Brendan Fraser’s Most Underrated Movies

While the world knows him best for playing Rick O’Connell in The Mummy trilogy and, more recently, for winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in The Whale, Brendan Fraser has had a diverse acting career. Most of which were showcased in many underseen movies throughout his career. Despite gaining fame and becoming a Hollywood A-lister in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Fraser has appeared in several forgotten movies.

Like many actors, his start was humble, but he displayed extraordinary nuance and dramatic stability on screen. Whether playing a frat boy or a shy gardener, Fraser has a filmography that spans decades and genres. With such a prolific body of work, it’s inevitable for some projects to escape wider recognition. Besides, several comedies starring Fraser were not box office hits or critical favorites, but they found a cult following so strong that they’re still cherished.

10 Bedazzled (2000)

Bedazzled is a modern comedic retelling of the Faust legend at the hands of director Harold Ramis. It centers around Elliot Richards, a lonely but sweet employee at a San Francisco computer company who is hopelessly infatuated with a colleague but lacks the confidence to do anything about it. Enter the Devil, who grants him seven wishes in exchange for his soul, a deal Elliot cannot refuse.

Wicked and Funny

Throughout the movie, the Devil transforms Elliot into different versions of himself to help him attract the girl, the most memorable being a wealthy Colombian drug lord. The witty screenplay and farcical heart of the story allow Fraser to embrace his character fully. As he commits hilarity to every ridiculous incarnation, one can see just how versatile he is. Also worth praising is Fraser’s palpable chemistry with model-turned-actress Elizabeth Hurley, who remains just as underrated as Fraser for her role.

9 Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)

A parody of everything that makes action flicks and spy movies so intriguing to watch, Looney Tunes: Back in Action sees Daffy Duck jealous of the attention Bugs Bunny gets from the Warner Bros. studio bosses. The behavior gets him fired, and Daffy teams up with a security guard/aspiring stuntman, DJ Drake, to help him rescue his kidnapped father. But first, they must travel to Las Vegas to retrieve the blue monkey diamond.

Pays Homage to the Golden Age of Cartoons

Looney Tunes: Back in Action is a madcap combination of live-action and animation. Its frenetic energy and cartoonish lunacy remind audiences of what made the classic Looney Tunes characters so iconic. Brendan Fraser plays the bemused DJ, anchoring each live-action scene with his effortless timing and unmatched delivery. The movie may not have succeeded commercially, but it has since developed a cult following.

8 Gods and Monsters (1998)

Based on Christopher Bram’s 1995 novel Father of Frankenstein, Gods and Monsters captures the final days of legendary film director James Whale, who made horror classics such as Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. Now, having aged and living the life of a recluse, he finds himself haunted by memories of his past. That is until he befriends a much younger, handsome gardener, Clayton Boone, who sees James as a person rather than a fragile old man.

Fraser’s Soulful Performance Lingers

In one of his most complex roles to date, Fraser peels back layers of Clayton’s character with immense emotional subtlety and wisdom to spare. Directed by Bill Condon, the movie may be a fictional account of Whale’s final days, but it uncovers the character’s humanity and identity without having to sacrifice his idiosyncrasies or accomplishments. A resonant character study and a seminal LGBTQ+ movie, Gods and Monsters was nominated for three Academy Awards.

7 With Honors (1994)

Directed by Alek Keshishian, With Honors is a heartwarming dramedy that stars Brendan Fraser as Monty Kessler, a Harvard University senior majoring in political science. When his thesis paper accidentally lands in the hands of a homeless man named Simon, who looks like the writer Walt Whitman, Monty is forced to strike a deal with him. Simon agrees to return the pages of his thesis one by one in exchange for food and shelter.

Fraser’s Early Everyman Portrayal

Playing against type as an earnest and humble university student, Fraser displayed nuance during his early days in the industry and touched hearts with his performance. He starred opposite Joe Pesci, a warm and delightful presence on screen. The two form a natural and compassionate bond, and the film delivers intelligent life lessons and a feel-good story throughout.

6 School Ties (1992)

Starring Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O’Donnell, and Ben Affleck way before they found mainstream popularity, School Ties is set against the backdrop of an elite Protestant New England prep school in the 1950s. It follows David Greene, a Jewish student who gets into school with a scholarship and is made the quarterback. However, David hides his religion from his friends for fear of rejection.

A Sincere Breakthrough

For tenderly portraying the climate of antisemitism and delivering a serious drama without compromising on the entertaining angle of its protagonist’s coming of age, School Ties deserves a spot as one of the most significant movies of the 1990s. What’s more is that Fraser brings extraordinary wisdom to David, who is forced to face the consequences of prejudice in a way that sets the path for his future. Roger Ebert found the movie “surprisingly effective,” and it eventually marked Fraser’s breakthrough.

5 Encino Man (1992)

Directed by Les Mayfield in his directorial debut, Encino Man follows two high school social outcasts, Dave (Sean Astin) and Stoney (Pauly Shore), as they discover a frozen caveman in Dave’s backyard. Awakening him by letting the ice melt away, Dave and Stoney give the primitive man a makeover and hope he will be the key to impressing girls and making them popular at school.

Hilarious Fish-Out-Of-Water Comedy

Encino Man was one of Fraser’s earliest opportunities in Hollywood to showcase his acting chops. He was brilliant as the clever but clueless “Link,” as he tackled modern-day technology like deodorant and the telephone with wide-eyed wonder. Under Mayfield’s direction, the fish-out-of-water antics are always fresh and funny, which makes the movie one of the most rewatchable and highly quoted buddy comedies of the 1990s.

4 George of the Jungle (1997)

Based on the 1960s cartoon series of the same name, George of the Jungle is a live-action adaptation that follows George, a clumsy but endearing jungle resident raised by apes after crash landing into an African jungle as a baby. Now, all grown up, George falls for city girl Ursula after saving her life. He travels with her to San Francisco, experiences civilization for the first time, and has difficulty keeping his primitive instincts in check.

An Irreverent Comedy

An underrated gem from director Sam Weisman, George of the Jungle is just as funny as it is sweet. Fraser brings his inherent likability to the screen and infuses it with his gift for slapstick comedy. Whether swinging from trees, saving lives, or grappling with the mysteries of the human world, Fraser is simply excellent in his role.

3 Airheads (1994)

In Airheads, “The Lone Rangers” are a struggling hard rock band led by Chazz Darby and his friends, sibling musicians Rex and Pip. After failing several times in their desperate last-ditch effort to earn fame and recognition, the trio enters a local radio station with fake guns and holds the people inside hostage until they agree to play their song on the airwaves.

Fraser Has the Rock Star Charm

Fraser teams up with comedy heavyweights Adam Sandler and Steve Buscemi, forming an irresistible, idiotic, and doomed trio of rock stars. What begins as a goofy trick spirals into an unexpected stand-off with the police, with the situation acting as the perfect tool for the actors to convey their natural charm and ability to command any stage. Directed by Michael Lehmann, Airheads was not a box office hit, but it’s a nostalgic cult darling.

2 The Mummy Returns (2001)

Brendan Fraser is widely known as the leading man in The Mummy trilogy, easily one of the most rewatched movies of the 1990s. However, the second film in the series is relatively less talked about. Set several years after defeating Imhotep, it follows adventurer Rick O’Connell and his wife, Evelyn, as they jump back into action after discovering the Bracelet of Anubis. They must contend with the resurrected High Priest Imhotep and the Scorpion King when their son Alex is kidnapped.

A Delightful Adventure

Filled with great action and hilarious moments, The Mummy Returns is an adrenaline-inducing, race-against-time adventure that does not fail to entertain. Fraser leads the blockbuster sequel with his rugged, devil-may-care attitude and is accompanied by Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo, and Dwayne Johnson.

1 Blast from the Past (1999)

Back in 1962, a nuclear physicist named Dr. Calvin Webber took his pregnant wife Helen into a fallout shelter to protect them from the Cuban Missile Crisis. Their son, Adam, was born in the shelter and stayed there for 35 years, growing up with 1950s-era pop culture before finally emerging into modern-day Los Angeles. He is bedazzled by everything, from supermarkets to the radio, but eventually falls in love with Eve (Alicia Silverstone) as he adjusts to contemporary life.

Dramatic and Humorous

Director Hugh Wilson draws out the innate charm and everyman appeal that became Fraser’s signature earlier in the ’90s and puts it to marvelous use in Blast from the Past. Even the actor fully commits to Adam’s fresh-eyed innocence, delivering physical comedy and romantic chemistry with co-star Alicia Silverstone. The movie is underrated because it didn’t hit huge numbers at the box office, but regardless, it features Brendan Fraser at his finest.