Best known for her role as Laurie Strode from John Carpenter’s Halloween franchise, Jamie Lee Curtis has actually held quite an impressive filmography over the years. Bursting onto the acting scene back in the late 1970s, Curtis has since made her mark as a bona fide movie star. Her wide acting range has spanned from horror legend to suburban housewife and has taken her through slasher flicks, comedies, drama, and action — all the while turning in memorable performances.
Curtis has just wrapped filming on Halloween Ends, effectively marking the end of the horror franchise. Other movies she has coming up are: the multiversal Everything Everywhere All at Once, Eli Roth’s video game adaptation Borderlands, and her directorial debut Mother Nature, which will be adapted from a graphic novel that she is also co-writing. While we anxiously await these upcoming films, let’s revisit Jamie Lee Curtis’ best movies, ranked.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
8 Prom Night
In this 1980s classic, prom night is ruined for four teenagers after a masked man stalks them for the death of a classmate six years prior. As the film aged, its disco soundtrack became the most notable part of the film. The storyline, attempt at disco dancing, and cheesy dialogue mark this film as pretty low on the totem pole as far as slasher films go, but if you look past the typical convictions of slasher movies today, you can see this is a classic in itself. Prom Night was one of the first movies that helped shape slasher films as we know them today. After all, it took Jamie Lee Curtis joining the cast to help green light this screenplay to begin with.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 You Again
When a young woman realizes her brother is about to marry the girl who bullied her in school, she sets out to end the relationship. To spice things up, it’s discovered that another feud is present between the mother of the groom and the bride’s aunt. To shake things up even more, it seems both grandmothers are also enemies.
This quirky comedy does not have the highest rating, yet You Again is still worth watching for a good laugh. A few big named actresses team up to give us a humor-filled, easy-to-watch film. Jamie Lee Curtis, Kristen Bell, Sigourney Weaver, Odette Annabelle, and Betty White play the feuding characters in this light-hearted comedy.
6 Christmas with the Kranks
Via: Chicago Reader
With their daughter away, this typically Christmas-filled couple decides to skip Christmas this year. When their daughter suddenly decides to come home for the holidays, with her new fiancé, the family must scramble to get everything ready in time. Based on the book Skipping Christmas by John Grisham, Christmas with the Kranks has become a must-watch during the Christmas season. The comedic duo of Jamie Lee Curtis and Tim Allen is both entertaining and funny leaving you laughing throughout the whole movie.
5 Freaky Friday
Sourced via Buena Vista Pictures
When a fortune cookie swaps mother and daughter, the two have to find a way to work through their differences and love each other again to switch back. In this body-switching movie, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan have to play each other, which creates many hilarious moments. From riding on the back of a motorcycle with Chad Michael Murray to delivering the iconic “I feel like the crypt’s keeper,” Curtis certainly shines in Freaky Friday.
4 A Fish Called Wanda
In London, four people team up for a jewel heist and then try to double-cross each other. This comedic love story is full of deceit, laughter, and essentially is a “concoction of nonsense.” In A Fish Called Wanda, Jamie Lee Curtis has to seduce a lawyer, played by John Cleese, to find out where the hidden diamonds have gone. Written by Cleese, whom you may know from Monty Python, this film is a classic example of brainy comedy that has stood the test of time.
3 Halloween (2018)
In this 2018 film, we pick up four decades after Michael Myers returned to Haddonfield Illinois, and faced off against Laurie Strode for the first time. This time, it seems as if Michael has his sights set on Strode’s granddaughter. Estranged from her daughter, Strode must find a way to save her family from Michael, who has once again escaped.
If you haven’t picked up on it yet, Jamie Lee Curtis has played some pretty badass characters. Laurie Strode is certainly one of these characters. You would think after 40 years of living in fear, Strode would be a little jumpier. Instead, she has spent her entire adult life preparing to finally kill Michael. In Halloween (2018), Curtis proves she still has what it takes to be a horror legend.
2 Knives Out
T-Street
A detective investigates the unexpected death of a famous mystery writer. He looks to the crazy family and sweet maid to aid him in his investigation. This part comedy part mystery film is similar to a plot out of an Agatha Christie novel as it takes an outside intelligent detective to piece together a seemingly simple case of suicide. However, in this film, everything is not as it seems.
With a star-studded cast, Chris Evan’s famous white sweater, and comedic moments, Knives Out is one of the most well-known movies on this list. In the film, Jamie Lee Curtis plays the daughter of the recently deceased writer. To portray this heartbroken, but strong woman, Curtis does a stellar job of seeming vulnerable while still taking charge of what comes next.
1 Halloween (1978)
Compass International Pictures
15 years after killing his sister on Halloween night, Michael Myers is back to kill again. After escaping from the mental hospital, Michael Myers returns to his hometown Haddonfield, Illinois, and resumes his killing spree from years prior. In perhaps her most iconic and breakout role, Jamie Lee Curtis earned herself the title of horror legend in this original Halloween film. Her character plays a babysitter who unexpectedly becomes the target of the serial killer after leaving a key under the mat at Michael Myer’s old house. From that moment on, Michael Myers’ only goal is to kill her.
John Carpenter’s classic film spanned a franchise that is still running today. With its most recent installment set to come out later this year, the Halloween franchise has made its mark as one of the top slasher film franchises. With this role, Curtis won our hearts and set the tone for generations to come.
