Ryan Reynolds. The Canadian actor who has taken the box office by storm as of late. Superhero, slapstick and serious, Ryan Reynolds' roles have ranged greatly. With the recent release of Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, we're taking note of some of Ryan's other roles that we should consider Reynolds classics. Remember Green Lantern? We don't want to, either, but there are other roles he's had in movies like The Proposal and Deadpool that we definitely want to remember.
Reynolds has never failed to deliver on talent, charm, wit, and action. It's no mystery why he's one of our favorites, or why we're flooding theaters to see Pokemon: Detective Pikachu. Here are some more of his very best roles!
R.I.P.D.
Policing in the afterlife. Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges as partners. Kevin Bacon as the villain. Strange and gross criminals known as "deados", souls who escape the afterlife to return to Earth. What more could you ask for?
When Nick Walker (Reynolds) is killed, he is recruited for the R.I.P.D. and finds himself partnered with thecantankerous Roy (Bridges), tasked to track down "deados" and return them to the afterlife. Nick and Roy soon find themselves clashing, but also bond and save the world together while Nick learns to let go of his old life. While this movie may not be a Reynolds favorite, it's certainly easy to follow and laugh at, especially when you see their real-world appearances (created so as not to let any living person know an afterlife exists) as a beautiful blonde woman and an old Chinese guy.
The Change-Up
A Bizarro World version of Freaky Friday, The Change-Up features Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman as polar-opposite friends that switch places and bodies. Young, carefree and single Mitch (Reynolds) is suddenly saddled with Dave's (Bateman) busy life as a lawyer with a wife and three kids and vice versa.
The two pretend to live one another's lives until they can change back. Deeply inappropriate jokes and hilarious situations arise, but the two also learn more about each other and their friendship, resulting in a more sincere mutual respect.
The Croods
In this animated feature, Reynolds voices Guy, a smart and inventive boy who captures the interest of the Croods' eldest daughter, Eep. Guy's survival methods and new way of thinking are different from anything the Croods have previously encountered, and while Eep and the rest of the family take to Guy, the family patriarch, Grug, does not.
Guy's also got a pet sloth named Belt that hilariously helps Guy keep his pants up. Naturally, then, he's the perfect animated character for Reynolds to voice.
Just Friends
In 1995, Chris Brander (Reynolds), an overweight but kind soul with braces harbors a huge crush on his best friend, Jamie (Amy Smart). On their graduation night from high school, Chris attempts to tell Jamie his true feelings for her but is humiliated by his classmates instead. Horrified, Chris leaves and vows never to return. Ten years later, 'never' comes too soon.
Chris, who has lost weight and is now a successful record producer in LA, is on a plane to Paris with crazed pop singer Samantha (Anna Faris), until Samantha sets the plane on fire and Chris finds himself back in his hometown. Chris juggles his overbearing mother, annoying younger brother, Samantha's obsession with him, and attempts to break out of the "friend zone" as he reconnects with Jamie during the holidays in this 2005 comedy.
National Lampoon's Van Wilder
Van Wilder (Reynolds) has been in college for a while, longer than usual; he's popular among his peers and he's happy with life as it is. That is, until he has to graduate for real when his father cuts him off financially. Van then creatively comes up with ways to pay for his remaining tuition (like throwing a party for Lambda Omega Omega to boost their popularity).
The misadventures of college life follow Van as he finally gets himself ready for graduation, in hilarious and ridiculous fashion. Who wouldn't love a ride in his customized golf cart?
Woman in Gold
For one of Reynolds' more serious roles, try 2015's Woman in Gold, which is based on the true story of Maria Altmann. Reynolds played Maria's lawyer, E. Randol Schoenberg, who assists in Maria's legal fight to obtain paintings once owned by her family in Austria, which were stolen by Nazis prior to World War II.
Reynolds' character is a lawyer with little experience but with plenty of drive, and he delivers a moving and memorable performance. This film is perhaps underrated on Reynolds' resume, but its significance hasn't waned, both in film and in history. For historians, cinephiles and Ryan Reynolds fans alike, this film is one for the books.
Deadpool
While we were introduced to Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it was only briefly. Deadpool offered us a deeper insight into Wade Wilson, and Ryan Reynolds certainly added comedic charm to Wade's persona. Wilson discovers he has cancer and leaves his life behind, including his love, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). When Wilson is approached with an experimental cure for cancer, he undergoes many methods of torture that wind up awakening dormant mutant genes and giving him superpowers, but leave Wilson with a disfigured look.
Enraged, Wilson goes on a bit of a killing spree until he finds the man responsible. Wilson is in no way the generic definition of "superhero" but we're still entertained by the action and his wit. Plus, there's now a sequel. Deadpool marathon, anyone?
Definitely, Maybe
Definitely, Maybe is a heart-warming comedy/drama that cast Reynolds as William Hayes, a man trying to talk his young daughter (the 10-year-old Maya) through his upcoming divorce. To explain it to her, he tells the story of how he met her mother, but makes it a bit of a mystery tale interspersed with the other relationships from his younger days.
In flashbacks, we see Will's life play out, from his days as a bright-eyed young man new to New York City hoping to make an impact in the political world. With help from the precocious Maya, Will finds that his past just may be the key to his future.
The Hitman's Bodyguard
The Hitman's Bodyguard finds Reynolds as a disgraced and down-on-his-luck former private bodyguard, who now makes a living protecting scummy executives (following a client's assassination on his watch two years before). Michael, Reynolds' character, is eager to prove himself, and jumps back into the business when his ex-girlfriend reaches out to him for help to protect a notorious hitman, Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson) following an ambush.
Soon, Michael and Kincaid are hilariously left to their own devices to keep Kincaid alive long enough to testify, while bonding along the way. Good news: this hit movie's getting a sequel!
The Proposal
Reynolds plays Andrew Paxton, assistant to book editor Margaret (Sandra Bullock) in New York. When Margaret is faced with deportation to Canada, she cruelly blackmails Andrew to get him to marry her to avoid deportation. Embarking on their fraudulent engagement and trailed by a suspicious immigration agent to Andrew's hometown in Alaska, the two encounter a series of unfortunate events that shows one another their true selves.
In the process, they find that, while initially believing the other to be their polar opposite, they may have more in common than they thought. The film also features the lovable Betty White as Andrew's grandmother and Craig T. Nelson and Mary Steenburgen as his parents.