Drew Barrymore is a vamp, a sweetheart, an intellect, and a nurturer all wrapped in one. She was our “It Girl” in the ’90s–and while she has walked away from being in romantic comedies as much as she used to be, she’s grown up, rightly so. Now she’s starring in dark comedy “Santa Clarita Diet,” playing a mom and wife who starts craving human flesh.
She’s had so many varied roles, we thought we’d rank the most memorable ones from best to least favorite, below:
1. Riding in Cars with Boys
What I love most about this film is the fact that Barrymore was able to play a serious role–and totally ace it. She plays a teen mom in the 60s who ends up earning a masters degree. It’s not only inspirational, but shows how women often get the short end of the stick. Roger Ebert even gave the film three-out-of-four stars.
2. The Wedding Singer
She and Adam Sandler have great chemistry–and totally showed it off in this romantic comedy where Barrymore plays a waitress engaged to the wrong man. How can you not love a kiss described as “not porno tongue, church tongue?”
3. Never Been Kissed
This is another favorite romantic comedy of Barrymore’s. She plays a late 20-something reporter who enrolls in a high school for a piece she’s working on (along with her brother). The catch? She was the high school nerd and her brother was super popular–and she’s still never been kissed. It’s a bit of a strange premise, but works nonetheless.
4. E.T.
While Barrymore was only 5 years old at the time, she did a stellar job in the Spielberg film, which is forever a classic in American culture. Who doesn’t want to watch a movie about a friendly, baby alien lost on earth?
5. Scream
In this purposefully absurd ’90s horror film (that launched a whole series), Barrymore is perfect in the role–adding humor in the scare. Of course, it would be a little ridiculous of me to say that “Scream” is a masterpiece, but it’s worth watching every now and then.
6. Music and Lyrics
This should have been better. Barrymore and Hugh Grant? Sounds like a perfect combination of whimsical, sweet, and charming–except it sadly falls flat (pun intended). Grant and Barrymore don’t quite have that magic-making spark–Grant plays a burned out musician who works with megastar Barrymore, and well, you can see where it’s going. It is worth watching for this, though:
7. 50 First Dates
This is another Sandler/Barrymore pairing, but it’s way less successful than their “Wedding Singer” fame. The whole premise (sighs) is centered around the fact that Sandler and Barrymore are dating, except that she has amnesia…not the best.
Wouldn’t necessarily change the channel if it was on, though.
