Rachel McAdams will probably spend the rest of her career trying to shed The Notebook, but she’s doing a pretty good job. The film that made her a star also gave her a slight reputation as a serious actress; the kind the gets consigned to rom coms for the rest of their career (Meg Ryan Syndrome). McAdams has bucked hard against that preconception of her, turning in excellent dramatic work in State of Play, True Detective, and her Oscar-nominated turn in Spotlight. She’s a gifted comedienne and extremely likable in films like Game Night and Morning Glory. Those dual gifts are on full display i my favorite film of her’s (Spotlight is better, but you don’t really watch it on a lark): the very underrated About Time. She’s also joined Doctor Strange’s corner of the MCU and Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes franchises in recurring roles.
Rachel McAdams’s 10 Best Movies
1. Spotlight (2015) Sacha Pfiffer
2. About Time (2013) Mary
3. Doctor Strange (2016) Dr. Christine Palmer
4. Sherlock Holmes (2009) Irene Adler
5. Game Night (2018) Annie
6. Wedding Crashers (2005) Claire Cleary
7. State of Play (2009) Delia Frye
8. True Detective Season 2 (2015, HBO) Det. Ani Bezzerides
9. Morning Glory (2010) Becky
10. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) Irene Adler
Honorable Mention: The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009) Clare
Oscars, Golden Globes & Emmys
Oscar Wins (0): None
Oscar Nominations (1): Spotlight (2016)
Golden Globe Wins (0): None
Golden Globe Nominations (0): None
Emmy Wins (0): None
Emmy Nominations (0): None
My Favorite McAdams Scene:
“Removing the Bullet” from Game Night (2018)
Next Film: McAdams is attached to Sherlock Holmes 3 to reprise her role as Irene Adler in 2020. Doctor Strange 2 has not been officially announced, but it’s likely we’d see McAdams reprise her MCU role there too.
She’s not high on my radar, but I did enjoy her performances in Dr DoucheStrange, and Iron Sherlock, 🙂 … so I might have to readjust the settings a little. 🙂
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I never would have thought of doing column on her. She just never registered on my radar. But thinking back on the films you listed (I’ve seen most of them), yeah, she’s pretty swell!
I saw BP again yesterday. Did my part to help move it past a billion dollars. From weird cattle on Naboo to armored rhinoceri, trying to CGI a human rider onto an animal never works, and they need to stop trying. But the rhinoceri were the only part of the film that seemed overblown, and looked fake. Otherwise, I was not wrong the first time, I was not simply blinded by all the surface glitter. BP is nothing like DK, but sits just behind it on my list of all-time superhero movies.
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She’s quietly put together a very solid resume of work.
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