Anna Kendrick has been working in theater and movies since she was a teenager, but most audiences know her from Up in the Air. Since then, she’s done both comedy and drama, led musical franchises, voiced animated characters, and had some funny comedies to show for. Here are her 10 best movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes score.
10 Pitch Perfect (2012) - 81%
Pitch Perfect is the movie that made Kendrick a movie star, as it’s her biggest franchise and one where she has the lead role. The actress plays Beca, a wannabe DJ, and freshman at Barden University, who ends up auditioning to be part of the college’s all-female a cappella group, the Bellas.
Kendrick had always known how to sing, and here she’s able to show that ability from the start, including her rendition of “Cups (When I’m Gone)”. This movie (and the following franchise) has great musical performances, female friendships, and funny hijinks, and it wouldn’t work without Kendrick’s role at the center of these films.
9 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) - 82%
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a genre-mixing, surprising, and exciting kind of romantic comedy where Scott (Michael Cera) must fight his new girlfriend Ramona's (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) evil seven exes. The film has an incredible cast, including Kendrick as Scott’s younger sister, Stacy. Although her character is not the biggest, she’s able to sell the tone of the film, and her interactions with Cera, and Kieran Culkin (whose character steals her boyfriend) make for a fun small part in this crazy, big film.
Related: Here's Where the Cast from Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World Is Today
8 Alice, Darling (2022) - 83%
Alice, Darling is a dark story about a psychologically abusive relationship between Alice (Kendrick) and her boyfriend, Simon (Charlie Carrick), and how, after a weekend with her friends, Alice starts understanding how much of a dark place she’s in her life with Simon. Kendrick has always been able to play dramatic roles, but in this performance, she hits it out of the park, as her Alice is as complicated, lost, sad, and nervous as the theme the movie is tackling. The actress sells the tension her character is always in, how the oppression and short leash her boyfriend has her has been normalized, and how much asphyxiated she’s been feeling without knowing it, creating one of her best, and darkest characters ever.
On why she wanted to do the film, Kendrick told W Magazine: “The reason why the script really resonated with me is that Alanna Francis, the screenwriter, did such an amazing job of putting the heaviness of the atmosphere—that relentless, oppressive tone—on the page.”
7 Rocket Science (2007) - 84%
Rocket Science tells the story of awkward teenager Hal Hefner (Reece Daniel Thompson), who has a stutter. His crush, Ginny (Kendrick), asks him to join the debate team and be her partner in the competition, and he accepts. This is a strange little film, and Kendrick steals the movie with her Ginny; she’s surprisingly ambitious and conniving, making for a fun character that gives the film both its romantic interest and almost villainous. Although she was still very young, Kendrick already proved here she was ready for bigger, meatier roles.
6 Drinking Buddies (2013) - 84%
Drinking Buddies is a movie about two couples: Luke (Jake Johnson) and Jill (Kendrick), Kate (Olivia Wilde), and Chris (Ron Livingston). Luke and Kate work together and have a will-they-won’t-they chemistry, so when all four spends a weekend together, some things change for all of them.
This is one of Swanberg’s best films, and it’s in part to Kendrick’s performance as the sweet, funny, Jill. Although at first, it looks as if Luke should pursue Kate, in Johnson’s scenes with Kendrick, you understand why he doesn’t as they share a low-key, lovely, vibe, that shows that opposites attract. The actress had so much fun working with Swanberg that she was the star of his next film, Happy Christmas.
5 A Simple Favor (2018) - 84%
A Simple Favor is a dark comedy and thriller that starts as a fun movie about women's friendship and ends up becoming a cat-and-mouse game between Stephanie (Kendrick) and Emily (Blake Lively). The movie has many twists and turns, and both actresses are able to sell every change in tone and genre the film gives audiences.
Kendrick’s Stephanie starts as a bored, sad, widowed single mother, and as the film goes along, she shows much more resilience, fight, and resourcefulness, as her interactions with Emily have lit a fire inside her that had long been extinguished. The movie worked so well that it’s been announced that there’s going to be a sequel.
4 End of Watch (2012) - 85%
End of Watch is a thrilling ride. This film is all about two Los Angeles cops who are trying to make a name for themselves by ending the cartel's dominance over the city. Shot documentary style, this film is pure adrenaline, and the performances by Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña help sell the realness of every moment. Kendrick plays Janet, Gyllenhaal’s love interest, in a role that is much more deep, and real than most girlfriend parts in these kinds of films. She’s able to sell the love story between them and give the character some roundedness, as you believe she’s living her full life while we’re following the police officers, and she isn’t shown on screen.
About playing the character, Kendrick told Glamour: “I felt a tremendous sense of responsibility for grounding the world that these men exist in, because that's what was part of the appeal when I read the script, and that was something I said to my agent. I remember reading the script, and normally playing the wife or girlfriend wouldn't be interesting, but in the context of this film they really give so much heart to these men, and it makes it feel like these men aren't just a badge, or a number or a statistic, you know.”
3 ParaNorman (2012) - 89%
ParaNorman is a stop-motion animated film where Norman Babco*ck (voiced by Kodi Smith-McPhee) can communicate with the dead and discovers a world of magic, witches, and zombies. This film deserves more love, and not only for Kendrick’s performance as Courtney, Norman’s sister. This was Kendrick’s first foray into voicing animation, and she nails her character even if it’s not the biggest of roles, as this movie is all about Norman and how he’s able to interact with the dead, making for a movie that works for kids, while having some great messages about acceptance and moving on.
2 Up in the Air (2009) - 90%
For most people, Up in the Air is where they discovered Anna Kendrick. Although this is a movie star performance by George Clooney, and as such, he’s the absolute center of the film, the story wouldn’t work as well without Kendrick’s Natalie.
She plays the yin to Clooney’s yang, being a newbie in this world, and learning the ropes under him. The actress has always known how to play uptight and doesn’t mind making fun of herself, and this is one of her first roles where she uses that combination for comedic effect. She was so good in this movie that she even got her first (and for now only) Academy Award nomination, which is a great way to announce a new female star had arrived in Hollywood.
Related: These Are 5 Comedies Which Got Way Darker Than Expected
1 50/50 (2011) - 93%
50/50 tells the story of Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt in one of his best performances ever), a 27-year-old, who discovers he has cancer, and how it affects him, his best friend, Kyle (Seth Rogen), and everyone around him. Although there’s still weed and dumb jokes, this might be one of the most profound, scary, and real films Seth Rogen has ever been part of, as the real story happened to a friend of his.
Kendrick plays Adam’s therapist, Katherine, and she’s able to give both some levity and heart to the film. Adam is her first patient ever, and as such, she’s still a bit green, which gives their interactions a much more real feeling, making every scene they have together a sweet spot in the movie, and proving they might have a more than therapist-patient relationship in their future.
