Steve Carell's Best Movies, Ranked by Metacritic
Steve Carell
Dia Dipasupil / Getty ImagesFrom his multiple-Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe- and SAG Award-winning performance on workplace mockumentary sitcom The Office, to a dramatic turn on The Morning Show,and leading ensemble comedySpace Force, Steve Carell has become synonymous with colorful television characters. But some of his best-received projects have actually been on the bigger screen.
When it comes to feature films, Carell has shown off his acting range even further, seamlessly moving between raunchy humor (The 40-Year Old Virgin), sports dramas (Battle of the Sexes, Foxcatcher), family-friendly animation (Despicable Me), and more.
He has also racked up much more awards acclaim for his feature film work, including BAFTA and Oscar nominations for his performance in Foxcatcher; Critics Choice Award noms for The Big Short and Battle of the Sexes; a Gotham Award nom as part of the ensemble of Little Miss Sunshine; Golden Globe noms for Foxcatcher, The Big Short, and Battle of the Sexes; and SAG Award noms for Foxcatcher and Battle of the Sexes.
And this doesn't even mention his wins! Carell has picked up a Gotham Award as part of the ensemble of Foxcatcher and a SAG Award as part of the ensemble of Little Miss Sunshine, to name a couple.
Carell continues to move back and forth between mediums. In 2022 alone, he has the second season of Space Force premiering on Netflix, and he will star in and executive produce FX's limited series titled The Patient, but he also returns to the Minions franchise with Minions: The Rise of Gru and reunites with his The Office co-star John Krasinki for Paramount Pictures' If.
But first, here, Metacritic highlights Carell's top 10 films he has acted in, ranked by Metascore.
The Big Short
Metascore: 81
Best for: Fans of dramatizations of real historical events, controversial male protagonists, and real estate explainers
Where to watch:
Runtime: 130 minutes
Adam McKay co-wrote and directed this real estate crisis dramedy based on Michael Lewis' book, The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. The film is set just ahead of the 2007 U.S. housing market crash and follows three separate stories featuring characters who manage to get rich off of a lot of people's bad fortune. It also pauses its storytelling from time to time to break the fourth wall and explain some of the real estate terms. Carell plays Mark Baum, the head of a small trading firm. Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt are also among the film's stars.
"A laudable surprise." — Inkoo Kang, The Wrap
Foxcatcher
Metascore: 81
Best for: Fans of sports dramas, controversial male protagonists, and complicated sibling relationships
Where to watch:
Runtime: 129 minutes
Carell was nominated for a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and an Oscar for this sports drama in which he plays a version of the real-life John du Pont, who recruited Olympic gold medalist brothers, Mark and Dave Schultz (Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo, respectively), to help coach wrestlers for various competitions. The film exposes the dark side of John and Mark's relationship, which includes Mark abusing cocaine and eventually performing poorly during professional matches, as well as the complicated sibling relationship that comes when one brother feels like he's in the other's shadow. The intertwining of three men on exacerbates a lot of negativity, eventually leading to one of their murders.
"One of the year's very best films." — Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Little Miss Sunshine
Metascore: 80
Best for: Fans of quirky families and road trip stories
Where to watch:
Runtime: 101 minutes
When young Olive (Abigail Breslin) learns she has qualified for the eponymous beauty pageant in California, her whole family packs themselves into a Volkswagen van for a two-day, 800-mile road trip. Individually, the family members are going through a lot: Patriarch Edwin (Alan Arkin), for example, was kicked out of his retirement home for drug use, while Frank (Carell) is unemployed and recently attempted suicide. In such cramped quarters, things get harder before they get better, but they learn to support each other, which becomes extra necessary when they do make it to their destination, only to see how out of her league Olive is when it comes to preparation.
"The character development and the across-the-board terrific performances is a surprisingly sharp look at contemporary America." — Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
Battle of the Sexes
Metascore: 73
Best for: Fans of sports biopics
Where to watch:
Runtime: 121 minutes
Carell stars as Bobby Riggs opposite Emma Stone as Billie Jean King in this sports biopic that is based on the tennis legends' 1973 match. But the film actually begins years before that match, when King is among nine women to start their own tour because of the pay inequality in the current tournament. Riggs, who is down on his luck, decides to challenge women players to a match, and eventually King accepts his challenge, which changes the game forever.
"A finely tuned period piece, a vibrant comedy, an effective character study and, yep, an inspirational sports movie." — Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Metascore: 73
Best for: Fans of dating comedies and male friendships
Where to watch:
Runtime: 116 minutes
The title of Judd Apatow's comedy says it all: Andy (Carell) is a 40-year-old man who is still a virgin, and when his co-workers and friends learn this, they all lend their time and not-quite expertise to help Andy find someone to have sex with. Andy makes a connection with single mom Trish (Catherine Keener), and they begin to date, but their relationship is complicated by the antics and advice of his friends. Those friends, meanwhile, have relationship problems of their own: David (Paul Rudd) is obsessed with his ex (played by Mindy Kaling), and Jay (Romany Malco) is a serial cheater. As it turns out, they all have a lot to learn about intimacy and healthy relationships.
"Probably the most sweet-spirited sex comedy ever made." — Chris Kaltenbach, Baltimore Sun
Despicable Me
Metascore: 72
Best for: Fans of family-friendly animation, heists, blended family stories, and villains with a heart of gold
Where to watch:
Runtime: 95 minutes
The first film in an animated franchise, Despicable Me centers on a supervillain named Felonious Gru (voiced by Carell), who wants to steal the moon. He has Minions and an assistant (voiced by Russell Brand), but he also has a rival in theft, Vector (voiced by Jason Segel), and Vector gets to the shrink ray Gru needs first. Gru devises a plan involving three young girls to try to steal it for himself, but he finds himself sidetracked by having to be a parent to the girls and unexpectedly begins to bond with them. It's a unique take on the "Can you really have it all?" story theme, but it doesn't force its protagonist to sacrifice one dream for another.
"A rousingly funny, heartfelt and imaginative 'toon." — Pete Hammond, Boxoffice Magazine
Horton Hears a Who!
Metascore: 71
Best for: Fans of Dr. Seuss and family-friendly animation
Where to watch:
Runtime: 86 minutes
This CG-animated kids' tale is based on Dr. Seuss' 1954 book of the same title that starts when the titular elephant (voiced by Jim Carrey) gets the idea in his head that there are teeny, tiny creatures living on a speck of dust. It turns out he is not wrong: That is where Whoville sits and therefore where the Whos live. And when Horton begins to carry the dust with him, Whoville is disrupted. While no one in Horton's world believes him about Whoville, those in that tiny town, led by Mayor Ned McDodd (Carell), have to find a way to make themselves known before they are destroyed.
"Hollywood has made a whimsical, witty, feature-length version of Dr. Seuss that's neither overblown nor smutty nor emotionally hollow." — Lawrence Toppman, The Charlotte Observer
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Metascore: 68
Best for: Fans of complicated families and messy romantic drama
Where to watch:
Runtime: 118 minutes
Cal Weaver (Carell) is newly separated when he meets womanizer Jacob Palmer (Gosling) at a bar. He is upset over his wife (Julianne Moore) cheating on him, while Jacob is nursing a broken heart of his own after being rejected by Hannah (Stone). Jacob ends up taking Cal under his wing to teach him how to make connections with women, and his methods work, giving Cal a new confidence. But Cal's escapades complicate things for his family, and his new friendship with Jacob is tested by a shared connection they didn't realize they had during their first meeting.
"It's a movie that understands love because it understands pain." — Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
The Way, Way Back
Metascore: 68
Best for: Fans of coming-of-age dramas and messy families
Where to watch:
Runtime: 103 minutes
Oscar winners Nat Faxon and Jim Rash wrote and directed this coming-of-age drama about teenage Duncan (Liam James), who is forced to go on a summer vacation with his mother (Toni Collette), his mother's boyfriend (Carell), and that boyfriend's daughter (Zoe Levin). Although he is uncomfortable and often neglected in his home environment, Duncan comes into himself through a job at the local water park, a new role model (Sam Rockwell), and a crush on his neighbor (AnnaSophia Robb).
"Crafted with much TLC and sympathy, it's perfectly tailored to the tongue-tied teen in us all." — James Mottram, Total Film
Over the Hedge
Metascore: 67
Best for: Fans of family-friendly animations, heist adventures, and new friendship stories
Where to watch: 83 minutes
Runtime:
DreamWorks' CGI film based on the comic strip of the same title follows the adventures of woodland animals setting out to steal food from the humans who moved into a housing development in their forest. While many of the animals do it out of fear of not knowing where they will get their food from since their forest resources are gone, one — a raccoon named RJ (voiced by Bruce Willis) — has ulterior motives: He was trying to steal food from a bear, got caught, and is being forced to replace the food that got destroyed. Keeping this secret puts him at odds with the other animals' de facto leader, Verne (Garry Shandling), and also challenges his own morality. As the animals sneak around the development, they have to avoid dangers such as the exterminator (voiced by Thomas Hayden Church) and solve conflicts with each other. Carell voices a squirrel named Hammy.
"Over The Hedge stands out as genuinely witty and even a little barbed." — Tasha Robinson, The A.V. Club