Every Seth Rogen Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best
An American Pickle is out now. But is it among Seth Rogen's best?
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I haven't met Seth Rogen. You probably haven't met Seth Rogen, either. Yet there's something about the 38-year-old comedy star's presence that always feels comforting and familiar—at this point, 21 years into his film career, seeing him in a new movie feels like catching up with an old friend.
Rogen's movies reached an apex in the mid-2000s, when the likes of Knocked Up, Superbad, and Pineapple Express hit theaters, and he hasn't left the zeitgeist since. His movies continued the success into the 2010s with Neighbors and This Is The End, and last year's Long Shot was one of the most enjoyable delightful comedies of the year. Rogen's humor is always somewhere between raunchy and self-deprecating, but he's also shown that he can handle the occasional serious role as well.
This week, Rogen is back with a new release, the HBO Max exclusive An American Pickle. In An American Pickle, Rogen plays a dual leading role, something he hasn't done before (though he did play multiple supporting characters in 2008's Fanboys). The story follows Herschel Greenbaum, a 1920s factory worker and Ashkenazi Jew who gets trapped in a crate of pickle brine and somehow preserved for 100 years; he's eventually thawed out, still alive, and meets Ben Greenbaum, his great-grandson and a modern-day app developer living in Brooklyn. Rogen plays both men in a story that feels small and self-contained, a perfect watch for a year when we're all forced to feel pretty self-contained ourselves.
The movie also does a good job of portraying the performer that Rogen has become over the years. He's not limited to just comedy, and the film puts that on full display, dealing with larger themes of family, grief, and religion in between laughs, jokes, and social satire.
Rogen has felt like a friend for the majority of his 21-year career, so it figures to be a good time to look at his body of work overall and see what lands where. The metrics for this are important to understand. We tried our best to limit this to something that we could reasonably consider a "Seth Rogen Movie."
That means excluding supporting voice work roles like Monsters vs. Aliens and the Kung Fu Panda series, and small roles like Donnie Darko, Anchorman, and 22 Jump Street. It also means leaving out early-career roles in TV shows Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, both of which connected Rogen with Judd Apatow, who played a big part in shaping Rogen into the superstar actor and creator he is today.
So without further ado, the complete ranking of Seth Rogen movies:
Zeroville (2019)
So, this one's not great. This movie is based on a postmodern novel of the same name that many deemed "unfilmable," and, well, it seems like those many were probably right. Directed by and starring James Franco, Zeroville had a crazy stacked cast that also included Rogen, Megan Fox, Danny McBride, Will Ferrell, Bryan Cranston, and Craig Robinson. But the 23% Rotten Tomatoes score might be even a little generous for a movie that Indiewire called "A compelling reminder to spend more time reading."
The Guilt Trip (2012)
Here's the great thing about Seth Rogen movies. Even the ones we have ranked all the way down here aren't necessarily bad, just...not as good as some others. The Guilt Trip is a wholesome road trip movie where Rogen, an inventor, goes on a cross-country trip with his mom, played by Barbra Streisand. It is fine! There is nothing wrong with this movie. Now, not going to go as far as calling it good, but if you ever find it 37 minutes in, airing on TBS, you don't have to change the channel.
The Green Hornet (2011)
The Green Hornet gets an unfairly bad rap. Rogen gave being a superhero a shot in 2011, and in the end said the experience making it was "a fucking nightmare." So that's not great. But the movie is fun! Rogen as The Green Hornet and Jay Chau, taking over Bruce Lee's role as Kato, are a fun duo and have a great scene where they jam out to Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" in the car. You also can't go wrong with Christoph Waltz as a villain, though he does kinda feel like he's phoning it in a little bit in this one. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director Michel Gondry directed this one, which is kind of a strange choice for a superhero movie, but, you know, it is what it is.
Like Father (2018)
Like Father flew under the radar a bit, but it was actually one of Netflix's most watched movies around the world when it was first released in 2018. Don't expect this to be the typical Rogen-centered fare: the plot mainly focuses on a woman (Kristen Bell) reconnecting with her father (Kelsey Grammer) after being left at the alter by her fiancé (Rogen). Bonus for the Rogen fans? This movie was directed by another Rogen, Seth's wife, Lauren Miller Rogen.
The Lion King (2019)
The "live action" Lion King isn't entirely live action, and it has its faults. But the absolute best part of the movie is Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner as Timon and Pumbaa. Just pure energy and charisma in a movie that really needed it. They pulled it off.
Paul (2011)
You won't see Seth Rogen himself for a single from of 2011's Paul, despite the fact that the movie is live-action. That's because he voices Paul, the movie's titular alien who links up with a pair of geeks played by Shaun of The Dead/Hot Fuzz/The World's End duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Jason Bateman plays an agent chasing them down, so there's something here for Ozark and Arrested Development fans, too.
Take This Waltz (2011)
Of all the movies on the list, this might be the one most different from any other. Rogen has done drama before, but never did he go as close to somber as he did in Take This Waltz, a movie about a woman (Michelle Williams) who begins to think that her husband (Seth Rogen) is not the one for her, and that she would prefer to be with the man living across the street. Rogen is fully exposed here, in a role the depicts pure, gut-wrenching heartbreak.
Neighbors 2 (2016)
Neighbors 2 is not as good as Neighbors, but it's still a good time. Honestly, it's kind of hard to drop Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, Ike Barinholtz, and the rest of the gang into any of these situations and have the movie not be funny. This sequel finds the Efron/Rogen duo going up against a devilish sorority led by Chloë Grace Moretz.
The Interview (2014)
Remember when The Interview almost started an international conflict? Same. Good times! This Seth Rogen/James Franco collab is not the first on this list, and it won't be the last. The Interview certainly has its moments (and has other moments that have been canonized in meme form), and it's definitely worth a watch (the bits centered around Katy Perry's "Fireworks" are gold). But is it potentially worth World War III? Hard to say on that one.
Sausage Party (2016)
OK, so. Say whatever you will about Sausage Party, but it leaves nothing on the floor. This movie fully goes for it at every level. Not only is this feature length adult animation comedy (perhaps the biggest of its kind since South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut) funny, it's got basically the entire gang. Rogen and Jonah Hill as hot dogs? Check. Kristen Wiig as a hot dog bun? Check. Edward Norton as a bagel named Sammy Bagel Jr.? Sure. Michael Cera, Craig Robinson, Bill Hader, Danny McBride, they're all here. And the ending is absolute mayhem. Absolute mayhem.
Steve Jobs (2015)
Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs is one of the most unique biopics of the last decade, telling the story of its titular Apple founder (Michael Fassbender) not with a typical 'life story' structure, but in three distinct scenes from moments in his life. Rogen does some of his finest dramatic work here as Steve Wozniak, Jobs' way more level-headed and technologically-minded co-founder.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
Rogen teamed up director Kevin Smith and co-lead Elizabeth for Zack and Miri Make a Porno, a very funny movie that's...exactly what the title says it is. Obviously, this movie is super crude and raunchy—but for the most part, it really works. Also includes very funny Craig Robinson and Jason Mewes (Jay of Jay and Silent Bob fame) for good measure.
The Disaster Artist (2017)
Rogen plays a supporting role in The Disaster Artist, as one of the voices of reason on the crew of The Room, trying to rein in star/writer/director/crazy person Tommy Wiseau's absolute mania. This movie is really good and right up there with Ed Wood and the various versions of The Producers for best movies about bad movies.
An American Pickle (2020)
The newest addition to the list, An American Pickle is a testament to Rogen's ability to carry a movie if nothing else. Playing both Herschel Greenbaum (a 1920s Ashkenazi Jew who was kept alive for nearly 100 years after being trapped in a crate of pickle brine) and Ben Greenbaum (a modern-day computer programmer), Rogen quite literally carries the whole movie—there aren't many other characters, period.
The movie is a lot smaller and more subdued than a lot of others on this list, and in dealing with themes of grief, death, religion, and family, while also folding in some social satire, is one of the most mature of Rogen's career.
50/50 (2011)
Rogen's first movie paired with star Joseph Gordon-Levitt and director Jonathan Levine is a touching story of friendship and family that's centered on a guy (Gordon-Levitt) who gets sick with cancer and only has a 50% chance to survive (that's the title! get it?). Rogen plays his loyal best pal who's with him every step of the way, and quite frankly we should all strive for this sort of friendship. It's a delightful movie.
Long Shot (2019)
Long Shot, which features Rogen as a Brooklyn journalist who finds himself in a flirtation with Charlize Theron, playing an old childhood acquaintance who's now in position to potentially become the President of the United States, doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel. It's a romantic comedy—and it's done damn well. The Molly scene is legendary. Bonus points for Bob Odenkirk playing a TV star-turned-asshole-POTUS in a way that makes you laugh and not cry.
Observe & Report (2009)
Observe & Report was overlooked upon initial release because it came out right around the same time as the significantly-dumber and also signifcantly-worse Paul Blart: Mall Cop, which of course went on to become a giant box office smash. Anyway. Observe & Report—directed by Jody Hill, Danny McBride's partner on Eastbound and Down, Vice Principals, and The Righteous Gemstones— has got a little bit of Taxi Driver in it, putting Rogen as a mentally unwell mall security guard. The absolutely bonkers plot here involves a parking lot flasher and Rogen's character having a basically baseless crush on a make-up counter sales woman played by Anna Faris. This movie gets dark, and is one of the best acting jobs of Rogen's entire career.
Funny People (2009)
Funny People combines a few different qualities of Rogen's best movies and pulls it all in one. Here, he plays Ira, an upcoming comedian who meets and gets a job working for major star George (Adam Sandler, playing a pretty clear spoof of himself). Only George has recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness that he may or may not beat. This has got a lot of that signature Apatow humor—because Judd Apatow directed it—but also plenty of heartfelt moments, and is just a general good movie built on the relationship between these two guys. Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, Leslie Mann, Aubrey Plaza, and the RZA play very funny supporting roles in this underrated gem.
Neighbors (2014)
Neighbors is the movie that represented a major turning point for Zac Efron, but its the pairing of Efron and Rogen that really works to make the movie one of the best comedies of the 2010s. This story of new parents (Rogen, Rose Byrne) who move in next door to a fraternity house (with Efron, Dave Franco, Jarrod Carmichael, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse among the members) is a joy throughout, with great music and both smart and slapstick humor.
The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
Rogen's first really big movie role was as Steve Carell's younger and lewder co-worker, Cal, at his Best Buy-esque job. It's crazy to think that Rogen was only about 22 when he filmed The 40 Year Old Virgin, but it clearly was worth it, because: a) it further established his relationship with Judd Apatow, b) it showed that his humor from Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared could really translate to the big screen and c) it's just damn funny. Apatow also told Kelly Clarkson that the scene where Carell famously screams her name while getting his chest waxed was an idea that Rogen etched onto their on-set notes. Some bonus points there.
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