Judd Apatow’s impact on modern comedy is immeasurable. He began writing, directing and producing several cult TV comedy classics such as “The Ben Stiller Show,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared.” His feature work was more limited until the mid-aughts, when his directorial debut, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” because a runaway hit and immediately popularized his shaggy, relaxed, improv-heavy and warmhearted film construction.
With that, Apatow became one of the most in-demand names behind the camera in Hollywood, directing eight more features and producing scores more. His Midas touch included co-writing a well-received Sandler comedy (“You Don’t Mess with the Zohan”), producing a slew of critically and commercially revered projects from his friends (“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” and “Superbad,” to name a few) and even returning to TV to executive produce Lena Dunham’s buzzy “Girls.”
Yet Apatow’s directorial efforts seemed to be his most pure expressions, a little less goofy and more heartfelt than his other wackier fare. He tackled the downsides of fame (“Funny People”), aging (“This Is 40”), parenting (“Knocked Up”), and told the personal stories of two white-hot comedians, Amy Schumer in “Trainwreck” and Pete Davidson in “The King of Staten Island.” Even though those stories were not autobiographical to him, he understood the complexity behind these comedic figures and allowed them to tell their tales in their own way.
Check out Variety‘s ranking of Apatow’s best work, limited to feature directing but including his documentaries.