The Top 5 Best Zach Galifianakis Movies Ever (VIDEO)

 

We're all pumped for the premiere of the new heist comedy Masterminds on Friday, September 30th. One of the main reasons is because one of our favorite comic actors is in it: Zach Galifianakis. I feel a special affinity towards Zach because I get mistaken for him on a regular basis. I'm like the Latino Zach. The thing about Zach is that he is always good, even if the movie is terrible. He stands out and makes it at least tolerable. He fills the screen, and not just because he's a little chubby. He's got screen presence the likes of which few comedians nowadays have. He's the modern day John Belushi, you can't take your eyes off of him when he's on screen. Much like Belushi's Bluto in Animal House, even if Zach is a minor character he steals the show. Here are five of his best.

 

The Hangover Trilogy

The first Hangover movie is golden. The other two, not so much. This was his breakout performance as the semi-mentally challenged Alan. In a movie with funny dialogue and a great cast, Zach stands out. But I think it's a real testament to his abilities that he was able to carry the lackluster sequels on his back with a little help from Ken Jeong. They were the only parts of those latter two films that was in any way funny. 

 

Dinner For Schmucks

This is an often overlooked movie that is really funny. In it Zach plays Therman, an IRS auditor that has convinced Steve Carrel's character that he has mental powers that can control Carrel's actions. It seems like a tough sell to convince people that he can be a bad guy, but Zach plays a bastard pretty darn well. You want Carrell and Paul Rudd to take him down. 

 

Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance

Like a lot of great comic actors Zach can also do more challenging dramatic roles. Birdman is technically a comedy but one that blends in a lot of drama. In it, he plays Jake the lawyer and friend to Michael Keaton's Riggan Thomson. He's there as a kind of guiding force to try and keep Riggan on track, but fails at doing so leading to the conclusion of the film. In an ensemble cast that's pretty terrific, Zach more than holds his own.

 

It's Kind Of A Funny Story 

Zach's first foray into "serious acting" was in the film It's Kind of a Funny Story. Instead of being mentally ill for laughs, like in the Hangover, he is for real mentally ill when he plays Bobby, a patient in a mental hospital. He befriends Justin Long's character and becomes a sort of mentor figure to the troubled young man. It's a really sweet performance and shows that Zach has a lot of range. He's not just there to be the butt of fart jokes and say inappropriate things. The guy has chops. 

 

The Campaign

As our current election cycle clearly shows, political campaigns today are insane. No recent satire shows that better than The Campaign starring Zach and Will Ferrel. Zach plays the gentle Marty Huggins who is running against the career politician of Ferrel's character. It encapsulates the absurdity of modern politics like few movies I can remember and once again Zach steals the show.