Jamie Foxxhas made headlines over the last few months due to his illness, which, from the sounds of it, may have been a brush with death. Support from fellow actors, fans, friends, and family was made public, as he seems to have made a full recovery from what was believed to be something caused by high blood pressure that createdclots in the brain.Nearly leading to a stroke.
With news of his health scare making headlines over the better part of 2023, a lot of people have delved deep into his filmography to remind themselves of why they’ve always admired Foxx. A multi-talented performer, who has stepped in front of the camera for diverse roles, as well as stepped into the recording booth for a career in music. Winning an Oscar for portraying Ray Charles has done wonders for his career over the last decade and a half. But Foxx has a slew of films and performances that deserve more love. Here are the ten underrated films of Jamie Foxx.
10The Players Club (1998)
Written and directed by Ice Cube, it is an absolute time capsule from the late 1990s.The Players Clubstars LisaRaye McCoy as a woman who goes to school during the day and tries to pay for it at night. Her job at a retail store seems irrelevant as she is approached by two exotic dancers who offer for her to come work at the local club titled The Players Club. In this comedy that plays on the trope of a woman doing something they may not want to do to get ahead in the world, Jamie Foxx plays the smooth-talking, wildly funny supporting role of Blue, the club’s DJ. Foxx found his way to the forefront of Hollywood with his comedic talents. They’re on full display here.
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9The Kingdom (2007)
The Kingdomis a highly underrated action film. With a cast that includes Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, Jeremy Piven, and Jamie Foxx in the lead. The Peter Berg-directed film doesn’t let up for its entire runtime. Foxx plays a federal agent by the name of Ron Fluery. He has a tight time window to assemble a team and then infiltrate and destroy a terrorist cell in Saudi Arabia. The film deals with themes of culture shock between the U.S. and the Middle East, as his plans to accomplish his mission are thwarted by the locals and how they view Americans.
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8Bait (2000)
Baitis one of the first films in which we began to see Foxx become a leading man. It isn’t a bad film, but it isn’t very memorable either. In it, Foxx plays a petty thief who vows to go legit after his prison sentence is over. However, he ends up sharing a jail cell with one half of a pair of high-tech jewel thieves. He cuts a shady deal with the Feds to get freedom, but they use him as bait to lure the other jewel thief that is still at large.Baitis directed byAntoine Fuqua, who would go on to direct films likeTraining DayandThe Equalizerfranchise.
7Sleepless (2017)
By critics standards, 2017’sSleeplesswas a forgettable action film where Jamie Foxx played a Las Vegas police officer who finds himself in a high-stakes world of police corruption, gangsters, and internal affairs. Foxx’s teenage son in the film is kidnapped, and now he has a restless night ahead of him to save his son and bring the criminals to justice. The film’s plot feels reminiscent of an old-school action film’s from the 80s or 90s, and Foxx fits the role quite well. Back in 2020, it was labeled byWe Got This Covered as underrated, as it made Netflix’s top 10 list at the time.
6Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)
There are many who don’t even know that this film exists.Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Storywas a 2004 made-for-television drama about the true life story of Tookie Williams, one of the founding members of the vicious street gang, The Crips. Tookie Williams was given the death penalty and ended up being executed the following year, after this film was released. Foxx plays Williams, a man who, over the course of his prison sentence, found redemption for his tragic errors in life. He did that by becoming a successful children’s author; his books were meant to teach kids to stay away from gang violence and the lifestyle that comes with it.
From prison, Williams was able to negotiate a truce between over 400 members of both the Crips and Bloods. Williams would go on to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize multiple times. The film as a whole has been labeled an average biopic, but Foxx’s portrayal of Tookie Williams received high praise. Undoubtedly, this was a role that helped push Foxx into more serious roles.
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5Miami Vice (2006)
Director Michael Mann, who initially got his start directing episodes of the original show back in the 1980s, directed the film version ofMiami Vice. Foxx plays Ricardo Tubbs, opposite Will Ferrell as Sonny Corcket. The film would be the second outing of Jamie Foxx working with Michael Mann. Miami Vice has been known to have mixed reviews and actuallyhad a very troubled shoot. Tropical South Florida weather caused some delays.
The production reportedly hired security services from local gangsters. When the production shifted to the Dominican Republic, Foxx apparently had an altercation with the police and military one day, which led him to flee the country. Thus making Michael Mann have to re-shoot an ending for the film. Despite the troubled production, a lot of people have taken a second look atMiami Viceand find it to be a pretty well-done action crime drama, done in a way only Michael Mann could do.
4Booty Call (1997)
Booty Callis a late-nineties' comedy about one simple thing: the search for condoms. Jamie Foxx plays the character Bunz. Who is brought on by the lead character Rushon (Tommy Davidson) to double-date with him, the girl he’s dating (Tamala Jones), and her friend (Vivica A. Fox). The double date goes very well for all four consenting adults as they make their way from the restaurant to the bedroom. But the ladies hold their own and force the men to go out and buy protection, and thus hilarity ensues.Booty Callis another testament to Foxx’s comedic timing early in his career. He’s a scene-stealer in the supporting role.
3Day Shift (2022)
Movies can be hot one weekend on Netflix and forgotten the next. Jamie Foxx inDay Shiftwas a genuinely nice thing to see. It’s a fun horror-action film about a hardworking, blue-collar dad (Foxx) who just wants to provide for his daughter. His job as a pool cleaner is just a front for his real gig, hunting vampires. The film gives off vibes reminiscent ofThe Lost BoysandBig Trouble in Little China. It has been criticized as something that runs out of steam in its second half, but the performances by Snoop Dogg, Dave Franco, Meagan Good, and, of course, Jamie Foxx have received high praise upon its release.
Related:Day Shift Director Has Pitched A Sequel, Night Shift, to Netflix
2Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
Law Abiding Citizenis an overlooked film from 2009. Foxx plays Nick Rice, a prosecutor who cuts a deal with the murderer of a man’s family in exchange for a testimony to put another criminal in jail. 10 years later, the man who lost his family (Gerald Butler) resurfaces to kill the man who killed his family, and once incarcerated, he performs a full-on attack on the legal system all from his jail cell. Foxx and Butler are electric as they spar lines of dialogue with one another. The mystery of how Butler pulls off these criminal acts is a little lackluster. But the slasher film element to it works in favor of the film, as does the commentary on the American legal system. And apparently,a sequel to this is now in the works.
1Just Mercy (2020)
In one of his most recent and overlooked dramatic performances, Jamie Foxx plays Walter McMillian inJust Mercy, a man who is wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Michael B. Jordan leads the cast as Bryan Stevensen, a defense attorney who goes to Alabama after graduating from Harvard to defend those wrongfully condemned or who can’t seek proper representation.
In a film that is based on a true story, Foxx’s performance felt worthy of Oscar buzz, but was a little too late to the party upon its release in early 2020. Regardless, the film is a slow simmer of acourtroom dramawith a true story at the backdrop of it that makes you frustrated at the unfortunate side of our legal system. As well as worry about how many Walter McMillians there have been in the history of this country.
