Cinema’s greatest double acts, according to Chris Evans: “That’s a good little duo”
One of the issues with contemporary franchise films is that they often lock in actors, giving them few opportunities to show what they can do with other types of projects, and Chris Evans is a great example of this.
He has been synonymous with the role of Steve Rogers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since he made his debut as the all-American superhero back in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, and while he has starred in some of the best superhero movies ever made, he has far more to offer as an actor, with his underrated ability lying in comedy.
Even though he did get to deliver a lot of one-liners in the Marvel films, he was able to truly chew the scenery when cast against type playing obnoxious villains in Scott Pilgrim vs The World and Knives Out, and simultaneously bring a sense of truthfulness to more grounded comedies like Gifted and Materialists, which showed that he could actually transform into a real person. Even a film as awful as Ghosted benefitted from the inherent charisma and self-deprecating humour that are intrinsic to Evans’ star power.
There’s nothing more important to comedy than a great romantic screen partner, and Evans has worked with a few great ones, such as Haley Atwell in Captain America: The First Avenger, Jenny Slate in Gifted, and Dakota Johnson in Materialists, hence, he also showed complete clarity when naming the best romantic duo in screen history.
“I love Han Solo and Princess Leia,” Evans said, “They have such a good dynamic. That was always kind of the model for this movie, this kind of you’re barking at each other, but it’s because you really like each other.”
Although the actor ironically made these comments when promoting Ghosted, a film in which he has no chemistry with Ana de Armas, it’s no secret that he’s a big Star Wars fan, such that there’s been a multitude of references to it in the films he has appeared in, including Free Guy, which was directed by Shawn Levy before he was selected by Lucasfilm and Disney to helm Star Wars: Starfighter.
Evans did show a knowledge of onscreen romance that went beyond the galaxy far, far away by mentioning his admiration for Julia Roberts, who has shared memorable onscreen relationships with the likes of Richard Gere, Hugh Grant, and George Clooney, but he soon reflected his penchant for comedy by picking a slightly more modern example.
“Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore,” he declared, “That’s a good little duo, isn’t it? 50 First Dates. It’s a classic”.
50 First Dates is an interesting example, as it’s a film that has begun to earn a more passionate following, despite being received with more mixed reviews when it first debuted in 2009, and although it came at a time in which many critics had reached their limit when it came to Sandler’s comedies, it offered something fresh, original, and unabashedly heartfelt. Considering that Evans had hit a rough patch in recent years with misfires like Red One and Honey Don’t, being in a high-concept romantic comedy in the vein of 50 First Dates might be one of the best decisions that he could make.
