Honestly, if you grew up in the early 2000s, Anna Faris was basically the face of the "silly blonde" trope. But that label is kinda unfair. It’s too simple. If you actually look at the full list of anna faris movies and tv shows, you see an actress who was essentially doing high-level slapstick in a decade that didn't always respect it. She was our modern-day Lucille Ball, just with more gross-out jokes and a lot of fake blood.
She didn’t just play the ditzy girl. She mastered her.
The Scary Movie Era: A Masterclass in Being Hit by Things
Most people first met Anna as Cindy Campbell. It’s easy to dismiss Scary Movie (2000) as just a bunch of low-brow gags, but Faris was doing something incredibly difficult. She had to be the "straight man" in a world that made zero sense.
Think about the physical comedy required for that role. She spent four movies getting hit by cars, punched by skeletons, and thrown through walls. She once compared those films to a "bootcamp" for her career. It taught her how to use props and how to fall without breaking her neck. The first film was a massive hit, raking in over $278 million worldwide. That’s huge for a R-rated parody.
We’re actually seeing a bit of a revival now. It was recently confirmed that she’s returning for Scary Movie 6, slated for 2026. After years away from the franchise, she’s reuniting with Regina Hall. Apparently, her only real condition for coming back was "money and Regina." Fair enough.
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That One Indie Film Nobody Talks About
While the world knew her for Scary Movie, Anna was quietly turning in one of the most unsettling performances of the 2000s in a movie called May (2002).
If you haven't seen it, it’s a weird, gory, indie horror flick about a lonely girl who tries to "make" the perfect friend. Anna plays Polly, a chaotic, flirtatious veterinary assistant. It’s the total opposite of Cindy Campbell. It’s edgy. It’s uncomfortable. It proved she had range way beyond the parody genre, even if the box office numbers ($600k total) didn't reflect it.
The Supporting Roles That Stole the Show
It’s wild how many "prestige" or cult classic movies she’s popped up in.
- Lost in Translation (2003): She plays Kelly, the vapid, bubbly actress who drives Scarlett Johansson’s character crazy. Sofia Coppola reportedly based the character on a real Hollywood starlet.
- Brokeback Mountain (2005): Yes, she’s in a serious Western. She plays LaShawn Malone. It was a tiny role, but it showed she could hang in an Oscar-winning ensemble.
- Just Friends (2005): Samantha James. Need I say more? Her performance as a deranged, ego-maniacal pop star is arguably the funniest part of that entire movie. "Forgiveness is more than saying sorry..."
The Pivot to Television: Mom and the Multi-Cam Grind
For a long time, the industry tried to pigeonhole her into "the girlfriend" roles in movies like The Dictator or What’s Your Number?. But then came Mom.
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Starting in 2013, Faris took on the role of Christy Plunkett on the CBS sitcom. This was a massive shift. The show dealt with heavy stuff—addiction, relapse, poverty—but kept the multi-cam laughs. Playing a recovering addict mother alongside the legendary Allison Janney for seven seasons gave Faris the kind of critical respect she’d been chasing for a decade.
She walked away from the show in 2020, which shocked fans. The show went on for one more season without her, but it never felt quite the same. It was the end of a very specific era of her career.
Voice Work and Recent Projects
You’ve probably heard her voice even if you didn't realize it was her. She’s Sam Sparks in the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs franchise and Jeanette in the Alvin and the Chipmunks movies. Voice acting is a different beast, but her natural perkiness works perfectly for animation.
Recently, she’s been popping up in more experimental TV. She did an episode of It's Florida, Man in late 2024 and played a role in the Dave Bautista movie My Spy: The Eternal City.
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The Anna Faris Career Checklist
If you're looking to do a deep dive into anna faris movies and tv shows, here is the essential viewing order that isn't just the hits:
- Smiley Face (2007): A stoner comedy where she is the lead. It’s basically a one-woman show.
- The House Bunny (2008): She produced this one. It’s sweet, weird, and features a very young Emma Stone.
- Friends (Season 10): She played Erica, the mother of Monica and Chandler’s twins. It’s only a few episodes, but she’s hilarious as the naive birth mother.
- The Estate (2022): A much darker, meaner comedy about a family fighting over an inheritance.
Anna Faris has always been better than the material she was given. Even in "bad" movies, she’s usually the best part. She has this "anything for a laugh" quality that is actually pretty rare in Hollywood. Whether she's getting hit in the face with a basketball or dealing with a messy divorce on a sitcom, she stays relatable.
If you want to keep up with her latest work, keep an eye out for Scary Movie 6 and her upcoming voice role in Toy Story 5. You can also listen to her podcast, Unqualified, where she’s been interviewing celebs and giving (mostly bad, but fun) relationship advice for years. It’s probably the best way to see the "real" Anna—someone who doesn't take herself nearly as seriously as the rest of the industry does.
To get the most out of her filmography, start with Smiley Face to see her pure comedic timing, then jump to Mom to see how she handles the heavy stuff.