Lisa Kudrow names her favourite movies of all time
When we think of actor Lisa Kudrow, it’s nearly impossible to remove her from her best-known role as Phoebe Buffay, who she portrayed in the iconic TV sitcom Friends between 1994 and 2004. Like most of her Friends co-stars, they become pretty much eternally aligned with those New York-dwelling characters.
That’s not to say that Kudrow hasn’t offered her talents elsewhere, though. She’s starred in the comedy movies Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion and The Opposite of Sex and created and played in the HBO mockumentary The Comeback, as well as giving performances in the likes of P.S. I Love You, Analyse This and Booksmart.
While we primarily know Kudrow from her iconic TV performance as Phoebe Buffay, the actor herself looks to be a big fan of the big screen rather than the home one. She once named her favourite films of all time when in conversation on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Kudrow kicks off her top films list with 1948’s comedy Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, which stars Cary Grant and Myrna Loy as a couple living in a tiny New York apartment who decide to fix up an old house in Connecticut. “Their apartment is too small for them; they decide to buy a house in Connecticut,” Kudrow explained.
She continued, “And it’s falling down, and it turns into a money pit. The jokes aren’t hit very hard.” Of the similarities between the 1940s house buying/renovating process and today’s, Kudrow added, “It’s the exact same. Nothing has changed in the world of purchasing a house, renovating it and the costs that escalate. And then the stress between the couple.”
There’s another old classic on Kudrow’s list next, 1950’s All About Eve, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Bette Davis stars as a well-respected ageing Broadway star, and Anne Baxter as one of her adoring fans. It’s George Sanders, who plays a film critic, that takes Kudrow’s eye, though. She said, “He is always worth watching. He always plays that guy who just walks into a room and eviscerates everyone with something he says. I have always been attracted to those characters.”
Up next is a film released some thirty years later. It’s Robert Redford’s directorial debut Ordinary People, which won the 1980 Academy Award for ‘Best Picture’. Mary Tyler Moore plays the mother of a family who are trying to get over the death of their teenage boy. Whenever I see it again, as I’ve gotten older, I have a new perspective on it,” Kudrow said. “Just because now I’m a wife, and then I’m a mother.”
The other film featured on the list is 1982’s Tootsie, directed by Sydney Pollack, although Kudrow does not speak of its specifics. It’s a satirical romantic comedy starring Dustin Hoffman, Pollack herself, Bill Murray and Jessica Lange, among others, and tells of a talented but aggressive actor who assumes the identity of a woman to land a new role.
Lisa Kudrow’s favourite movies:
- Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (H.C. Potter, 1948)
- All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950)
- Ordinary People (Robert Redford, 1980)
- Tootsie (Sydney Pollack, 1982)
