From ‘A Fish Called Wanda’ to ‘True Lies,’ Moviefone counts down the 20 best film’s of Jamie Lee Curtis’ long and impressive career.
Oscar® nominee Jamie Lee Curtis arrives on the red carpet of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
Oscar-winner Jamie Lee Curtis is Hollywood Royalty.
The daughter of Tony Curtis (‘Some Like It Hot’) and Janet Leigh (‘Psycho’), Curtis began her career in John Carpenter’s classic horror movie ‘Halloween’ and has gone on to reprise her role in several sequels and reboots.
She’s also appeared in such beloved films as ‘Trading Places,’ ‘True Lies,’ ‘Freaky Friday,’ ‘Knives Out’ and most recently ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ which recently earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In honor of Curtis’ new movie, ‘The Last Showgirl,’ which opens in theaters in wide release on January 10th, Moviefone is counting down the best films of Jamie Lee Curtis’ long and impressive career, including her latest.
Let’s begin!
20. ‘Halloween H20: 20 Years Later’ (1998)
Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘Halloween H20: 20 Years Later’. Photo: Dimension Films.
Two decades after surviving a massacre on October 31, 1978, former baby sitter Laurie Strode (Curtis) finds herself hunted by persistent knife-wielder Michael Myers. Laurie now lives in Northern California under an assumed name, where she works as the headmistress of a private school. But it’s not far enough to escape Myers, who soon discovers her whereabouts. As Halloween descends upon Laurie’s peaceful community, a feeling of dread weighs upon her — with good reason.
19. ‘Drowning Mona’ (2000)The recently deceased Mona Dearly (Bette Midler) was many things: an abusive wife, a domineering mother, a loud-mouthed neighbor and a violent malcontent. So when her car and corpse are discovered in the Hudson River, police Chief Wyatt Rash (Danny DeVito) immediately suspects murder rather than an accident. But, since the whole community of Verplanck, N.Y., shares a deep hatred for this unceasingly spiteful woman, Rash finds his murder investigation overwhelmed with potential suspects.
Drowning Mona”The death of Mona Dearly wasn’t so much a whodunnit, as a who didn’t.”
55
PG-131 hr 36 min
Mar 3rd, 2000
18. ‘Forever Young’ (1992)A 1939 test pilot asks his best friend to use him as a guinea pig for a cryogenics experiment. Daniel McCormick (Mel Gibson) wants to be frozen for a year so that he doesn’t have to watch his love lying in a coma. The next thing Daniel knows is that he’s been awoken in 1992.
Forever Young”Time waits for no man, but true love waits forever.”
65
PG1 hr 42 min
Dec 16th, 1992
17. ‘Homegrown’ (1998)Three laborers on a Northern California marijuana plantation (Billy Bob Thornton, Hank Azaria and Ryan Phillippe) become increasingly paranoid when they learn that their boss has been murdered. They know enough to run, taking with them enough of the crop to pay them for services rendered. Hooking up with go-between Lucy (Kelly Lynch) in the next town, they plot their next move.
Homegrown56
Not Yet Rated1 hr 42 min
Apr 17th, 1998
16. ‘Halloween Kills’ (2021)The nightmare isn’t over as unstoppable killer Michael Myers escapes from Laurie Strode’s (Curtis) trap to continue his ritual bloodbath. Injured and taken to the hospital, Laurie fights through the pain as she inspires residents of Haddonfield, to rise up against Myers. Taking matters into their own hands, the Strode women and other survivors form a vigilante mob to hunt down Michael and end his reign of terror once and for all.
15. ‘Haunted Mansion’ (2023)
Jamie Lee Curtis as Madame Leota in Disney’s live-action ‘Haunted Mansion.’ Photo courtesy of Disney. © 2023 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
A woman (Rosario Dawson) and her son enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters.
14. ‘You Again’ (2010)History — make that high school — may repeat itself when Marni (Kristen Bell) learns that Joanna (Odette Annable), the mean girl from her past, is set to be her sister-in-law. Before the wedding bells toll, Marni must show her brother (James Wolk) that a tiger doesn’t change its stripes. On Marni’s side is her mother (Curtis), while Joanna’s backed by her wealthy aunt (Sigourney Weaver).
You Again”What doesn’t kill you… is going to marry your brother.”
63
PG1 hr 45 min
Sep 24th, 2010
13. ‘The Tailor of Panama’ (2001)A British spy (Pierce Brosnan) is banished to Panama after having an affair with an ambassador’s mistress. Once there he makes connection with a local tailor (Geoffrey Rush) with a nefarious past and connections to all of the top political and gangster figures in Panama. The tailor also has a wife (Curtis), who works for the Panamanian president and a huge debt. The mission is to learn what the President intends to do with the Canal.
The Tailor of Panama”In a place this treacherous, what a good spy needs is a spy of his own.”
60
R1 hr 49 min
Mar 30th, 2001
12. ‘Halloween Ends’ (2022)Four years after the events of Halloween in 2018, Laurie (Curtis) has decided to liberate herself from fear and rage and embrace life. But when a young man (Rohan Campbell) is accused of killing a boy he was babysitting, it ignites a cascade of violence and terror that will force Laurie to finally confront the evil she can’t control, once and for all.
11. ‘My Girl’ (1991)Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky) is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father (Dan Aykroyd) runs a funeral parlor. She is also in love with her English teacher (Griffin Dunne), and joins a poetry class over the summer just to impress him. Thomas J. (Macaulay Culkin), her best friend, is “allergic to everything”, and sticks with Vada despite her hangups. When Vada’s father hires Shelly (Curtis), and begins to fall for her, things take a turn to the worse…
My Girl”When your Dad’s an undertaker, your Mom’s in heaven, and your Grandma’s got a screw loose…it’s good to have a friend who understands you. Even if he is a boy.”
74
PG1 hr 43 min
Nov 27th, 1991
10. ‘The Last Showgirl’ (2025)
Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘The Last Showgirl’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.
Shelly (Pamela Anderson), a glamorous Las Vegas showgirl, must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run.
9. ‘Blue Steel’ (1990)Megan Turner (Curtis), a rookie NYC cop, foils an armed robbery on her first day and then engages in a cat-and-mouse game with one of the witnesses (Ron Silver) who becomes obsessed with her.
Blue Steel”For a rookie cop, there’s one thing more dangerous than uncovering a killer’s fantasy…becoming it.”
58
R1 hr 42 min
Mar 16th, 1990
8. ‘Freaky Friday’ (2003)Mother and daughter bicker over everything — what Anna (Lindsay Lohan) wears, whom she likes and what she wants to do when she’s older. In turn, Anna detests Tess’s (Curtis) fiancé. When a magical fortune cookie switches their personalities, they each get a peek at how the other person feels, thinks and lives.
7. ‘Halloween’ (2018)Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.
6. ‘Trading Places’ (1983)A snobbish investor (Dan Aykroyd) and a wily street con-artist (Eddie Murphy) find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.
5. ‘Knives Out’ (2019)
(L to R) Don Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis and Ana de Armas in ‘Knives Out’. Photo: Lionsgate.
When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan’s dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan’s untimely death.
4. ‘A Fish Called Wanda’ (1988)A diamond advocate is attempting to steal a collection of diamonds, yet troubles arise when he realizes that he is not the only one after the diamonds.
3. ‘True Lies’ (1994)A fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling secret agent (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has his life turned upside down when he discovers his wife (Curtis) might be having an affair with a used car salesman (Bill Paxton) while terrorists smuggle nuclear war heads into the United States.
2. ‘Halloween’ (1978)Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween Night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
1. ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ (2022)
(L to R) Jamie Lee Curtis as Deirdre Beaubeirdre, and Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Quan Wang in A24’s ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’
Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as Daniels, the film is a hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can’t seem to finish her taxes.
Jami Philbrick has worked in the entertainment industry for over 20 years and is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Moviefone.com. Formally, Philbrick was the Managing Editor of Relativity Media’s iamROGUE.com, and a Senior Staff Reporter and Video Producer for Mtime, China’s largest entertainment website. He has also written for Fandango, MovieWeb, and Comic Book Resources. Philbrick received the 2019 International Media Award at the 56th annual ICG Publicists Awards, and is a member of the Critics Choice Association. He has interviewed such talent as Tom Cruise, George Clooney, Dwayne Johnson, Scarlett Johansson, Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey, Quentin Tarantino, and Stan Lee.
