His list of classic comedies is pretty freaking high. I need some other names to compare but I’m thinking all time great.
Permanent Midnight is one of the most uncomfortable movies I've ever watched about a guy self-destructing. Stiller has a serious dark side lurking in the shadows that he only lets peak out every now and then.
What I think is he has three top 200 comedies. None of them too high on the list. That's pretty good. It's not great. But that's still hard to achieve given how few comedies achieve anything or have any lasting message. Underrated in the comedy genre...Val Kilmer.
I think he's a little bit of a product of his generation. By that I mean he was a bit undervalued because I think that era was one of the all-time great arrows of comedies from a film perspective. Maybe I say that just because that was the peak of my teenage years. But I agree with others, definitely not just a guy, but definitely a tier below all-time great. Between Something About Mary, Dodgeball, Meet the Parents/Fockers, Along Came Polly, Tropic Thunder, and Zoolander, he's got my support.
Never been my favorite and he's not a draw for me. If you asked me to list out the top comedians of his generation I don't think his name even comes up. For me this list kind of sums up the point above. While I enjoyed all of them (other than Along Came Polly which I never saw) the movies I would want to rewatch are the ones with more ensemble comedic casts. If you asked me who my favorite comedian is in the ones I'd rewatch he's definitely not it.
Prefer him to contemporaries Mike Myers and Will Farrell (and only Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler really top him in cumulative box office).
I think he's also sort of notorious for being a jerk on set and not really friendly, even with his costars. I wonder if that has negatively affected his legacy.
All time great. Tropic Thunder, The Fockers series, zoolander, something about Mary, etc. Severance also had a great 1st season.
