First gaining recognition for her script for the groundbreaking independent film Juno, Diablo Cody has been a prominent voice in indie moviemaking. Often teaming up with director Jason Reitman, Cody has had no trouble seeing her scripts fully realized on-screen. The pair work well together, but Cody has seen success working with other directors, as well. In addition to collaborating with Reitman, Cody has also found something of a muse in Charlize Theron — the actress has worked on a Cody film two times so far, with more collaborations sure to come. Whether she’s writing about the trials and tribulations of single motherhood or the struggles of being a high school vampire, Cody has never shied away from using humor to shine a light on what it’s like to be a woman.
Tully
Her third collaboration with Jason Reitman was her most well-received since 2007’s Juno. Cody’s script was praised for its ability to humanize and sympathize with an overworked single mom. She often succeeds when she finds the funny in the absurdities of everyday life, and Tully is a grounded and valiant work. It’s the best thing she’s released so far.
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Juno
The one that started it all for her: Juno, featuring breakout performances from Ellen Page and Michael Cera and two interesting turns from Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner, is and always will be Diablo Cody’s beautifully flawed opus. It showed the world the best and the worst of her writing style and skyrocketed her career up to the place it is today.
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Jennifer’s Body
Perhaps Cody’s most underrated film, Jennifer’s Body is a masterpiece — a satire of high school comedies and a send-up of the vampire movie genre in the middle of the Twilight years, Jennifer’s Body is superb for almost its entire runtime. It wavers in its third act, preventing it from being at the top of the list, but it’s undoubtedly some of her best work to date.
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Young Adult
Her first time working with Charlize Theron was successful enough — it’s funny and inventive and grown-up and deep, with Reitman doing a good job with his direction and Cody doing even better with her script. Patton Oswald and Patrick Wilson are welcome additions to any film, so there’s no denying that this movie has more than enough working in its favor to balance out the downsides.
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Ricki and the Flash
A weird choice for both Cody and Meryl Streep, Ricki and the Flash sees the actress playing an old rocker in a script that revolves around some standard dysfunctional family fare. Streep is obviously great and Streep does a good enough job, but it’s really a wonder that this movie made it past the pitch (and that Jonathan Demme agreed to direct the thing, which serves as his final narrative film).
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Paradise
Cody’s only directorial effort to date proves that she might be better off sticking to strictly writing for a bit. There’s nothing horrible about the film from a direction standpoint, but there’s nothing too exceptional either. Regardless, the script is what really shines here more than the camerawork or the acting. Like Ricki and the Flash, Paradise is really just a strange movie more than anything else.
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