Top 5 Movie Guide: Jennifer Aniston

As is common at the Slackers Selection Movie Blog for our Actor/Director top 5 lists, we like to look for actors or directors relevant to movies releasing shortly. Before "The Grey" hit, we did Liam Neeson, before "Safe House", Denzel Washington. That seems to be a nice way to tie everything together.


Well this weekend didn't leave us with much quality. There are plenty of actors in upcoming releases that we like, don't get us wrong, but the ones we do like generally don't have very broad filmographies. So with what we had to work with, we decided to compose this week's lists on Jennifer Aniston films.


The thing with Aniston is that she has plenty of movies to work with, but not a lot of high quality stuff. At first that seemed like the exact reason to avoid this altogether, but eventually, we decided that it might be interesting to compose our lists with an actor that none of us really have passions for (okay, we have passions for Jennifer Aniston, just none movie-related).




So after the break, check out our top 5 Jennifer Aniston Movies. Feel free to leave your comments at the bottom. We love hearing your thoughts as well!


Alex Schopp -

    1. Rock Star

I know this movie didn't come off very well to critics, but I actually enjoyed the movie quite a bit. As generic as this telling might have been, I love the story about a guy coming from nothing and basically becoming a celebrity overnight. And then losing it all again just as quickly. It tragic tale. Wahlberg is really good in this movie, and I think Aniston is a perfect compliment here as well. I still don't love this movie, but I think it's the best combination of entertainment and ability in her filmography.
     2. The Good Girl
This is the movie I would easily say is her best performance to date. She's so good in this. This film probably unofficially launched her movie career. It's a shame she went down the path of romantic comedies. I enjoy a good romantic comedy, don't get me wrong. She just hasn't been in any of those.
     3. Office Space
Ten years ago this was my number one without even giving it a thought. I loved this movie. My friends loved this movie. I guess it just played well to young high school kids who thought they knew everything. The main character, though lazy and unmotivated, was a hero to us. Needless to say, this movie has not aged well for me. Still good/funny, just not as powerful as it once was.
     4. Along Came Polly
Mostly I just love Philip Seymour Hoffman in this movie. Then I really love Alec Baldwin. But Aniston is my third favorite part about this movie. I'm a very technical and obsessive person in nature though, so Aniston's care-free spirit in this movie didn't appeal to me much.
     5. Leprechaun
When we decided to do our lists on Jennifer Aniston, "Leprechaun" was the movie that popped in my head first. I didn't think it would be in my top five or anything, it's just funny to remember she was actually in this. But after looking at the rest of her filmography, I actually do enjoy this movie more than anything else she's been in (other than the above-listed, of course). It's cheesy and not super well-made, but it freaked me out as a kid, and I still don't like the idea of a little leprechaun running around. Creepy.
     Honorable Mention: "Mac and Me"
Mostly this is just here because I didn't even know she was in this (an uncredited cameo as it is) until I looked it up. I remember liking this movie as a kid (at least I think I did), but I haven't seen it for probably 15+ years now. I'd like to go back and watch it again. I remember the alien had a fat gut. And he was basically a rip-off of E.T. if I remember right.

Ben Foutch -

     1. Office Space

"Yeah. You know what, yeah, I do. I want to express myself, okay. And I don't need 37 pieces of flair to do it."
     2. Leprechaun
"Where's ME gold?"
     3. Rock Star
"Rob, I'm a business woman, and rule number one in this business is you go where the talent is...and all the fucking talent that was in this band just left the room!"
     4. Horrible Bosses
"Are you kidding me? I've driven all this way and nobody wants to get pissed on?"
     5. Along Came Polly
"I tried to fart and a little shit came out. I just sharted. Now let's go."


Derek Clem - 

     1. Along Came Polly
All while "Friends" was happening I was never in love with Jennifer Aniston. This movie changed all of that. I now think she is one of the most beautiful people to grace the planet. She quit smoking, right? Maybe I'll try and date her.

     2. She's The One
I think my family won this VHS answering a question right on a call in radio station. I popped it in the VCR (or as we like to call it today, the VHS Player) and have loved it ever since. I used to try and act like Edward Burns' character from this movie back in high school. I could never pull off his cool.
     3. The Good Girl
You watch this and think...why isn't Aniston hitting up the indie circuit more often and grabbing a few Oscars along the way? She is so good in this!
     4. Office Space
Looking back, I'm surprised this isn't the movie that had me falling in love with Aniston. Plus, this came out in 1999? Feels much more like a 1996er.
     5. Rumor Has It...
The concept for this movie is terrific! I wouldn't mind a few other movies using this unique plot device. Has it ever been done before or is this movie the first time it's ever been used?

Nathan Hinds -

     1. Derailed

Technically I would like to put "The Departed" as my number one since she was a producer on it. But since that just wouldn't be right, I'll go with this one. And even though the plot has some noticeable holes in it, I actually do like this movie a lot. Plus I'm a big Clive Owen fan, and I've liked Vincent Cassel in every role I've ever seen him in. Oh, and Jennifer Aniston was lookin' good in this too.
     2. Horrible Bosses
I really enjoyed this movie as a whole, and while Aniston has been in better movies than this, this is one movie of hers that I've seen where her role has really stood out to me.
     3. Leprechaun
Nothing like a good ol' fashioned slasher comedy. Me liking this movie really doesn't have much to do with Jennifer Aniston. The movie is so ludicrous - the whole shoe-throwing scene still cracks me up!
     4. Bruce Almighty
Again, not trying to sound like a broken record, but my feelings for this movie really don't have much to do with Aniston's character. She was fine, but really this is one of the few good movies that Jim Carey has made in the last ten years.
     5. Office Space
Okay, I'll just say it: I don't care for Jennifer Aniston as an actress. I think she's an older version of Katherine Heigl. But if I'm picking five movies of hers, this one is a comedy staple, so I have to include it. I've never really understood why some people love this movie so much, but I still think it's very good. Still doesn't have much to do with Aniston in my opinion though.

Andy Schopp -

     1. The Iron Giant

This movie is so fantastic. I don't think I've ever watched it without crying like a baby.
     2. Leprechaun
What a great break-out role! It's like Chucky but with a tiny Irish man instead.
     3. Office Space
Really sums up how I feel about almost every job I've ever had - minus the movie theater.
     4. The Switch
Really funny; has good heart and a great soundtrack.
     5. Horrible Bosses
Jennifer Aniston almost takes her career to a place where we wall want it to go. But the movie is also funny.

So there you have it, our favorite Jennifer Aniston movies. It looks the number one chosen movie here was "Office Space", hitting all five lists. If you haven't seen it yet, it's very much a staple in the slacker-comedy genre. Otherwise, "Leprechaun" hit four of the five, proving that the cheesy horror movies we saw as kids we still hold onto today. "Horrible Bosses" showed up on three, and "The Good Girl" and "Rock Star" hit twice as the only other multiple selections.


As always, we hope that this gives you new insight into this window of the movie world, and hopefully there are a few titles listed here that interest you enough to check them out for yourself!