10 Massively Underrated 1990s Movie Performances
5. Paul Rudd As Josh - Clueless
In
the decades since Amy Heckerling’s teen comedy masterpiece Clueless hit our screens,
we’ve seen Paul Rudd master roles ranging from schlubby suburban dad in a string
of Judd Apatow produced comedies to, well, schlubby superhero in the Ant Man
series.
Despite the actor’s omnipresence since the mid 2000’s revived his comedy career with a supporting role in The Forty Year Old Virgin, he wasn’t always the first name to call for a likeable romantic lead. When A Night at the Museum was released, Rudd played the eminently hateable replacement dad to Ben Stiller’s slacker hero, a serious reversal of fortunes from his charismatic turn in Clueless.
It’s not that the guy doesn’t have range—although whoever decided on Rudd for the role of Nick Carroway in the 2000 television movie version of The Great Gatsby was way off. But he opted out of frothy comedy a while after Clueless, and it’s a shame that it took a decade for the actor’s talent in the genre to be recognized.
As
the archetypical aloof, pretentious nineties poseur, Rudd is disarmingly charming
and a funny, believable romantic foil for Alicia Silverstone’s larger-than-life
Cher Horowtiz.