“I am lazy but for some reason, I am so paranoid that I end up working hard.”
Seth Rogen is the epitome of hilarity. With his impeccable mind and raunchy sense of humour, he can leave your sides split while maintaining a straight face. The king of racy and bawdy comedy, Rogen was born to a Jewish family where his parents are social workers. He was always interested in pursuing comedy because “as soon as I realised you could be funny as a job, that was the job I wanted”. He was always a great writer too.
Even after becoming a renowned actor, he admitted, “I feel much more comfortable as a writer than an actor. I feel like I am a much better writer than I am an actor”. To add credence to that claim, Rogen even wrote the script of Superbad with his friend Evan Goldberg at the age of 13. They derived experiences from their real-life situations, and the director said, “My high school years were exactly like Superbad”.
“I know most people don’t like their jobs very much and don’t get a lot of personal satisfaction from their jobs. That’s something that I really do get a lot of.” Rogen and his deadpan humour found their acting debut in Freaks and Geeks. After receiving various roles as well as an Emmy nomination as a staff writer, his breakthrough arrived in the form of Knocked Up in 2007 where he has a one night stand with Katherine Heigl’s character which leads to an unwanted pregnancy. Following this, he received various roles in films where he often played the lead, sending audience members into peals of laughter. Rogen once honestly remarked, “I don’t make the best movies in the world, but at times, I do feel like I’m adding something to the cinematic community.”
As this comedic genius turns 39 today, we celebrate his prowess by taking a look at some of his best films that are streaming on Netflix. Here are the six best films starring Seth Rogen that are streaming on Netflix.
6 best Seth Rogen films on Netflix
6. Neighbours (Nicholas Stoller, 2014)
What is Seth Rogen without raunchy comedies and wild parties? Mac and Kelly Radner are new parents to a baby girl and are quite anxious about performing their duties, alienating them from their friends. When a fraternity named Delta Psi Beta, known for their obnoxious parties, moves in next door, the Radner’s try and coax one of the aspiring popular members, named Teddy Sanders, into keeping the noise at minimum for the sake of their child. Although Teddy agrees, things go awry when the Radner’s inform the police of the noise instead of contacting him, and all hell breaks loose as Teddy is on the warpath to get back at the Radner’s for their ‘betrayal’.
The events of this first film served as a good buildup for the second. Rogen played the role of the new father, Mac, and his camaraderie with Zac Efron, as Teddy Sanders, is hilarious to watch. The director and the screenwriters made some changes in the film to make it seem less repetitive, as raunchy comedies often run the risk of becoming drab due to the same tropes being addressed over and over again. Rogen welcomed those changes and said that it made more sense to him “because it became less about [him] and some guys fucking with a frat. It was much more about me and my wife which was way more interesting”.
“Claws are out.”
5. Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (Nicholas Stoller 2016)
Mac Radner and Kelly are expecting another child and are leading a somewhat happy life. They plan to sell their house to the buyers when a group of rowdy freshmen belonging to the fraternity Kappa Nu move in next door and sabotage their peace as well as their plans by partying outrageously. The Radner’s desperately seek help from their long-time frenemy, Teddy, to convince the girls to leave. This makes the girls retaliate, and the two parties clash in a hilarious war of humiliating pranks to get on each other’s nerves.
As a sequel, this film is even better than the first due to its guffaw-inducing elements and obnoxious gags. Besides Seth Rogen and the rest returning to wreak havoc on-screen, Chloe Grace Moretz joined the cast as well, and her wonderful acting won her a Teen Choice Award as well. Plus, Zac Efron is a bonus yet again!
“Shit! We got Cosby’d!”
4. Sausage Party (Greg Tiernan, Conrad Vernon, 2016)
This film revolves around anthropomorphic grocery items who falsely believe that humans are gods who shall, on purchase, take the items to a utopic space called the Great Beyond. One of the sausages named Frank lived in the grocery store with Brenda, his hot dog bun girlfriend, as well as his other friends Barry and Carl. However, when Frank comes to know the truth about what happens after purchase, their world comes crumbling down, and he realises that soon he shall become a meal. After cautioning his friends about their fate, they hatch a plan to escape the grocery store and evade being consumed by the human enemies.
Seth Rogen plays the role of Frank the sausage. According to Rogen, he had worked for nearly eight years for this film production, but the content seemed a little unacceptable to studios. Despite the film being highly controversial for leaving crew members uncredited or containing too many profanities. The storyline is indeed thought-provoking with sexual innuendos and gag-worthy food puns.
“Shut up! She’s fresh as fuck and you know it.”
3. The Night Before (Jonathan Levine, 2015)
Chris, Ethan and Isaac carry on a lifelong tradition of spending Christmas Eve together to enjoy the holiday spirit. However, as Isaac is a new father-to-be, the friends realise that their beloved tradition must come to a close as it is time for them to move on. They plan an epic night of fun, food, drugs and complete debauchery where they attend the much-awaited Nutcracker Ball. Hilarity ensues and the friends try to grapple with the circumstances before the night comes to an end.
After their successful collaboration on 50/50, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen reunited as best friends, being joined by Anthony Mackie. Rogen plays Isaac who is awaiting the birth of his baby. He records a video, while drunk, of him expressing his fears. As usual, the star is a delight to witness on-screen in this very hilarious and fun-filled Christmas comedy.
“I need a barf bag.”
2. Superbad (Greg Mottola, 2007)
Life in high school for awkward misfits Seth and Evan are hard. They are desperate to party and lose their virginity before they go off to college. However, their plans are constantly thwarted by cops (who are also dead-drunk), menstruating fiancees, respective black eyes, unexpected messy brawls as well as a somewhat their charming naivete.
Jonah Hill and Michael Cera play the lead characters based on the real-life experiences of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Emphasising teenagers’ awkwardness coupled with their desperation to gain popularity, the sweet vulgarity and the wonderful camaraderie shared by the two boys is heartwarming, especially when they talk about loving each other and sharing cute little boops. Seth Rogen plays one of the drunken cops whose hilarious antics add extra charm to this goofy film.
“So I gotta sit here and eat my dessert alone like I’m Fucking Steven Glansberg.”
1. 50/50 (Jonathan Levine, 2011)
Radio journalist Adam is diagnosed with a malignant tumour in his spine. The news shocks him, and with a 50/50 chance of survival, he tries to maintain his upbeat nature. He is supported by his best friend, Kyle. However, his strained relationship with his mother and his girlfriend’s reaction thwarts his positive attitude. He visits a therapist in whom he finds solace that slowly culminates into romance.
Often considered a “cancer comedy”, the film never pokes fun at the illness; instead, it encourages one to smile irrespective of whatever happens. Adam, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is a ray of sunshine amidst the darkness. Seth Rogen plays the best friend Kyle, who is extremely supportive of his friend. Levitt even shaved his head which was an impromptu on-set decision. As Rogen said, “we improvised the whole thing, which is not wise when it’s something you have one take for, but it turned out to be funny.”
“If you were a casino game, you would have the best odds.”
