Judy Greer is great. You probably know her from Arrested Development or FX's Married or any number of lower budget movie roles like Jeff, Who Lives At Home in which she's been delightful over the years. She even voices the character of Cheryl on FX's Archer. The point being, she's around on TV and on the big screen quite often, but you may not really remember her for some of the major franchise roles she's nabbed recently, including the original Jurassic World and the Ant-Man franchise movies. Yes, Greer's in both, and it's a damn shame she isn't given more to do.
In Jurassic World, Judy Greer is around early on in the movie, playing the mother of Zach and Grey. Then, you know what happens? They head off to Jurassic World, where they are in the middle of chaos and dinosaurs chomping on human flesh, while Judy Greer's character sits on her rear at home, panicked. Ant-Man has to be better, right? Well, in truth it is, marginally. In Ant-Man, Greer plays Maggie, Scott Lang's ex and co-parent. She spends most of the first movie knocking on Scott Lang's criminal enterprises and general deadbeat status, but by Ant-Man and the Wasp, the two have made up. Now on Team Scott Lang, Maggie spends most of that movie hounding the FBI for raiding his home at every opportunity. Other than that, she doesn't really factor into the plot of the sequel.
Judy Greer herself has spoken out about the side roles she's cast in previously on Conan when the late night host happened to mention she tends to playing sidelining roles, like playing the best friend.
I don't think I'm a really great friend. My friends have told me I'm selfish and I'm hard to get in touch with, but I can't really put my finger on [getting cast as the best friend.] Maybe because I seem like someone that would have no other life besides boosting the ego of someone who is slightly more attractive than me but less funny?
And that comment, right there, is why Judy Greer needs more to do in movies, especially big budget franchise movies that could put her front and center. Besides being competent at acting, Greer is lively, she's funny and she's a little bit self-deprecating. At this point in her career, she's probably never going to be the lead in a big budget event film. Somehow, I don't see her as an action heroine either, although a few years ago, I probably would have said the same thing about Bryce Dallas Howard. Still, a person can be more of a character actress and still be used in a plot in a way that makes her talents apparent. For example, maybe that means making pithy comments for half of a J World movie before getting eaten by a dinosaur in an epic death scene. In Ant-Man and the Wasp, she could have had a role akin to one of the ex-cons, getting funny lines similar to that Baba Yaga joke. Yes, Ant-Man and the Wasp is more about the Pym family than Lang's family. But Judy Greer deserves better. She deserves to use her God-given talents. Or at least be the type of character in big budget movies whose name people know.
Speaking of names, next up we'll see Judy Greer in the Halloween reboot, where she'll play Karen Strode, the daughter of Laurie Strode. Maybe this will be the big budget venture that finally gets Judy Greer right.
