Jenny Slate is a talented actress and comedian who began her acting career in 2005. Over the past two decades, Slate has amassed an impressive resume boasting some of the most acclaimed movies and popular TV shows, including the most recent Best Picture winner, Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Now that Slate has completed Season 3 of the beloved animated series The Great North, it's time to single out her best movies in the eyes of critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Whether playing comedy, drama, romance, or voicing animated characters, Slate continues to shine on the big screen in both starring and supporting roles.
10 Landline (2017) - 74%
Slate takes top billing in Landline, an independent dramedy set in 1995 New York. The story follows the three children in the Jacobs family who discover and grapple with their parent's infidelity. Slate plays the eldest sibling Dana, whose marital engagement to a man named Ben is put in jeopardy when she runs into her ex-boyfriend Nate. Meanwhile, Dana helps her younger sister discover the identity of their father's mistress.
Despite boasting a familiar premise, critics felt Landline admirably sidestepped trampled family movie clichés and excelled thanks to its superb cast and stellar direction by Gillian Robespierre. The movie also received plaudits for its charming crop of characters, fast-paced tempo, and nostalgic glimpse of a bygone era before the internet and cell phones took the world by storm.
9 Joshy (2016) - 81%
Written and directed by Jeff Baena, Joshy is a dark romantic comedy that concerns the title character, a man reeling over the death of his fiancée. When Joshy's friends try to cheer him up by taking him on a road trip to Ojai, California, a series of debauched misadventures ensue. Slate plays Jodi, a girl one of Joshy's friends meets at a bar and invites over to hang out.
Although Joshy is a small and somewhat slight character study that never offers a tidy resolution for its central character, critics lauded its deft tonal balance of comedy and drama. Likened to an independent version of The Hangover for its depiction of a counterproductive bromance, Joshy overcomes its limited budget with an amusing, lighthearted air of escapism.
8 My Blind Brother (2016) - 81%
Written and directed by Sophie Goodhart, My Blind Brother is a character-driven comedy focusing on the intense sibling rivalry between Bill and his sightless brother Robbie. While the two compete in a charity swimming event, they're really vying for the affection of Rose, played with unforgettable hilarity by Slate.
Thanks to the comedic chemistry between Slate and the two siblings played by Nick Kroll and Adam Scott, the movie turns a somewhat dark premise into a big-hearted winning affair. The characters may start out as unlikeable and seemingly unredeemable due to their crass political incorrectness. Still, thanks to the compelling cast and unpredictable third-act story twists, the movie ends up being far more endearing than some might expect at first.
7 I Want You Back (2022) - 86%
I Want You Back is a delightful romantic comedy that relies on the charms of Slate and her co-star Charlie Day. The two comedic stars play Emma and Peter in the acclaimed Amazon Prime original movie, two recently dumped singles who decide to help each other win their exes back by breaking up their new relationships. Beyond the palpable rapport between Slate and Day, the tender and touching ending is sweet enough to induce tears.
Praised for being honest, relatable, and genuinely funny without being schmaltzy, I Want You Back excels most thanks to Slate and Day's three-dimensional performances. A memorable standout in the film comes when Slate performs a duet of "Suddenly Seymour" from Little Shop of Horrors, proving what a terrific singer she is on top of being such a believable actor. Perhaps most telling, the movie avoids sappy rom-com platitudes to say something profound about modern romance.
6 On the Rocks (2020) - 87%
Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, On the Rocks concerns Laura (Rashida Jones), a married Manhattanite with two daughters. When Laura suspects her husband Dean of being unfaithful, she turns to her womanizing father Felix (Bill Murray) to help her uncover the truth. Slate plays Vanessa, a supporting character from Felix's past.
While Slate and the supporting cast stand out, On the Rocks drew most of its critical acclaim for taking a serious subject and handling it with a light, deft touch. Moreover, Murray was praised for his subtle, nuanced performance as an aging lothario who, despite his playboy nature, cares much more about his daughter's happiness than he lets on. Coppola and Murray are a filmmaking match made in heaven and On the Rocks is further proof of their fertile collaboration.
5 Obvious Child (2014) - 90%
Slate earned her big breakout movie role in the 2014 romantic dramedy Obvious Child. Slate plays Donna Stern, a budding stand-up comedian in her 20s whose unplanned pregnancy completely upends her personal and professional endeavors. In a tour-de-force turn, Slate dominates the screen in a fully rounded, lived-in performance for the ages.
Raunchy, edgy, and unflinchingly honest, it's easy to see why the beloved 2010s romantic comedy put Slate on the road to big-screen success. She appears in practically every scene in the film and carries the dramatic weight on her shoulders while delivering sidesplitting laughs on stage and in her personal life. The authorial voice of the writer/director Gillian Robespierre also deserves a lot of credit for making a profound statement on women's choice, a thematic motif in the movie.
4 The LEGO Batman Movie (2017) - 90%
In addition to live-action, Slate is a supremely talented voice actor. Look no further than The LEGO Batman Movie, in which Slate adds unforgettable humor as Harley Quinn, the devilish DC villain known for terrorizing Gotham City along with her boyfriend The Joker. While the story focuses on Batman taking on classic enemies, the real conflict comes when Batman inadvertently adopts Robin and turns the orphan into his superhero sidekick.
Beyond the eye-popping animation, the movie drew the most praise from critics for its irreverent sense of humor and zany one-liners that completely subvert the characters' origins. The verbal jokes and visual gags are hurled at the audience a mile a minute, which leads to a relentless onslaught of laughter for the whole family to enjoy. The movie was also lauded for becoming deeper and more heartfelt as it progresses, adding more than just a parade of silly jokes.
3 Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) - 94%
Written and Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All At Once is an unforgettable and unique movie-going experience that deserved to win Best Picture at the 95th Academy Awards. The plot follows Evelyn Wang, a middle-aged laundromat owner who enters the multiverse to help and understand her troubled daughter Joy. Slate plays Debbie the Dog Mom, a patron at Evelyn's laundromat.
A landmark movie that defies description and must be seen to be believed, it's hard to find a single bad word about Everything Everywhere All at Once on Rotten Tomatoes. The story is original, the characters are real and relatable, and the dazzling whirlwind of surreal imagery is downright unshakable. Most of all, the heartfelt conclusion of Evelyn and Joy's storyline comes together in a powerful way thanks to Michelle Yeoh's Oscar-winning performance in the movie.
2 Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021) - 98%
Slate co-wrote and voiced the title role in Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, the acclaimed animated feature directed by Dean Fleischer Camp. The plot involves a desperate filmmaker with limited resources who decides to make a documentary about Marcel, a mollusk who lives in the Airbnb he and his friends are staying at.
What makes Slate's involvement special is how she originated the role in two prior short films of the same name, once in 2010 and once in 2014. Finally getting a chance to portray Marcel in a feature film, Slate took the opportunity and struck heartfelt comedic gold in a movie that earned an Oscar nod for Best Animated Feature of the Year.
Profoundly moving and with literally twice the heart as most animated features (mollusks often have two hearts), Slate deserves the utmost credit for bringing Marcel to the big screen.
1 Zootopia (2016) - 98%
Zootopia is a bright, colorful, and undeniably enchanting Disney movie. The story is set in a city inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, where a young bunny named Judy Hopps gets an eye-opening lesson from the street-wise con artist Nick Wilde. Slate voices Dawn Bellwether, a devious sheep who works as the assistant mayor of Zootopia.
Aside from the pleasant cast, dazzling animated artwork, and uplifting soundtrack, the movie received near-universal praise for its inclusive messaging for children. The movie expresses valuable lessons without being preachy and encourages youngsters to be themselves regardless of the consequences.
The jokes work for adults and children alike, making the movie highly enjoyable for the whole family. As such, it's no surprise the movie was named winner of the Best Animated Feature Film of the Year at the 89th Academy Awards.