In Defense of Ryan Reynolds

Posted to MOVE Movies by Katy Wagner at 6:10 p.m., Aug. 31, 2010

With enrollment at MU shooting through the roof, you can’t help but listen in on a few wayward conversations. Or maybe I just have a problem with eavesdropping. Either way, I actually heard something that personally offended me last week: “Ryan Reynolds is funny, but he can’t act.”

A quick perusing of the Internet proved this was a common theory. Color me stunned. Sure, there is one correct aspect of that sentence: Reynolds is exceptionally funny. I’m sure we’ve all seen “Van Wilder” and “Waiting…” enough times to agree with that. And we all know that Reynolds’ exquisitely stacked abdominals have been padding out his bank account with a never-ending supply of romantic comedies for the last few years. You couldn’t have escaped “The Proposal” if you tried.

Unbeknownst to the box office, however, Reynolds has been beefing up his IMDb page with more than just rom-coms. Here are just a few credits that showcase more than just his pretty looks and dazzling wit.

“The Amityville Horror” (2005): This little horror re-visioning passed through the box office at the beginning of the remake-boom. As a horror film, it’s fairly mediocre as it relies heavily on jump scares and loud noises. On the other end of that spectrum is Reynolds’ legitimately disturbing portrayal of George Lutz, a stepfather being pushed to kill his family by supernatural forces. The quiet terror Reynolds exerts mid-way through the film almost forces you to re-watch “Van Wilder” to remind you that he’s not really the worst father on Earth.

“The Nines” (2007): Reynolds’ plays three characters in this film. Or maybe they’re all the same character -- I’m not exactly sure. The film is cut into three different sections, all of which have Reynolds playing a new character: A paranoid actor, a gay television writer and a married man whose car breaks down in the woods. Each character is completely unique, aside from a connection through the mysterious nines. Whatever actually happens in this Donnie Darko-esque tale, Reynolds’ puts in three thoroughly engaging dramatic turns.

“Buried” (2010): OK, so I know it hasn’t technically been released and that I haven’t technically seen it, but I think that’s nitpicking. It comes out October 8th, so it’s not too far down the road. “Buried” gained tremendously positive word-of-mouth at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and its Rotten Tomatoes score settled at a cool 90%. More than a few reputable critics praise the film’s innovation. But here’s the crazy part: “Buried” stars Ryan Reynolds. That is it. 95 minutes of Ryan Reynolds trapped in a box underground. And you can’t carry a film unless you can act. Period.