I Watched Every Emily Blunt Movie In One Month [Ranked]

She's been in the news a lot lately. What's all the fuss about?

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That day, rolling my eyes at The Adjustment Bureau, I never saw any of this coming. About six movies later I discovered the plan. “Oh,” I thought to myself, outside of myself, recognizing the arc of events that was to take place completely divorced of my volition, “I guess I’m going to watch every Emily Blunt movie.” And now I’ve done it. So here it is. Every Emily Blunt movie, ranked by Blunt’s performance from worst to best. God, I have a lot of time on my hands.

27. The Wolfman (2010)

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The absolute bomb of Emily Blunt’s canon. This cold and unfeeling movie rolls slowly across the battlefield of your senses. Then you think, wait, maybe Emily will save it. Please, Em, do your magic. But no. She was long ago crushed by this beast. She is a ghost of herself, yet so absolutely spiritless.

26. The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)

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Blunt plays Prudie (Get it!? She’s a prude! …or is she?), a semi-neurotic and pedantic French teacher who is having marital problems with her husband, Football. Football promised her tickets to Paris but had to cancel to take his boss to a sports event. Prudie, now upset, starts flirting with Mistake, an 18 year old high schooler who’s got the lead in the play (“and then we kiss”). It’s all so terrible. But then again it’s not, the movie’s actually pretty good. It’s just Emily Blunt. Outside of one redeemable scene she truly offers nothing to a flat and predictable role.

25. The Muppets (2011)

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Blunt plays Celebrity #6 in Cameo: the Movie! She’s funny, but really let’s just move on.

24. Gulliver's Travels (2010)

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Everyone in this movie is playing to a different mood and tone. Is it supposed to be ironic? Am I missing something? Stop. Everyone. Please. Stop. No more. I beg you.

23. Wind Chill (2007)

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Blunt brings some humor to stagnant dialogue. The acting is rigid but that could be due to the -28° F set. Her only horror movie to date and hopefully it stays that way.

22. Dan in Real Life (2007)

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A small role in which she’s made to be disliked then forgotten, and she is.

21. The Wind Rises (2013)

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With this moribund yet rhapsodic character, Blunt snuggly invites us in to a warm embrace. The issue is that most of that work is done by Miyazaki’s ebullient script which feels only minimally elevated by Blunt’s voice work.

20. Irresistible (2006)

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This is Blunt’s last role before The Devil Wears Prada and it is a mixed bag. She is at sometimes chilling and radiant but at other times dull and unintentionally awkward. Not a motive to be found anywhere.

19. Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)

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I’m not saying the movie’s good, I’m just saying it’s better than the atrocious pun would lead you to believe. Blunt’s voicework brings maturity and an emotional pull to a script absent of all such things and allows the audience to connect to this low-stakes character.

18. The Great Buck Howard (2008)

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Was she in this movie? Oh, yeah. She’s a main character. She sleeps with Colin Hanks but I’m not buying it.

17. Wild Target (2010)

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Blunt plays a kleptomaniac, but it’s Bill Nighy who steals the show! The beginning is humorous and entertaining but the movie drifts ashore in the middle and Emily’s work here doesn’t do much to tow us back to safety.

16. Charlie Wilson's War (2007)

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Was she in this movie? Oh, yeah. In a minor role. She sleeps with Tom Hanks and I am buying it. Kudos, Emily. You’ve done your job.

15. Arthur Newman (2012)

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Emily Blunt is cast opposite Colin Firth in this dark, deficient road trip. She delivers strongly in the emotional scenes but often comes across as an actress in an unlicensed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Halloween costume.

14. Into the Woods (2014)

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The acting here is favorable from most of the cast (Chris, you’re the only Pine that doesn’t belong in these woods). Blunt brings great fortitude and bravery into her role and has a very accomplished and versatile voice. She displays the disembodiment we feel when we make mistakes in a true and heart-breaking way. We grieve with her, but don’t pardon her; a dynamic the film requires that other actresses may have side-stepped in order to remain likable.

13. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011)

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The way Blunt bears her scars and exposes her inner turmoil is so rich and satisfying you almost forget that her problems are stupid and you shouldn’t care about them. Plus, it’s just so calming to watch a movie where Emily Blunt isn’t mean the whole time.

12. The Five-Year Engagement (2012)

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This movie has Allison Brie doing a rough impression of a British woman and Emily Blunt doing a rough impression of any woman. She’s too perfect to exist. When Jason Segal meets her she is wearing a Princess Di costume and that’s who she is. A saint. Her one transgression is completely justified and as such her character has no room for growth. She’s charming and funny as usual but lacks dynamic. Yet, that’s what the script is. So if she is to be cast as a saint, then all hail Saint Emily.

11. The Young Victoria (2009)

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God Save the Teen! As a young Queen Victoria, though her usual charms are muted, Blunt still manages to deliver a great performance. Through smoldering eyes and righteous, contained outbursts, Blunt dominates this role much as Queen Victoria did her house, with grace, respect and severity.

10. Gideon's Daughter (2006)

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A sweet but tragic little tale about a top PR man in London. The story begins light and simple but takes a shift with the introduction of Emily Blunt. She is the PR man’s daughter. He watches her at a talent show as she sings this dark, powerful and moving ballad, the reverberations of which are felt throughout the entire film. She won an Emmy for this role and rightfully so.

9. Sunshine Cleaning (2008)

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If only she could hold on to a job as firmly as she does her troubled past. Hiding behind clothes dark as her humor, Emily Blunt does a superb job bringing a grounding to this directionless character. The walls she builds around herself are large yet through its cracks we catch strong glimpses into her humanity.

8. Sicario (2015)

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Here Blunt isn’t the same audacious stalwart she was in Edge of Tomorrow or Looper. She is less experienced and somewhat falls into the trope of “rookie cop who plays it by the book.” Though she does a fantastic job with the action, we knew that about her already, and honestly, I wanted a little more.

7. Warrior Queen (2003)

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A nothing PBS TV-movie that actually has Blunt in one of her better performances. This very first role of hers was a minor one but already she mastered this soul-trapped-in-a-thousand-lifetimes glare that completely engrosses you to the character's tragedy. Runs 83 minutes and the 75 without her are exhausting and vastly unwatchable.

6. The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

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Where you first met Emily Blunt. She made you laugh. She made you despise her. She made you pity her. She plays a steadfastly cruel character, who doesn’t seek forgiveness, yet receives our mercy and empathy, which speaks to the complexity and depth Blunt was able to imbue into a character who so easily could have been shadow-flat and heartless.

5. Your Sister's Sister (2011)

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The most believable of her roles, because it doesn’t feel like a role. This isn’t another quirky Emily Blunt character. This is a human being. Someone you’re friends with. Someone you want to be friends with. She’s natural, humble, and pleasant. All the dialogue of this film feels like conversation. She delivers with the intensity or reservation her situation dictates. A terrific script further enhanced by a shrewd and gifted cast.

4. My Summer of Love (2004)

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Blunt’s first motion picture has her playing a rich, troubled schoolgirl banished to her large, empty country home. She spends the summer exploring the wonder and listlessness of youth with a naïve stranger. Everything said in this movie is dripping with sensuality and passion. It is truly the hidden gem of Emily Blunt movies.

3. The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

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The movie that started my journey. Emily is bewitching and buoyant as the manic pixie dream girl all other manic pixie dream girls can only ever aspire to be. There’s this scene on a bus Emily handles so flawlessly that it it transcends the sappy schlock it must’ve been on the page to this true bliss and excitement which rivals any romance scene from any era. This movie is terrible and I couldn’t recommend it more.

2. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

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There is not one actress who could have done a better job on this movie. Who could’ve so adeptly balanced the personas of “The Angel of Verdun” and “Full Metal B*tch” while the whole time remaining so tapped into the human element of Rita Vrataski. Another role where she injects comedy that no one else could’ve pulled off. She’s as intimidating as any alien this movie could throw at you and still your heart breaks when she tells you about her past. For me, it’s the best film of 2014 and will forever be a sci-fi classic.

1. Looper (2012)

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She kills it. Emily absolutely kills it in this movie. She comes roaring in wielding a shotgun and a pan-fried, formidable Kansas drawl. She’s anchored in as sworn protector of her son – ready to rebuff all guff and peril which come her way. She’s also able to emote so much through the simple expressions she conveys. We see years of hurt when her son won’t kiss her goodnight, and years of terror when she hides away from him in a safe. So when your friend asks, “Emily Blunt? Is she any good?” You just look that ex-friend of yours in their stupid face and say, “Well, you just lost your ‘stay for the morning’ privilege; get off my farm!”

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Angelo Sapienza is a figment of your imagination. You were the one who watched all these movie. You wrote this article. Do you remember? You need to remember.