Putting It All On Two Great Lead Performances And A Strong Script Lead Mississippi Grind To A Big Win

I'm always fascinated by major turning points in an actor's careers, that moment where you can clearly see how one movie changed the trajectory of their careers. Think of how Leslie Nielsen forever became associated with spoofy comedies with Airplane! I'm especially fascinated by contemplating what would have happened if those major turning points hadn't happened. Take Ryan Reynolds for instance. He finally secured A-list leading man status with 2016's Deadpool, but between that film and 2013's blockbuster box office bomb R.I.P.D., Reynolds did a number of offbeat indie projects like The Voices, The Captive and Mississippi Grind that allowed him to show off his talents as a performer beyond just cracking wise and breaking the fourth wall. 

Superbad? More Like SuperGreat!

Sure, we all know who Jonah Hill and Michael Cera are today but ten years ago this very month, each of them got to headline their very first (but certainly not their last) motion picture with the Greg Mottola-directed feature Superbad. Neither came from out of nowhere of course since Cera had done Arrested Development for three seasons and Hill had been a character actor in a couple of comedies, but neither one were movie stars until Superbad came along and rocketed them both to new levels of fame. In my first time ever viewing of Superbad, I was delighted to see that the initial breakthrough movie for these two wasn't just a worthy start for two talented actors but may be one of the strongest movies either of them has ever appeared in.