Last Updated on March 3, 2024
Thanks to her role as Rachel in the hit TV series, Friends, Jennifer Aniston is both a beloved and well-known actress. She is unsurprisingly cast in plenty of comedy movies but she also has a tangible flair for hard-hitting dramas and films bearing a darker message. If you want to experience all aspects of this versatile actress, then look no further. We scoured her work and hand-selected the best dramas, comedies and romance movies just for you!
Marley and Me (2008)
IMDB Rating: 7.1
When married couple John and Jennifer begin to contemplate parenthood, they decide to test their readiness by caring for a puppy. They adopt a yellow Labrador retriever and name him Marley. It soon becomes clear that Marley is probably the most out-of-control dog on the planet and he lands them in several hilarious social predicaments.
Despite the well-written comedy, Marley and Me also brilliantly covers more serious topics like post-natal depression, the strain of raising small kids, and euthanasia.
The Good Girl (2002)
IMDB Rating: 6.4
Justine and Holder work at Retail Rodeo as cashiers. Both are introverted and feel that there is more to life than their dreary jobs and lives. Bored and intrigued by each other, they begin a passionate relationship. But there is one problem – Justine is already married to a marijuana-smoking house painter. The comedy-drama explores how drudgery and existential crisis can spiral out of control and leave no winners.
Murder Mystery (2019)
IMDB Rating: 6.0
Nick and Audrey have been married for 15 years. On their anniversary, Audrey confronts him about never giving her the dream European vacation that he had promised her on their wedding day and feeling trapped, Nick lies and claims that he had already booked the trip as an anniversary gift. But pulling off an expensive trip on a shoestring budget is the least of Nick’s worries.
When they meet the wealthy Cavendish, he invites them on board his luxury yacht for his family’s celebration of his super-rich uncle’s upcoming wedding. Nick and Audrey are the only Americans on the vessel and when the uncle turns up murdered, the others blame them for the crime. Their vacation turns into a race to prove that they are innocent before the authorities can arrest them.
She’s Funny That Way (2015)
IMDB Rating: 6.1
Broadway director Arnold Albertson has a habit of helping call girls to leave their profession by offering them acting jobs that make them film stars. When he meets escort Izzy, he offers her a role in his new play. Fearing that his wife might misunderstand his intentions and that the audience might shun the play, he does not tell anyone about her past
Izzy also keeps it a secret but hilarity ensues as many of her clients are connected to broadway, the play or to the other actors. Arnold and Izzy try their best to avoid being ousted but when it inevitably happens, the results are just as funny.
Wanderlust (2012)
IMDB Rating: 5.6
When George and Linda lose their cushy jobs, they are forced to accept a job offer from his irritating brother Rick. Driving from New York to Atlanta, they stop at a roadside hotel for a break, only to discover that the place is a hippie commune where clothing is optional and free love is encouraged.
While George and Linda initially refuse to be romanced by the other couples, they return to the hotel after their stay with Rick goes badly. Agreeing to give the hippie commune a two-week trial, they discover new things about themselves and their relationship.
Rock Star (2001)
IMDB Rating: 6.3
Inspired by the real-life story of Tim Owens, the movie takes a comedy-drama look at the meteoric rise of Owens as an artist. He begins as a singer in a Judas Priest tribute band and ends up as the lead vocalist of his favorite band.
When the original lead singer is fired from the band Steel Dragon, Chris Cole receives a call from one of the band members and after auditioning for the part, his life is an overnight success. But Chris soon discovers that the rock star lifestyle is not what he thought it was and that he was just recruited for his vocal abilities and not his creative ideas.
Horrible Bosses (2011)
IMDB Rating: 6.3
In this dark comedy, Nick, Dale, and Kurt all have terrible bosses who either sexually harass them, emotionally torture them or find other ways to make their working lives a living hell. One night, when they can no longer take it, the trio hesitantly agree to kill their bosses. A murder consultant suggests that they kill each other’s bosses to hide their motivations.
When the night of the murders arrives, their nerves keep getting in the way. They also underestimated the psychotic resilience of their bosses who try to kill them in return. The night turns into a chaotic fight for survival with car chases, cops, hilarious misunderstandings and more.
Derailed (2005)
IMDB Rating: 6.6
When Charles Schine meets the beautiful Lucinda on his morning train, the attraction between them is palpable. But despite being married and having an ill daughter, Charles takes his relationship with Lucina to the next level. However, when they attempt to consummate their relationship in a dingy motel, an armed man beats Charles and rapes Lucinda.
To hide the affair, she convinces him not to report the crime. Charles agrees but things go downhill when the man threatens to expose their relationship and harm their families if Charles does not pay a hefty sum of money. Having had enough, Charles investigates and discovers that Lucinda is not who she claims to be.
We’re The Millers (2013)
IMDB Rating: 7.0
The movie’s title sounds like a family comedy but this film is all about a drug dealer who needs a fake family so that he can smuggle narcotics across the Mexican border into the United States. When David Clarke, a low-level weed dealer, loses money his supplier demands that he clears his debt by bringing more marijuana through customs.
To appear normal, he hires his “family.” To pose as his wife, David rents stripper Rose and their “children” are Casey and Kenny, respectively a runaway 19-year-old girl and David’s awkward 18-year-old neighbor. But things soon go wrong when they realize the small amount they were supposed to pick up actually weighs two tons and that David’s supplier tricked them into stealing it from another supplier.
Office Space (1999)
IMDB Rating: 7.7
Peter Gibbons is an office worker who is unsatisfied with his life and career. Several of his friends at the office feel the same. When management steps up the hellish experience by starting to fire several employees, Peter and his friends decide that they have had enough and conspire to steal money from the company.
But chaos ensues when the program Peter writes to steal the money starts stealing too much. He also gets into trouble with his panicky friends and girlfriend (played by Aniston) when arrest seems inevitable. Peter has to find a way to make things right but a good ending comes from an unexpected source.
The Break-Up (2006)
IMDB Rating: 5.8
When Gary and Brooke meet at a Chicago Cubs game, they seem to be a match made in heaven. After several dates go well, they move into a luxury apartment together. However, living as a couple starts to take its toll as Brooke feels underappreciated and Gary feels that she is too perfectionistic.
They decide that they are better off as friends but since neither wants to move out of the plush condominium, they agree to be roommates. But lingering feelings lead to a hilarious war between them as they try to spite and make each other jealous.
Dumplin’ (2018)
IMDB Rating: 6.6
Will is an overweight teenager who resents her mother’s nickname for her – Dumplin’. Their bond is not the best and it is being made worse by her mother Rosie’s obsession with beauty pageants. When things reach a boiling point, Will decides to enter a pageant her mother will judge.
What begins as a form of protest soon turns Will’s unhappy life around. She learns to be a better friend and to stop caring about what other people think. The movie also deals with topics such as grief, repairing families, and growing up.
The Bounty Hunter (2010)
IMDB Rating: 6.6
When bounty hunter Milo Boyd has to bring in a woman who skipped her bail hearing, things are instantly complicated. Nicole is his ex-wife and she is determined to follow a story she was investigating when her informant was kidnapped. Milo just wants to hand her over to the authorities and collect a steep bounty.
But Milo and Nicole are soon on the run from thugs who are connected to their own past, Nicole’s story, and Milo’s bookie debts. As the couple tries to escape the hitmen, they also have to work out their own issues and discover the terrifying truth about what the informant knew.
Friends With Money (2006)
IMDB Rating: 5.8
Olivia has rich friends. The problem is that she is almost always broke and her job is rather demeaning. While her friends are trust fund babies and other well-to-do career women, Olivia cleans houses for a living. Besides being a cleaning lady, Olivia also cannot find love while her three friends are all married.
But as the friends attend lunches, functions and girls’ nights, it becomes clear that nobody’s life is perfect.
The Switch (2010)
IMDB Rating: 6.1
When Kassie sees 40 looming in the distance, she decides that she has waited long enough for a man to show up. Desperate to finally become a mother, she tells her best friend Wally that she will try artificial insemination but that she does not want to go to a sperm bank. Wally, who is also her ex and still has feelings for Kassie, offers his sperm but feeling that it will make things too weird, she rejects the offer.
Kassie picks a donor she can meet and at an “insemination party,” the man leaves a sperm sample in the bathroom. Wally, who is in a funk and drinks too much, accidentally knocks the sample over and panicking, secretly donates his own sperm. However, he remembers nothing the next morning and when he meets Kassie’s son seven years later, the child’s mannerisms jolts his memories and he knows he has to tell her the truth.
The Object Of My Affection (1998)
IMDB Rating: 6.0
When Nina meets George, a gay teacher, she learns that he is looking for an apartment. Since she has room, she invites him to move in with her and they soon get along. But after Nina becomes pregnant and breaks up with her controlling boyfriend, George offers to help her raise the baby.
Their friendship is soon in trouble when Nina realizes that she is falling in love with George. Although he initially considers a relationship with her, he ultimately decides that he is in love with another man.