The 10 Best Jason Bateman Roles
Last Friday in the US, my favourite actor currently working Jason Bateman, finally got his shot at a big budget Hollywood starrer, but in a Jennifer Aniston chick flick called ‘The Switch’, which opened at number 8 and is officially a flop. Way to go buddy (sigh). I thought it would be best to make my first of many top 10 lists on this site be in honour of the diverse, scene stealing performances that this man acheived over the last decade before ‘The Switch’ thanks to one special show. This man manged to sneak his way through like a dozen films, appear with such stars as Vince Vaugn, Ben Afleck, Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Garner, Jamie Foxx, and George Clooney. Although he mostly was the comedic relief, in some he showed some depth and a little dramatic chops, and he very rarely disappointed me. In fact out of all the films he appeared in only two did I feel he underperformed: ‘Starskey and Hutch’ and ‘Mr. Magourium’s Wonder Empourium’, otherwise he was usually the best thing in everything else. It is my humble opinion that since Bateman appeared in so much stuff in the 2000s that he has to be single handedly the greatest entertainer of that decade. And here’s his 10 best.
1. Arrested Development (2003-2006)
The show that re-invented Bateman’s career. Before this he was just pretty much a forgotten 80s child star best known for ‘Teen Wolf Too’. Bateman played Michael Bluth, the sane one in a zany, once rich, spoiled family, who has to run things now that the father is in prison. Bateman manages to turn what could have been a quite boring role of the straight man, if done in the wrong hands into a whole other dimension. Never have I since Cary Grant in ‘Bringing Up Baby’ seen such an interesting straight man. His puzzled, confused, sometimes frightful expressions is what does it, aswell as his killer zings, and the fact that Michael is just a loveable guy, surrounded by an unloveable whack job of a family, and he just takes it in stride and merely deals with them, even if they do frustrate him alot. One of the highlights of the show is the rapport between him and co-star Will Arnett as his older brother Gob, who he seems to have to help the most, but clearly loves the most (with exception to his own son, George Michael (Michael Cera)). Bateman won a Golden Globe in 2005 for this role, but he, like the show, should have gotten more respect than they got when it was on TV, rather now that it’s off.
2. Extract (2009)
In this very obscure, little seen comedy, Bateman got his first starring role since ‘Arrested’ as Joel Reynolds, another Michael Bluth, straight man type, who is the boss of an extract plant, whose life is turned upside down after a freak accident horribly injures a co-worker. To add to his problems, when he suspects his wife maybe cheating on him, he takes on the advice of his best friend in stoner Ben Afleck (a scene stealer) and hires a gigolo to flirt with her only to discover she is cheating on him with the gigolo! And a sexy, new worker (Mila Kunis) turns out to be a con artist trying to swindle his business. Written and Directed by Mike Judge (Office Space, King of the Hill), this film had the potential to be another cult classic if it continually followed Bateman and Afleck’s shenanigan’s, but when Afleck disappears in the second half, and Kunis interrupts the movie it slightly misses the mark. One thing that doesn’t however is Bateman, who’s solid from start to end, and if you’re a Bateman fan you really should check it out.
3. Juno (2007)
In his first for writer, director wunderkind Jason Reitman, Bateman played Mark Loring, seemingly happy husband to Jennifer Garner, who makes silly little jingles for commercials at home that help pay the bills, and appears as happy as Garner is when little Juno (Ellen Page) arrives to give her unborn child up to them. It’s only upon frequent visits from Juno that we realise how Mark really feels about the whole situation, and it doesn’t end happy for him. In anybody else’s hands this could have been done quite wrong, almost paedophilic like, but in Bateman’s subtle hands he turns Mark into a tragic figure who let life slip by him, and fully regrets it and now feels trapped. How could you not feel sorry for the man?
4. Smokin Aces (2006)
He only appeared for about 3 and a half minutes or so (could have been more) but Bateman’s role as Rip Reed completly stole the show. As a scuzzy, unscrupulous lawyer who holes himself in a hotel room, watches porn in the middle of the day, has some obsession with a rabbit head statue and likes to wear women’s lingerie (as evidenced in the above picture) he hires Ben Afleck, Peter Berg, and Martin Henderson (who he takes an interest in for no apparent reason whatsoever) to capture Buddy ‘Aces’ Israel (Jeremy Piven), is the most complexed and flexed out character in this shoot em up, though quite entertaining action flick. If only he were in it more hmm. Even his end credit title card is a hoot!
5. Dodgeball (2004)
Another scene stealing appearance, as dim witted, gelled back sports commentator Pepper Brooks, (even the name is funny), he along with straight man Gary Cole, annonce the proceedings going on in the title dodgeball matches, but Brooks, rather than commentating, merely just repeats what he and the audience sees (after protaganist Vince Vaugn as blindfolded himself during the final match, Pepper plainly states back to Cole’s Cotton McKnight that “He won’t be able to see very well Cotton”) No shit. Or adds some dim witted comment along the way like when Cotton makes an allusion to Cinderella, Brooks adds that “He sure does love pumpkins” to a confused Cotton. Good to know. Even his introduction to the film is hilarious, as Cotton is introducing both himself and Brooks, Brooks isn’t looking at the cameras, but at his partner, chewing his never ending gum, and nodding back and forth. Comedy genius if ever I saw one. If sports games were hosted as hilariously as this, I would tune in to a game at every oppurtunity.
6. Up In The Air (2009)
In his second film for Jason Reitman, Bateman gets the great role of Craig Gregory, boss of a firm that goes around firing people. He’s just the right amount of sleaze, down to his appearance, aswell as cynicism, and while he didn’t get any drama compared to ‘Juno’, when you get to shine over George Clooney and boss him around, who cares.
7. The Kingdom (2007)
The only reason to watch this otherwise boring film about a group of US Government Agents sent to investigate a bombing in the middle east is for Bateman’s role as Adam Leavitt, the one person out of the group who doesn’t take the mission seriously, ends up getting captured by terrorists and threatened to be beheaded unless his team can rescue him is brilliant. Directed by Peter Berg, who used Bateman again for a much more entertaining film.
8. Hancock (2008)
Which was this. Now alot of people (and critics) didn’t like this film, and yes it may have gone stupid near the end perhaps, but as usual Bateman was consistant and great the whole way through. Playing a Jimmy Stewart type, Bateman’s Ray decides to take it upon himself to help troubled super hero Hancock (Will Smith) in his usual stride of sarcastic remarks, but there’s a little more depth to him than other characters he’d done before, and finds out a little something bout his wife (Charlize Theron) in the process.
9. State of Play (2009)
The complete opposite from his role in ‘Hancock’, Dominic Foy has got to be, hands down, Bateman’s darkest role yet. Playing a sleazy, bisexual public relations executive with a few drug problems, he only appears in this otherwise lacklusture film for no more than 10 minutes but has Bateman himself says “goes from a-z in 15 pages”. And who can argue. Appearing all cool and sleazy, hitting on Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams, to being interrogated in a hotel room to breaking point, to finally being beaten up by Ben Afleck! And that’s his last scene. Afleck may have stolen ‘Extract’ away from Bateman, but the tables turned here and it’s once again Bateman who walks away with an entire film.
10. The Sweetest Thing (2002)
Okay, it seems wrong to omit ‘Teen Wolf Too’ but put this absolutly atrocious film (which I haven’t actually seen properly) on the list, but this may have been the earliest film in which Bateman became the cool scene stealer he is now. Playing Roger Donahue, best friend to Thomas Jane, he delights in only a handful of scenes, but makes the film (and stopped me from putting ‘Teen Wolf Too’ in) with his hilarious rendition of corny 80s hit ‘Eternal Flame’. Even when I wasn’t aware of who he was, walking in to my Mum and sis watching him sing that at a wedding reception, with his ridiculous beard, singing like he’s William Shatner made me chuckle. The filmmakers realised they had music gold with this by having it be the last song played over the end credits.
And The Worst…
Starsky & Hutch (2004)
Worse than ‘Teen Wolf Too’ is merely being the way too straight, non reacting sidekick to Vince Vaugn. Which is exactly what Bateman does here as Kevin (you can see from the picture what I mean). When his coolest moment in the film is his title card in the end credits over ‘Sweet Emotion’ you know you’re in trouble. One of the only cases where a film is better than Bateman was!
