Amy Sedaris is an American comedian, actress, voice-over artist, and writer who has been around in Hollywood for almost 3 decades now. Her talent has brought to life very many computer-animated characters both in television shows and in movies. Some of Amy Sedaris’ animated movies include Jill in Puss and Boots, Cinderella in Shrek The Third, Foxy Loxy in Chicken Little, and various characters on her own show “At Home With Amy Sedaris”, just to mention a few.
She was born in Endicott, New York in the United States of America on March 29, 1961, to the family of Lious and Sharon Sedaris who both have 5 other kids. Amy was a prankster as a kid and teenager, and as a result, got in trouble more often than not. She was a prankster at work too and had been fired from one or two jobs due to her mischievousness. Blessed with a natural flair for the creative, it was easy for her to assume the role of different characters to play pranks on others, and this would help her later on in her acting and comedic careers. Since Amy began her career in 1991 she has appeared in almost 40 movie roles and featured in about 48 television shows till date.
She has, however, been more successful in TV where she has had many lead roles compared to movies where she only books small parts. However, her contribution in small roles has seen to the success of many movies. Here are some of the best Amy Sedaris movies ranked from best to worst. It is also worth noting that Sedaris has worked with many A-list stars in Hollywood since she began her career.
Amy Sedaris Movies: 10 of Her Greatest Films Ranked From Best to Worse
1. School of Rock (2003)
This is one of the best Amy Sedaris movies ever. She featured as Mrs. Haynish in this music-themed comedy, where Dewey Finn (Jack Black) – a guitarist thrown out of his band, gets employed in a school where he turns his students into the new members of his band. The cast of the movie includes Joan Cusack, Caitlin Hale, and many others. Movie critic aggregator website, Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a 91% rating. The lead character in this movie – Jack Black, won an award for the Best Comedic Performance at the MTV Movie Award. The movie had a production budget of $35 million and raked in almost $132 million at the Box Office.
2. Chef (2014)
This movie is about the life and journey of a chef (Jon Favreau) who quit his job at a very reputable restaurant due to the demands of his overbearing boss. He decides to launch out on his own and start his own business; he buys a food truck and begins a journey of food and family. The movie was written and directed by Jon Favreau, and he was also one of its producers.
Sedaris stars as Jen in this movie, which features an ensemble cast including Sofia Vergara, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr, etc. The movie has an 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $46 million at the Box Office from a budget of $11 million. 5 years after the release of the movie, its director decided to produce a spin-off documentary which is on Netflix.
3. Elf (2003)
This is the only film among Amy Sedaris’ movies that is Christmas-themed on this list. The movie chronicles the life of Buddy the Elf (Will Ferrel) – a human who was raised as an elf by Santa Claus’ elves. When he finds out that he wasn’t born an elf, and that he is, in fact, human, he sets out on a journey to find his biological father, and as is customary with Santa, he decides to spread the joy and cheer of the yuletide season as well.
Amy Sedaris acted as Deb while other casts of the comedy include Peter Dinklage, Jon Favreau, James Caan, and so many others. Rotten Tomatoes gave this movie an 83% rating, with very good reviews from critics. The movie grossed $221 million at the Box Office, with a budget of $33 million. It won the ASCAP Award for Top Box Office Film in 2004 and had 9 other nominations.
4. Jump Tomorrow (2001)
The movie is a romantic comedy which is based on another short film called Jorge. The movie was written and directed by Joel Hopkins and it chronicles the journey of a shy young Nigerian man- George (played by Tunde Adebimpe) who falls in love with another woman who is Spanish on the verge of his marriage to a fellow Nigerian – Sophie Ochenado. While nothing much has been said by critics in terms of actual responses and comments on the movie, its Rotten Tomatoes 81% score seems to speak for itself.
5. I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With (2006)
This romantic comedy written and directed by Jeff Garlin is about a struggling actor, James (Jeff Garlin) who has been unlucky finding love, setting out to find true love. The movie received mixed reactions and reception from critics and audiences, with some applauding it while others did not; it received a rating of 73% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. It was a huge success at the Box Office where it raked in about $ 195 million, having been made with a budget of a mere $1.5 million.
6. Snow Angels (2007)
This Amy Sedaris movie focuses on a few characters struggling with love and their affection for others and explores how they pursue their love. Snow Angels has May star as Ms Clark. It was made with a budget of $1.5 million and raked in a whopping $ 403 million at the Box Office. It had more positive than negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes than negative reviews, with a rating of 68%.
7. Ping Pong Summer (2014)
The movie explores the life of a young boy who goes on a vacation with his family and is obsessed with 2 things – playing ping pong and music. Amy Sedaris in her movie career has starred in some low-budget productions and this is just one of them. She played the role of Aunt Peggy, in the film which had a production budget of $1.5 million, and made a total of $53 million at the Box Office. It had mixed reactions from movie critics and reviewers, with an equal mix of likes and dislikes, with some critics calling it a movie of two halves – one that is fun and interesting, and the other being lackluster and average; it got a 59% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
8. Romance and Cigarettes (2005)
This romantic musical comedy movie has Amy Sedaris starring Frances. The plot is centered on a New Yorker, Nick (James Gandolfini) torn between his love for his wife, Kitty (Susan Sarandon), and his girlfriend, Tula (Kate Winslet). The movie received a nomination at the 2005 Venice Film Festival for a Golden Lion. It didn’t make much impact at the box office as it only raked in $3 million, with an undisclosed budget. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a 54% rating with mixed reviews, and the audience reviewers described the movie as “not bad, but not great either”.
9. Immigrants With Candy (2005)
This movie can be described as a true Amy Sedaris movie, as she not only starred as the main character in it but was also one of the writers of the film. This is the only movie in this list, where Amy Sedaris features in a lead role as most of her most successful outings have been ones where she had supporting roles. Immigrants With Candy made a little over $2 million against an undisclosed budget. The movie received a sizable amount of criticism from critics and reviewers, while some other critics actually loved the humor in the movie; Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 52% rating.
10. The Lion King (2019)
This is a movie that anyone born in the 1990s would easily relate to. The original cartoon version was released in 1994, and Walt Disney decided in 2016 to create what it calls a photorealistic computer-animated remake of the classic original. It tells the story of the king of Pride Rock, Mufasa, who is grooming his young cub, Simba to take over from him when it’s time to join his ancestors; Mufasa’s brother, Scar has other plans though, and when he manages to get rid of Mufasa with the help of his hyena friends, he takes over the kingdom and banished Simba from Pride Rock. Simba returns to confront Scar when he had grown into adulthood, to take over the kingdom that is rightfully his.
The movie received a lot of negative reviews from critics, with many saying that the original version was much better and that the newer version didn’t really live up to the hype; it has a 52% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It scored big at the Box Office however having raked in a whopping $1.5 billion, from a budget of $260 million. Some of the cast was ensemble included James Earl Jones, Beyonce, Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Amy Sedaris lent her voice to the character of the guinea fowls in the movie.
