start his career in The Pineapple Express. For a while, he was known for making stoner comedies and this was the film that people always pointed to for that. For me, I am not a big fan of that type of humor and just felt like it was done too extreme here. Obviously, the draw is Rogen’s pairing with good friend James Franco and that aspect works very well. However, this film was just never for me.
9. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Next up is a film that has my favorite type of title in Zack and Miri Make a Porno. I love it when a title tells you everything you need to know about the plot. Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks are making porn to raise money? Say no more, I’m in. Banks and Rogen are just so perfect together. They have that chemistry you would’ve never expected where their relationship feels natural and lived in. It all just works in this film.
8. Knocked Up
Number eight comes in with one of Rogen’s pairings with Judd Apatow in Knocked Up. Apatow does this with so many comedians where he sees something in someone and makes a movie around their personality. In this one, we see your average schlub knock up this beautiful woman and somehow their relationship grows and works. We are all scared of an unwanted pregnancy, but this film shows that just because it’s a surprise doesn’t mean it can be a bad thing. It is a making the most out of a tough situation.
7. 50/50
We move into what is Rogen’s most serious and grounded movie to date in 50/50. Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt work so well together, as we will see with other entries and this might be their best. Here we see how two friends react when one of them is given a cancer diagnosis with the chance he could die. We all know someone who has experienced cancer and it can be extremely difficult to grasp that. This film makes that feeling so real and treats it with care. Many have still not seen this film and that needs to be corrected.
6. Long Shot
Speaking of movies that more people need to see, Long Shot is our next entry. The only reason this film is not number one is that not many people have seen it yet and that is a shame. This is his best movie. It is timely and has something to say about women in politics where Rogen and Charlize naturally form this relationship that you want to succeed despite its image. It is one of my favorite romantic comedies and it just got buried by Avengers: Endgame which makes sense. Once everyone on this site sees it, I’m sure lists will change.
5. Neighbors
Starting off the top five is one of the more successful comedies in recent memory, Neighbors. This was such a terrific concept, what if a new family had a fraternity move in right next to them? It is clearly a nightmare and to watch Rogen vs Zac Efron is amazing. The pranks are great, and all the side characters just bring it, especially Rose Byrne. I think about this film every time I sit in a chair because it might be an airbag. Definitely a deserving film on this list.
4. The Night Before
I feel like we are in a string of underrated Seth Rogen movies right here and The Night Before is absolutely in that conversation. If you need a new Christmas movie to watch, this is the choice. Ever since it came out it has been in my Christmas rotation and it’s towards the top of the list. Here we see three friends who have a Christmas tradition of going out on New Year’s Eve and they vow for this to be the last time. It has great cameos and laughs and some of the best heart I have seen in a Christmas film. Please see this one.
3. This is the End
Now we transition to the heavy hitters with the next three being some of the best comedies of the 21st Century. First up is This is the End, a self-reflexive religious study of how celebrities can view themselves as above everyone else. What a smart choice it was to have these actors play extreme versions of themselves and have to go through the apocalypse. The scene where everything first happens and we see that none of the celebrities go up to heaven is hilarious and just a bold swing for all of them to make themselves come off as scumbags, especially Michael Cera. Truly one that never gets old.
2. Superbad
Just missing out on the number one spot is another comedy classic in Superbad. Every generation has that coming of age film that defines it and this one was certainly in that conversation, if not the winner. It is about three friends trying to buy alcohol to impress girls at a party and every guy who went through high school knows this feeling where you will do whatever it takes to impress the girl you have a crush on. Everyone is great in this including Rogen and Bill Hader as the cool cops who take McLovin along for a ride. Just a true classic.
1.The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Finally, our number one film is one that launched or catapulted so many careers with The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Not just Rogen, but Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and Judd Apatow all had their comedy careers pushed to the top after this film came out, and it changed the genre ever since. Anchorman was the last wacky success comedy that came out before the real-life type of comedy took over with this film. It is a terrific concept aided by comedy geniuses and has become one of those films held up in the pantheon of greatest comedies ever.
Well, there you have it! Our picks for the Top 10 Best Seth Rogen films. It is truly unbelievable how his career has become as successful as it is where he just makes hit after hit while not looking the part of a typical movie star. I look forward to every single one of his films. What does your list look like? Let us know below and we will see you next time with another list.