The Five Best Malin Akerman Movies

Malin Akerman at the 24th annual Environmental Media Awards

Malin Akerman has almost 20 years of acting experience in her resume. In 1997, Akerman made her debut on the Canadian science fiction series Earth:Final Conflict.  For a decade, Akerman took roles in various TV and film projects before landing her first starring role in the 2007 comedy, The Heartbreak Kid.  Her role in the film helped her achieve mainstream success and also spawned other leading roles for the star.  In 2010, Akerman snagged a starring role in the series Childrens Hospital in which she played the Dr. Valerie Flame.  However, there is much more to Dr. Flame than meets the eye as she is secretly living a double life.

Unfortunately for Akerman, many have not taken her seriously.  Several users have labeled her a “bad,” even “terrible,” actress.  One website goes as far as saying, “we can state with confidence that she should have stuck with her musical career.”
However, even in the face of harsh critics and negative opinions, Akermin proves the naysayers wrong and continues to star in big box office hits with some of Hollywood’s biggest names.   Here are the five best Malin Akerman movies.

5. The Heartbreak Kid

The 2007 comedy film, The Heartbreak Kid, is a remake of the 1972 film of the same name.  In the film, a recently married man meets another woman while on his honeymoon and realizes that he may have made a mistake in marrying his wife (Akerman).  The man ultimately decides to leave his wife; however, before he can marry the woman of his dreams (Michelle Monaghan), he marries another woman and finds himself in the exact same situation that he started in.  The film received mixed reviews and while some considered it one of the worst remakes ever, others found it entertaining.  The late Roger Ebert stated that the film had “small moments of real humor.”

4. The Proposal

The 2009 film, The Proposal, grossed more than $300,000,000 million, and was the highest grossing romantic comedy of 2009.  The film’s story centers around Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) who learns that she may be getting deported back to Canada. In an effort to remain in the United States and keep her job, Tate enlists her assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) to act as her fiancé.  Although their relationship initially begins as a farce, the two eventually develop real feelings for each other.  Akerman’s character, Gertrude, is Andrew’s ex-girlfriend who once turned down his marriage proposal.  By the end of the film, Margaret and Andrew decide to make their engagement official.  Although the film was a huge box office success and fan favorite, many critics gave the film harsh reviews.  Rogert Ebert, who gave the film three out of four stars, also found fault with the film and stated: “The Proposal” recycles a plot that was already old when Tracy and Hepburn were trying it out. You see it coming from a great distance away. As it draws closer, you don’t duck out-of-the-way, because it is so cheerfully done, you don’t mind being hit by it.”

3. 27 Dresses

In the 2008 film, 27 Dresses, Malin Akerman stars as Tess Nichols, a bride-to-be engaged to her older sister’s boss.  However, Tess’ older sister, Jane (Katherine Heigl), a wedding planner who has been a bridesmaid in 27 weddings, is secretly in love with Tess’ fiancé. James Beradinelli of Reelviews called 27 Dresses “the perfect Valentine’s day movie” and the film went on to gross more than $76,000,000 at the box office.  Film critic Robert Roten gave the film a B rating and stated: “This is a pretty typical plot outline for a romantic comedy, but it does take some interesting twists here and there. The characters are interesting and well-defined. The romance is on a fairly adult level…This story has an additional romance which gets torpedoed in spectacular fashion. This nearly results in another, unexpected, romance. Needless to say, everything works out in the end.”

2. Couples Retreat

Couples Retreat features Malin Akerman in the role of a suburban stay-at-home mom, Ronnie, who goes on a couples’ retreat with her husband Dave (Vince Vaughn).  Although the couple’s marriage was going through a bit of a rough patch before they decided to attend the retreat, Dave who has a history of undermining Ronnie, quickly realizes that he has something good with her.  The movie received mostly mixed reviews; however, it was a huge box office success and earned $171,000,000 worldwide.

1. Watchmen

The 2009 film, Watchmen, is a film adaption of the 1987 graphic novel of the same title. Set in 1985, the film stars Akerman as  Laurie Jupiter/ Silk Spectre II. During an interview, Akerman described her character as “She’s sort of the psychology of the film because she’s the only woman in the “Watchmen” aside from the previous “Watchmen.” She is a femme fatale…and I think she sort of carries the emotion of the film because she is the only woman amongst all of these men. They’re going through sort of not being the Watchmen anymore and dealing with that as well as trying to figure out who is trying to kill them off.” The film earned more than $100,000,000 worldwide, and Roger Ebert gave the film a rating of four stars.  In his review he stated: “The film is rich enough to be seen more than once. I plan to see it again, this time on IMAX, and will have more to say about it. I’m not sure I understood all the nuances and implications, but I am sure I had a powerful experience.”

Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Environmental Media Awards)

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