Jonah Hill Stuck at Home List (COVID-19)
for GQ mag, https://www.instagram.com/p/B9413CGF6i-/ plus other movies mentioned in the article here https://www.gq.com/story/jonah-hill-movie-recommendations
List activity
97 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
31 titles
- DirectorHal AshbyStarsWarren BeattyJulie ChristieGoldie HawnOn Election Day, 1968, a hairdresser and ladies' man is too busy cutting hair and dealing with his various girlfriends and his mistress, whose husband he meets and finds out is having an affair with his ex-girlfriend."Shampoo stars Warren Beatty and it’s directed by Hal Ashby. It’s hysterical and it’s really satirical. Warren Beatty plays this playboy guy who works at a hair salon. He does all the women’s hair, and he ends up being this huge womanizer. It ultimately ends up being kind of like a commentary on that. I don’t know how it flies now, but I think it’s a comment on it because he ends up lonely and losing the love of his life. So it’s ultimately a cautionary tale. Warren Beatty at the height of being the GOAT, just killing it, and Hal Ashby...amazing.
It is a comedy. In the '70s comedies were not genre-fied in the same way. There were these great films that looked beautiful, made by great directors, where your A-level great filmmakers that made crazy dramas made 'comedies' and they had great actors in them and were shot by the great DPs." - DirectorHal AshbyStarsPeter SellersShirley MacLaineMelvyn DouglasAfter the death of his employer forces him out of the only home he's ever known, a simpleminded, sheltered gardener becomes an unlikely trusted advisor to a powerful tycoon and an insider in Washington politics."One of the greatest films ever made. The poster is based on a Magritte painting. Peter Sellers is the star. It’s hysterical and so beautiful. The best movie there is about a naive. Peter Sellers, one of the great comedic actors of all time, plays Chance, this guy who’s worked as a gardener for this woman for, like, 40 years. And she dies and he has never gone outside. So he walks into the modern world for the first time ‘cause he was raised as the kid of a gardener. And he accidentally becomes this political figure in the upper bourgeois - almost commenting on how stupid the upper elite is. This guy is so naive, and he becomes so celebrated in that world, but he has no idea that he’s even doing it."
- DirectorTamra DavisStarsChris RockAllen PayneDeezer DA guy makes a documentary of the rap band CB4 by following them. CB4 got popular by stealing Gusto's name, background and image. He wants them dead."I hope Chris Rock sees this. I love CB4. It falls into the genre of - it’s almost a Wayne’s World but about NWA. It’s in the spoof movie genre. I’ll do a slash on this one—CB4 and Fear of a Black Hat, directed by Rusty Cundieff. CB4 was directed by my friend Tamra Davis, who’s an amazing director. She gave Spike Jonze his first directing job.
CB4 is an amazing spoof movie of, like, an NWA-like band, but they’re from the suburbs and they’re kind of pretending to be harder than they are. There’s a song called 'Straight Outta Locash' instead of 'Straight Outta Compton.' I think I know all the words, but I won’t sing it. And Chris Elliott is great as the cameraman following them around. RIP Charlie Murphy—the first big Charlie Murphy performance is as the 'bad guy' in CB4. That was the first time I ever saw Charlie Murphy." - DirectorRusty CundieffStarsLarry B. ScottMark Christopher LawrenceRusty CundieffA mockumentary chronicling the rise and fall of NWH, a not particularly talented--or particularly bright but always controversial--hip-hop group.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsJack NicholsonCandice BergenArt GarfunkelChronicling the lifelong sexual development of two men who meet and become friends in college."Mike Nichols’ most famous film is probably The Graduate. He passed away a couple years ago. Carnal Knowledge is with Jack Nicholson and it came out, I believe, before The Graduate or maybe right after. It was really, really boundary pushing, sexually, what they were doing and talking about in the film. It’s a great Jack Nicholson performance."
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsDustin HoffmanAnne BancroftKatharine RossA disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsRobin WilliamsNathan LaneGene HackmanA gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée's right-wing moralistic parents."The Birdcage is a later Mike Nichols film written by Elaine May, who’s his old comedy partner, who’s also a brilliant genius and one of the first big female directors in Hollywood. Brilliant woman. It’s with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. Hank Azaria gives an amazing performance, as does Gene Hackman. It’s just one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. It holds up, and it’s great to watch ‘cause it’s cozy and it’s bright and it’s in Miami and it’s really funny. The, like, '96 Miami fashion is just a lot of Versace, which is so sick. Hank Azaria gives one of the funniest performances of all time in that movie. Like, for the record books."
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsFaye DunawayWilliam HoldenPeter FinchA television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control."Arguably the greatest screenplay of all time by Paddy Chayefsky. It’s just one of the best movies ever made. Any director you love, this is in their top 5 favorite movies. It has that famous line, like, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore.” It really is about feeling fucked over by the system and not being down for it anymore. It’s truly the best screenplay ever."
- DirectorAllison AndersStarsAngel AvilesSeidy LopezJacob VargasMousie and Sad Girl are childhood best friends in a contemporary Los Angeles poor Hispanic neighborhood. But when Sad Girl becomes pregnant by Mousie's boyfriend, a drug dealer named Ernesto, the two become bitter enemies. While their dispute escalates towards violence, the violence of the world around them soon also impacts their lives."Mi Vida Loca is a female Hispanic gang movie directed by Allison Anders in the 90s and it is one of the greatest movies, and one that I don’t think a lot of people have seen. For the aesthetic alone, it’s incredible. Just a great great film about female gang members in a Hispanic neighborhood in L.A. in the 90s. I had never seen a gang movie from the female perspective. And it has one of the greatest snapshots of East L.A. at that time."
- DirectorPeter SegalStarsChris FarleyDavid SpadeBrian DennehyAfter his auto-parts tycoon father dies, the overweight, underachieving son teams up with a snide accountant to try and save the family business."My next one is a fun movie. Tommy Boy is one of the funniest movies ever made. There’s few people in the world I wish were alive more than Chris Farley. I knew at the time, but even 20 years later showing my nephews all these comedies and SNL episodes from back in the day, Chris Farley is the thing they respond to having no backstory. When you rewatch Tommy Boy you’re, like, it’s one of the funniest performances ever. It’s so funny and so oddly poignant at times. And if you want an extra special bonus, watch Chris Farley’s David Letterman appearances. They’re so fucking gnarly."
- DirectorSpike JonzeStarsNicolas CageMeryl StreepChris CooperA lovelorn screenwriter becomes desperate as he tries and fails to adapt 'The Orchid Thief' by Susan Orlean for the screen."Adaptation by Spike Jonze, written by Charlie Kaufman. Definitely my favorite of both of their films. I don’t wanna give anything away. Just watch it. It’s such a fucking great movie. Shout out to Spike.
Spike directed a Beastie Boys film and I produced it with him and them. It was supposed to be on IMAX, and the Paramount Theater in Austin converted to IMAX for it before all this happened. But it will be on Apple+ April 24th." - DirectorSpike JonzeStarsBeastie BoysMike DAdam HorovitzHere's a little story they're about to tell... Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz share the story of the band, Beastie Boys, and 40 years of friendship in a live documentary experience directed by friend and collaborator, Spike Jonze.
- DirectorBarry JenkinsStarsMahershala AliNaomie HarrisTrevante RhodesA young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood."I felt conflicted to put this on the list, but then I thought it’s amazing to put it on. Sure, a movie that won best picture a couple years ago is not exactly a great call to put on this list. It’s like a mixtape—you don’t wanna put a top ten hit on the mixtape. But it’s so good and it’s so groundbreaking and there hasn’t been a director this exciting in decades and the movie’s just brilliant. Often when movies win best picture we don’t watch them ‘cause they’re kinda obvious and on our minds and everyone’s talked about how great they are, but Moonlight is even better than it was even talked about.
Barry Jenkins is literally the illest director to come out in decades. He’s a fucking genius. If you look at the circumstances in which that film was made, the amount of money they had, and the stress he was under it’s just a masterpiece. The storytelling device, which I know was inspired by a foreign movie, of having the actors play the three different characters is a device in storytelling that will now just be a thing. The problem with good shit is that it gets aped to the point where it’s not fresh anymore. But if you do it now, you’re not jocking Barry—Barry just did something that is now a storytelling device. He cracked a new code!" - DirectorMilos FormanStarsF. Murray AbrahamTom HulceElizabeth BerridgeThe life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him."Made by the great Miloš Forman, RIP. Amadeus is about Mozart, which sounds really boring to me if I just heard that, but it is one of the best movies ever, the best production design, the best acting. It’s just a masterpiece. It’s really about Mozart and Salieri. It’s almost like a broad comedy, but it’s so heartbreaking because this guy is coming up at the same time as Mozart and he’s really talented but he’ll never be close to as good as Mozart and it fucking tears his whole life up. It’s about watching the GOAT and you being this great person also but your spirit being constantly crushed because this guy’s such a difficult, fucked up, arrogant little brat, and then you watch his work and your jaw’s on the floor.
It’s kinda the opposite of how we’re living now, actually. Right now we’re all about 'who is the artist?' and 'how do they behave as a person?', and it’s not art versus artist. And back then, this guy was this tyrant, but then he made something that was so stunning that everyone around him forgave his terrible behavior." - DirectorSpike LeeStarsDanny AielloOssie DavisRuby DeeOn the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence."It’s as important and good as Goodfellas. If you have not seen it, this is what you should watch today. It’s one of the best movies ever made. I don’t know how to even describe its importance. It’s just the best. There’s few films I wanna use the 'I word' for, which is 'important', but this is an important film! Spike Lee is the GOAT. I could put 20 of his movies on here."
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroRay LiottaJoe PesciThe story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.
- DirectorLynne RamsayStarsTommy FlanaganMandy MatthewsWilliam EadieA naïve young lad navigates the dirty squalid streets of 1973 Glasgow and the poor youth around him."Ratcatcher is a heavy film directed by Lynne Ramsay, who was a super big influence on Mid90s. It fits in that genre of, like, This is England and Andrea Arnold films—just a great coming of age movie that’s really intense but beautiful and human. If you want something rich, artistic, deep, fucked up."
- DirectorJonah HillStarsSunny SuljicKatherine WaterstonLucas HedgesFollows Stevie, a thirteen-year-old in 1990s-era Los Angeles who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.
- DirectorShane MeadowsStarsThomas TurgooseStephen GrahamJo HartleyA young boy becomes friends with a gang of skinheads. Friends soon become like family, and relationships will be pushed to the very limit.
- DirectorAkiva SchafferJorma TacconeStarsAndy SambergJorma TacconeAkiva SchafferWhen it becomes clear that his solo album is a failure, a former boy band member does everything in his power to maintain his celebrity status."I went from Ratcatcher to Popstar, which is a really dope one-two punch. Popstar does not get enough love. It stars Andy Samberg, and it’s directed by his Lonely Island cohorts, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer—all great human beings. He plays a popstar. It’s a mockumentary, and it’s one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. It makes me cry laughing. My homie Rodney TK produced it, and Judd Apatow and all these people worked on it, and Andy Samberg is brilliant in it. It’s such a good staying home laugh movie. Underrated classic. As was Hot Rod. Popstar is a masterpiece to me. It’s Stepbrothers-level brilliant. Obviously if you’ve not seen Stepbrothers, you should watch that first."
- DirectorAkiva SchafferStarsAndy SambergIsla FisherIan McShaneSelf-proclaimed stuntman Rod Kimble is preparing for the jump of his life - to clear fifteen buses to raise money for his abusive stepfather Frank's life-saving heart operation.
- DirectorAdam McKayStarsWill FerrellJohn C. ReillyMary SteenburgenTwo aimless middle-aged losers still living at home are forced against their will to become roommates when their parents marry.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsRyan O'NealMarisa BerensonPatrick MageeAn Irish rogue wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband's aristocratic position in 18th-century England."By without a doubt the greatest filmmaker of all time, Stanley Kubrick. It also takes place in Renaissance time, with like, powdered wigs, and it’s all shot using natural light, meaning as the light would’ve been at the time, so with candles. He invented weird lenses that didn’t fit on cameras that shouldn’t have had them. No one can touch him. He’s the best director of all time, whether or not he’s your favorite. It’s a beautiful film—it’s slow, it’s gorgeous, it’s not like a fucking action movie. It’s slow, but it is worth it."
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsJoaquin PhoenixPhilip Seymour HoffmanAmy AdamsA Naval veteran arrives home from war unsettled and uncertain of his future - until he is tantalized by the Cause and its charismatic leader."I think this is becoming my favorite film of all time. It’s up there with Goodfellas and Casino and it might’ve shifted to number one of all time. You have to put Paul Thomas Anderson at the top of the list of best filmmakers. He’s gonna go down, like, Kubrick-level. His movies don’t shake the world like they should. The Master is just pretty much a perfect film. Its photography, its acting, the performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joachim Phoenix, and Amy Adams, it doesn’t get any better than that."
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroSharon StoneJoe PesciIn Las Vegas, two best friends - a casino executive and a mafia enforcer - compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.