Geena Davis has enjoyed a fascinating career in Hollywood. After making her screen debut in the classic comedy Tootsie in 1982, Davis spent the following three years cutting her teeth on television. She appeared on Knight Rider, Fantasy Island, Family Ties, and other popular series of the 1980s.
In 1985, Davis landed a plum role in Fletch, leading to a decorated movie career that has lasted 35 years. In 1989, Davis won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her work in The Accidental Tourist. In 2020, Davis also received an Academy Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Here are Geena Davis's ten best movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes!
Stuart Little 2 (2002) 81%
As the mousy matriarch, Davis has been a mainstay in the Stuart Little franchise. The highest-rated movie in the series belongs to Stuart Little 2, in which the titular mouse (Michael J. Fox) makes a daring adventure across the world to help out a friend.
After befriending and inviting a canary to live with him, Stuart's friend Margalo (Melanie Griffith) suddenly vanishes. Under the nose of his doting mother (Davis), Stuart hatches a plan to rescue Margalo with the help of his old enemy Snowbell (Nathan Lane).
Quick Change (1990) 82%
Davis co-stars alongside Bill Murray and Randy Quaid in a comedic heist movie in which the bustling city of New York proves to be the obstacle for a trio of bank robbers.
Grim (Murray) enters an NYC bank dressed as a clown and proceeds to successfully rob the vault. His two partners Loomis (Quaid) and Phyllis (Davis) pose as hostages inside the bank. When the trio successfully escapes without a hint of suspicion, their biggest problem is getting out of town in a timely matter.
Beetlejuice (1988) 84%
Davis appeared in three movies released in 1988. One earned her an Oscar statuette (The Accidental Tourist), and one has become one of the all-time beloved cult-comedies. Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!
Directed by Tim Burton, Davis costars with Alec Baldwin as the Maitlands, a happy couple who suddenly dies after crashing off of a bridge near their home. When the trendy new cosmopolitan residence arrives and redecorates their house, the Maitlands enlist the help of Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), bio-exorcist extraordinaire.
Thelma & Louise (1991) 84%
Under the direction of Sir Ridley Scott, Davis and costar Susan Sarandon turn the buddy road-movie on its ear in the action-packed Thelma & Louise.
When bored housewife Thelma (Davis) and her waitress friend Louise (Sarandon) decide to spice up their stale lives for a cross-country adventure, they become implicated in a major crime. With the law on their tail and their significant others worried sick, Thelma and Louise stay true to their heart at every step.
This Changes Everything (2018) 87%
Davis not only appears in but also executive produces the documentary This Changes Everything, an unflinching look at gender disparity and the structural pay gap in Hollywood.
Directed by Tim Donahue, Davis is joined by Meryl Streep, Reese Witherspoon, Shonda Rhimes, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jessica Chastain, and several more powerful female entertainers voicing the need for widespread systemic change in the film and TV industry.
Tootsie (1982) 90%
Davis made her screen debut in Tootsie, the comedic smash that turned a $21 million budget into a $177 million moneymaker.
Directed by and starring Sydney Pollak, Tootsie concerns Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman), an out of work actor who conjures the idea to audition for a soap opera as a woman. When he lands the part, Michael must maintain his gender-bending makeover and remain in character as the elderly Dorothy Michaels for the duration. Davis plays April, one of the soap's chipper crewmembers.
Marjorie Prime (2017) 90%
Based on the Jordan Harrison play, director Michael Almereyda assembled an international cast for the adaptation of Marjorie Prime. Davis joins Tim Robbins, Jon Hamm, Stephanie Andujar, Azumi Tsutsui, and more.
Plot-wise, the futuristic film follows 86-year-old Marjorie (Lois Smith), who is given a radically new opportunity to interface with a young version of her deceased husband. A technology company that projects holographic images of the deceased presents Marjorie with the choice to do, but her daughter Tess (Davis) is reluctant to agree.
When Marnie Was There (2014) 91%
Davis lent her voice for a role in the English-language version of When Marnie Was There, the Japanese movie that was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year. Unfortunately, the film was bested by Pixar's Inside Out.
When Anna (Hailee Steinfeld) is sent to live with her relatives in rural Japan due to her debilitating asthma, the 12-year-old girl is reluctant to do so. Upon arrival however, Anna is befriended by Marnie (Kiernan Shipka), an ethereal spirit of unknown origin. As their friendship grows, Marnie's mysterious nature is revealed in ways that change Anna forever.
The Fly (1986) 92%
The Fly marked just the fourth feature film of Davis's young career at the time and has since become one of the most beloved cult horror movies of the past quarter-century.
Directed by David Cronenberg, Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) is a highly ambitious scientist working on a device that can transport matter. When the experiment goes awry and accidentally splices the genes of a human being with that of a common housefly, a monstrous mutation results. Davis plays Veronica Quaife, a journalist covering Brundle's work too close for comfort.
CinemAbility (2012) 100%
Although it was produced in 2012, CinemAbility wasn't released until 2018. The documentary tagged as "the art of inclusion" examines the ever-changing climate in Hollywood over the depiction of the disabled.
Directed by Jenni Gold, Davis joins Ben Affleck, Jamie Foxx, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy and many more to speak about the portrayal of the handi-capable onscreen over the generations. Questions are raised regarding the media's complicity in shaping public views of the disabled. The movie also advocates for greater inclusion of actors and performers with disabilities.