Every Judd Apatow Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best

http://www.vulture.com/2015/07/every-apatow-movie-ranked-from-worst-to-best.html

The Judd Apatow Cinematic Universe is more than the work of just one man. And yet, whether Apatow writes, produces, or directs a film, his bighearted sensibility permeates the final product: that giddy, mockingly irreverent attitude toward romance and family that, nonetheless, has a deeply sentimental core.

It’s been more than a decade since Apatow moved from TV (he was a writer/producer for the likes of The Larry Sanders Show, The Ben Stiller Show, and Freaks & Geeks) to become one of Hollywood’s most bankable, distinctive comic filmmakers with The 40-Year-Old Virgin. But even before that, his affectionate, bro-friendly aesthetic — which had been honed from years of stand-up and writing jokes for comics such as Roseanne — could be felt in projects he wrote and produced, like The Cable Guy and Celtic Pride. But after Virgin, Apatow films were everywhere. Teaming with stars like Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell, he established a reputation for making smart variations of the typical mainstream broad comedy that celebrated overgrown adolescents but secretly hoped they’d one day find a good girl and settle down. Over time, Apatow’s approach has matured and grown more sophisticated, but that core pleasure remains.

To celebrate Apatow's growing oeuvre, we’re ranking the best of his movies. But first, some ground rules. Because we’ve already chronicled the highs and lows of Ferrell’s career, we’re leaving off the movies they made together: Anchorman, Anchorman 2, Step Brothers, Talladega Nights, and Kicking & Screaming. And we’re also skipping Begin Again, the Keira Knightley/Mark Ruffalo musical drama that Apatow produced — because, frankly, it’s so thematically and tonally removed from the Judd Apatow Cinematic Universe we’re not entirely convinced IMDb isn’t actually screwing with us.