Teri Garr has sadly passed away at the age of 79, but she left behind an incredible body of work that includes some of the greatest (and funniest) movies ever made. Before Garr retired from acting in 2011, she had enjoyed a long and prosperous career. She appeared in a wide range of films and TV shows and amassed a trophy case’s worth of accolades. Throughout her storied career, Garr received an Academy Award nomination and a BAFTA Award nomination (both for the timeless ‘80s comedy Tootsie), and won a National Board of Review Award.
Before Garr passed away, she worked with Mel Brooks on one of the best comedies of all time, she worked with Steven Spielberg on one of the best science fiction movies of all time, and she played Phoebe’s birth mother in Friends. Renowned New Yorker critic Pauline Kael described Garr as “the funniest neurotic dizzy dame on the screen” (via People). Her comedic stylings have influenced everyone from Tina Fey to Jenna Fischer. Garr was just as adept at drama as comedy, and she starred in some truly great films.
10 One From The Heart
Long before he was most famous for self-financing the big-budget box office bomb Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola helmed the underappreciated musical One from the Heart. Like Megalopolis, One from the Heart was initially a critical and commercial disappointment. But it’s since been reappraised as an underrated gem (which may or may not eventually happen with Megalopolis). It tells the fraught love story of Hank, a mechanic played by Frederic Forrest, and Frannie, a travel agent played by Garr.
As with almost all of Coppola’s work, One from the Heart is visually stunning. One from the Heart is far from Garr’s best movie, but it does have plenty of merit. Coppola tells the story earnestly and he clearly has a deep love of the musical genre and seizes the opportunity to put his own stamp on it.
9 Dick
Andrew Fleming’s cult classic comedy Dick is an absurdist reimagining of the Watergate scandal. Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams play two teenage friends who, through a series of comic misadventures, become the legendary “Deep Throat,” who spoke to journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and brought down the presidency of Richard Nixon. Picture a raunchy comedic version of All the President’s Men. Garr plays the single mother of Williams’ character Arlene; they live together in the Watergate complex.
Dick is a delightfully irreverent take on one of the most significant events in U.S. political history. It takes the mystery of Deep Throat’s identity — which, at the time, was still unknown to the public — and just runs with it, with hysterical results. Garr only has a minor role in the film’s sprawling, star-studded ensemble, but she gives an unforgettable turn alongside Williams.
8 Oh, God!
Carl Reiner tackled the delicate subject of faith in Oh, God!, his classic 1977 religious satire. It revolves around a mild-mannered supermarket manager named Jerry Landers, played by John Denver, who is chosen by God, played by George Burns, to spread his teachings. As Jerry attempts to spread the word of God throughout an increasingly skeptical America, he faces backlash from the media, religious leaders, and even his own wife, Bobbie, played by Garr.
Burns is the undeniable star of Oh, God!, giving such a memorable (and hilarious) turn as the Almighty that it launched an unprecedented franchise with two sequels. But Garr gives a great performance opposite Denver as the long-suffering spouse who doesn’t believe her husband was really recruited by God. It’s an interesting exploration of religious skepticism and the fickle nature of faith.
7 Mr. Mom
Michael Keaton scored his first lead role in the 1983 comedy classic Mr. Mom. He plays a furloughed automotive engineer in Detroit who has to become a stay-at-home dad and take care of his kids while his wife, played by Garr, returns to the workforce and climbs the corporate ladder at an advertising agency. Garr shares terrific chemistry with Keaton in this movie. Their charming dynamic pairs with a sweet, sentimental early-career script by John Hughes for a real winner.
At the time, Mr. Mom was pretty groundbreaking stuff. Working moms and stay-at-home dads have become common in the modern age, but back then, it was more stigmatized as gender norms were much more rigid. By championing a dad doing the child-rearing and a mom bringing home the bacon, Mr. Mom challenged those gender norms.
6 After Hours
After making his name as a director of crime films in the ‘70s, Martin Scorsese broadened his horizons in the ‘80s. He made a boxing biopic, Raging Bull; a satire of fame, The King of Comedy; a pool-hustling sequel, The Color of Money; and a fictionalized account of Jesus’ life, The Last Temptation of Christ. In 1985, Scorsese helmed After Hours, a pitch-black comedy about an office worker named Paul Hackett, played by Griffin Dunne, whose late-night journey home becomes an existentialist odyssey.
Related Why No One Talks About Scorsese’s After Hours Movie Martin Scorsese’s career is long and legendary, but his 1985 New-York-centric black comedy, After Hours, is often forgotten by viewers.
Garr plays Julie, a waitress who falls for Paul almost immediately. She gives a typically offbeat performance that is perfectly in line with the sly satirical tone of Scorsese’s direction. After Hours is one of Scorsese’s most underrated films. It’s unlike anything else he’s ever done: a twisted dark comedy with a frenetic energy.
5 Dumb And Dumber
The Farrelly brothers’ Dumb and Dumber brought together a comic pairing for the ages. Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels star as two dim-witted friends who mistake a ransom for a lost briefcase and embark on a cross-country road trip to return it to its rightful owner, Mary Swanson. Dumb and Dumber was one of Carrey’s earliest starring vehicles, and it remains one of his most hilarious movies. From the sale of a decapitated parakeet to the chili pepper prank gone wrong, Dumb and Dumber is jam-packed with great gags.
Garr plays Mary’s stepmother, Helen. Since it’s only a small role and she spends most of the movie trying to negotiate a hostage situation, she doesn’t get many opportunities to be funny. But she still gets plenty of laughs — particularly whenever she shares the screen with Daniels.
4 The Conversation
Before their reunion on One from the Heart, Garr had worked with Coppola on his 1974 thriller The Conversation. The Conversation stars Gene Hackman as a surveillance expert named Harry Caul, who takes a seemingly routine job and overhears something he wasn’t supposed to. In a contemporary play on Blowup, Caul quickly becomes concerned that he’s being targeted by a sinister conspiracy. Garr appears in the supporting cast as Caul’s girlfriend, Amy Fredericks, who he keeps at arm’s length.
Amy has a small but crucial role in the film. She highlights just how secretive Caul is, because he can’t even open up to his significant other. The Conversation is one of the best movies to come out of the post-Watergate wave of paranoid political thrillers. Helmed by Coppola at the height of his powers, it’s taut, tense, and terrifying.
3 Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
After the blockbuster success of Jaws, Steven Spielberg was given a blank check by Hollywood, and used that blank check to realize his passion project. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a cinematic exploration of Spielberg’s obsession with U.F.O.s and the possibility of alien life coming to Earth. Richard Dreyfuss stars as blue-collar worker Roy Neary, who goes down the conspiracy rabbit hole after witnessing a flying saucer.
Related Close Encounters Of The Third Kind & 9 Other Thought-Provoking Alien Movies While many alien movies involve violent invasion spectacles, sci-fi films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind and District 9 make audiences think.
Garr gives one of her most powerful dramatic performances as Roy’s wife, Ronnie Neary. A lot of the movie focuses on the spectacle of spaceships and the mystery of extraterrestrial visitors, but Garr brings raw human emotion to the proceedings. She gives a heartbreaking turn as a woman helplessly watching her husband lose his mind, unable to stop his descent into madness despite her best efforts.
2 Tootsie
Sydney Pollack’s Tootsie is one of the greatest high-concept comedies ever made. It has a juicy premise and it wrings every possible laugh out of that premise. Dustin Hoffman stars as struggling actor Michael Dorsey, who resorts to dressing up as a woman to land a female role on a popular soap opera. Things get complicated when Michael falls for his co-star, Julie, played by Jessica Lange. Tootsie is a classic farce with an elaborate comic situation that keeps escalating further and further into chaos.
Garr plays Michael’s friend and fellow out-of-work actor, Sandy, who tried out for the same soap role that he eventually landed. Garr revolutionized the “ditzy blonde” archetype with this performance. She proved that these characters don’t have to be one-note caricatures; they can have real depth and personality and vulnerability.
1 Young Frankenstein
Garr got her breakout in Mel Brooks’ classic horror satire Young Frankenstein in 1974 — and it was some breakout. She plays Dr. Frederick Frankenstein’s lab assistant-turned-lover, Inga, who helps him awaken the monster and then, when it gets out of control, helps him tame it. From the charades sequence to the “Puttin’ on the Ritz” sequence, Young Frankenstein has some of the most hilarious scenes ever committed to film.
Related Recasting Young Frankenstein If It Was Made Today If Mel Brooks’ classic horror spoof Young Frankenstein was made today, it might star John Mulaney, Taika Waititi, and Rose Byrne.
Young Frankenstein is Teri Garr’s greatest movie by far. It’s a hilarious spoof of old-school Universal Monsters movies with non-stop laughs, but it’s also lit and shot so well that it looks and feels just like the real deal. Garr holds her own opposite two of the most intimidating scene partners she could ask for — Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman — and comes away with some of the film’s funniest moments.
Source: People
