In Woody Allen's delightful return to form Midnight in Paris, Owen Wilson earned Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for his portrayal of Gil, one of the most dead-on impersonations of the fidgety director to date (sorry, Jason Biggs, you gave your best shot in Anything Else). But how did Mr. Allen land on Wilson as his leading man? Here's a look at five flicks that helped prove Wilson was the man for the job.
Bottle Rocket
I know what you're thinking: This list could probably be made up entirely of Wilson's collaborations with kooky indie pioneer Wes Anderson. But let's face it, Owen shines every time Anderson steps behind the camera. Bottle Rocket introduced the world to Owen and his brother Luke Wilson as two dim-witted buddies trying to pull off a handful of heists, and demonstrated Owen's knack for dry humor and impeccable timing.
Shanghai Noon
Wilson's first foray into leading man territory came in this by-the-numbers but surprisingly entertaining buddy comedy. While we weren't marveling at Jackie Chan's endlessly creative fight sequences -- a horseshoe tied to a rope? Nice! -- Wilson was playing comedic relief to Chan's straight-man character, and the result was way funnier than it probably should have been. The sequel wasn't half bad either.
Zoolander
Yeah, so the pea-brained and egotistical male model Hansel is about as far away from Midnight in Paris's Gil as you can get, but that's exactly the point. Wilson's role as the arch nemesis to Ben Stiller's Derek Zoolander stands as one of the funniest performances of his career, and showed us that he could steal the show out from under comedic heavyweights like Stiller and Will Ferrell -- no small feat.
Wedding Crashers
And now we come to my personal favorite Owen Wilson performance. Aside from the fact that his buddy relationship with fellow funnyman Vince Vaughn is one of the most hilarious pairings in recent memory, Wilson played double duty by delivering his signature snark while keeping the audience invested in his growing romance with Rachel McAdams. The two reunite in Midnight in Paris, but the results are less heartwarming than they are unbearably uncomfortable. In a good way, of course.
The Darjeeling Limited
Sorry, Marmaduke fans, this list concludes with another of Wilson's tip-top performances in a Wes Anderson movie. The Darjeeling Limited certainly didn't stray from Anderson's trademark quirks and self-obsessed characters (do I sense a Woody Allen parallel here?), but the complex relationship between the three brothers gave the film a more nuanced tone and allowed Wilson the "actor food" to simultaneously stretch his comedic and dramatic chops.
