Kevin Bacon’s 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

Ever since catching a fraternity paddle across his behind in National Lampoon’s Animal House in 1978, Kevin Bacon has ascended to become more than a household name. Over the past 40 years, Bacon has accrued nearly 100 big and small screen credits, carving out a reputation as one of the finest leading men and character actors in the process.

Bacon has been involved in some of the most beloved cinematic cult favorites, from the original Friday the 13th, Animal House and Footloose to Tremors, Wild Things, and many more. He’s been so popular and ubiquitous on-screen that the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game was created to celebrate him. As we await the return of Bacon’s new Showtime series, City on a Hill, here is the man’s 10 best movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes!

10 The Big Picture (1989) 87%

Before Christopher Guest all but created the mockumentary for which he’s now most known, he made a little movie in 1989 called The Big Picture. Bacon stars as Nick Chapman in the film that absolutely skewers Hollywood. Wait, Bacon? Skewers? Who’s hungry?

In the highly underrated film, Nick Chapman thinks he’s headed for the big-time when his short student film wins a prestigious award. The honor leads Nick to Hollywood, where he soon learns not all is as it seems. Forced to compromise his vision at every turn, Nick finally understands the big picture!

9 Tremors (1990) 88%

“Pardon my French!” While it was surely a bummer to learn the pilot for the 2018 TV reboot wasn’t picked up, nothing can change the awesome glory of the original cult-classic horror-comedy, Tremors!

Who can forget the crackling chemistry between Val (Bacon) and Burt (Fred Ward), two dead-ended cowboys in the tiny desert town of Perfection that is overrun by giant “Graboid” underground worms? Yeah, nobody! As an obvious nod to 1950s sci-fi B-movies, the movie spawned five sequels over the span of 28 years. Could there be more?

8 The Woodsman (2004) 88%

Bacon gives perhaps the most daring turn of his career as the titular Woodsman, a repentant pedophile looking for redemption following his release from a 12-year stint in prison.

When Walter, a convicted child molester, is released after a dozen years behind bars, he tries to begin life anew. Even in a new town, Walter can’t escape the stigma of his reputation and finds it much more difficult than he thought to adjust to life outside prison. A devastating performance in a hard film to digest!

7 Mystic River (2003) 88%

While his costars Sean Penn and Tim Robbins bagged Oscar awards for their fine performances, many believe it was Bacon’s turn in Mystic River that should have been recognized come awards season. Either way, the movie is among Bacon’s best!

The knotty crime plot concerns the death of Katie (Emmy Rossum), Jimmy Markum’s (Penn) young daughter. Bacon plays Sean Devine, Jimmy’s longtime friend who happens to be the cop assigned to the case. As Sean searches for answers, he must confront his own sordid and scarring past.

6 National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978) 90%

“Thank you, sir, may I have another?” In his very first feature film, Bacon played Chip Diller, the paddle-whipped fraternity pledge in the classic cult-comedy National Lampoon’s Animal House.

Once Diller passes muster, he’s admitted to the Omega Theta Pi frat, where he consorts with a yuppie parade out to rid the partying Delta House from campus. The John Landis film has become a national treasure and is largely considered one of the most revered American film comedies of all time!

5 Diner (1982) 92%

Barry Levinson’s coming-of-age hangout film features a whos who of 80s film stars. Bacon costars with Mickey Rourke, Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, Paul Riser, and Tim Daly in the classic period piece. Wait? Bacon? Diner? Who’s hungry?

Diner centers on a group of college pals who convene at their local eatery in 1959 Baltimore to discuss everything under the sun. Girls, school, parents, troubles at homes, pregnancy, and other pressing issues of the time thrust the young men into adulthood, even when some of them aren’t quite ready.

4 Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) 93%

While Bacon starred in John Hughes’ She’s Having a Baby one year later, his part in Planes, Trains & Automobiles is merely a hilarious cameo.

The anti-buddy road-trip film starts with ad-exec Neal Page (Steve Martin) hurrying to catch a taxi out of bustling Chicago. He spots a cab on the street and races toward it, only to get snaked by Bacon’s “Taxi Racer” character. The snub leads Neal to Dell Griffith (John Candy), an obnoxious loud-mouth who ends up moving Neal in ways he didn’t expect. A tremendous film!

3 Frost/Nixon (2008) 93%

Thirteen years after starring in Apollo 13, Bacon reunited with director Ron Howard for the true story of Frost/Nixon. Heck, Bacon also starred in Friday the 13th, as well. Talk about a numerical motif!

Forst/Nixon recreates the real 1977 meeting between U.S. President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) and British talk-show host David Frost (Michael Sheen) in the years after the Watergate scandal. Bacon plays Jack Brennan in the film, former U.S. Marine and Nixon’s post-Watergate Chief of Staff. The film was nominated for five Oscars!

2 Apollo 13 (1995) 95%

In Ron Howard’s epic celebration of NASA’s biggest “successful failure,” Bacon soars to the moon with his performance as Jack Swigert in Apollo 13!

The film charts the ill-fated Apollo 13 moon mission, in which three astronauts miraculously survive a catastrophic engine failure while en route to the lunar surface. With American ingenuity and teamwork on display, a near-impossible sequence of events transpires to return the three men home safely. The film won two Oscars, one for Best Film Editing and another for Best Sound.

1 Starting Over (1979) 100%

Believe it or not, the highest-rated Bacon flick, according to RT, is one he barely appeared in more than 40 years ago. Funny how that works out sometimes!

In Starting Over, directed by the late great Alan J. Pakula, Bacon is billed as Husband – Young Couple. As for the plot, the twice Oscar-nominated film tracks Phil Potter (Burt Reynolds), a divorced man who falls in love with a new woman (Jill Clayburgh) but cannot get over his wife (Candice Bergen). The film plays as a sit-com as Phil tries to piece his life back together.