Hilary Duff's 15 best movies, ranked by critics

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Talia LakritzSep 28, 2021, 20:03 IST
Hilary Duff's 15 best movies, ranked by critics

Hilary Duff in "Cheaper by the Dozen."20th Century Studios

  • As well as TV shows like "Lizzie McGuire" and "Younger," Hilary Duff has been in more than 20 movies.
  • Not all of her films have been scored by critics on Rotten Tomatoes yet - we ranked the top 15.
  • Her top-rated film according to Rotten Tomatoes is "According to Greta" (2009) with 60%.
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Hilary Duff starred alongside her real-life sister, Haylie, in "Material Girls" in 2006. It's her lowest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes.

Hilary Duff starred alongside her real-life sister, Haylie, in "Material Girls" in 2006. It's her lowest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes.
Hilary and Haylie Duff in "Material Girls." Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Rotten Tomatoes score: 4%

Synopsis: Two out-of-touch heiress sisters lose all of their money and are forced to grapple with everyday tasks such as taking public transportation and wearing last year's clothes while working to save their father's company.

"Haylie and sister Hilary Duff just don't have the comedy stylings to sell this half-baked story of heiress sisters battling to save their dad's cosmetics empire from ruin," wrote Stella Papamichael of the BBC.

"The Perfect Man" starred Duff alongside Heather Locklear and Aria Wallace in 2005.

"The Perfect Man" starred Duff alongside Heather Locklear and Aria Wallace in 2005.
Hilary Duff, Heather Locklear, and Aria Wallace in "The Perfect Man." Universal Pictures

Rotten Tomatoes score: 6%

Synopsis: Jean (Locklear) hasn't had much luck with dating, so her daughter Holly (Duff) invents an online secret admirer. Holly balances the facade with her own blossoming love life.

"The intrigues are laboriously contrived, the film exudes disingenuous sentiments, and it has three happy endings — one for Mum and one for each daughter," wrote The Guardian's Philip French.

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Duff reprised her role of Lorraine Baker in "Cheaper by the Dozen 2," released in 2005.

Duff reprised her role of Lorraine Baker in "Cheaper by the Dozen 2," released in 2005.
Hilary Duff in "Cheaper by the Dozen 2." 20th Century Fox

Rotten Tomatoes score: 6%

Synopsis: An old rivalry between Tom Baker (Steve Martin) and Jimmy Murtaugh (Eugene Levy) and their large families threatens to overshadow the Bakers' trip to the family lake house.

"'Life's blazing by!' Martin cries at the outset to his brood. 'Let's go up to the lake one last time.' There's your entire premise. Set up Eugene Levy in a gigantic cabin across the water as Martin's foil in competitive parenting, and what you have is less a sequel to a not-so-bad remake than yet another remake, this one of that not-so-great 1988 John Candy comedy 'The Great Outdoors,'" wrote Gregory Kirschling of Entertainment Weekly.

Duff and Chad Michael Murray starred in the 2004 rom-com, "A Cinderella Story."

Duff and Chad Michael Murray starred in the 2004 rom-com, "A Cinderella Story."
Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray in "A Cinderella Story." Warner Bros.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 12%

Synopsis: A modern retelling of the classic fairy tale starring Duff as Samantha Montgomery, a humble high school student and waitress in her late father's diner who leaves her cell phone at a school dance instead of a glass slipper. Murray stars as the film's Prince Charming, a football star and Sam's anonymous internet pen pal.

"Picture the scene. The clock is about to strike midnight and Cinders must leave Prince Charming before her magic disguise disappears. She runs away from the castle, but in her haste she drops ... a mobile phone? Just one of the ill-conceived embellishments in A Cinderella Story, a ham-fisted update of the timeless fairytale set in contemporary California. The result is pure pumpkin, though fans of squeaky-clean, helium-voiced Hilary Duff might fall under its sickly sweet spell," wrote Neil Smith of the BBC.

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The 2009 comedy "Stay Cool" starred Duff as high school student Shasta O'Neil.

The 2009 comedy "Stay Cool" starred Duff as high school student Shasta O'Neil.
Hilary Duff in "Stay Cool." Initiate Productions

Rotten Tomatoes score: 14%

Synopsis: Henry (Mark Polish), a successful author, returns to his old high school to give the commencement address and reunites with his high school crush (Winona Ryder) while fielding advances from high school student Shasta O'Neil (Duff).

"'Stay Cool' attempts to pay homage to the '80s oeuvre of filmmaker John Hughes, but its singular lack of emotional logic, charm, and humor bring to mind a couple of hours in detention instead," wrote Los Angeles Times critic Robert Abele.

In 2004's "Raise Your Voice," Duff showed off both her acting and singing chops.

In 2004's "Raise Your Voice," Duff showed off both her acting and singing chops.
Hilary Duff and Oliver James in "Raise Your Voice." New Line Cinema

Rotten Tomatoes score: 15%

Synopsis: After her brother Paul (Jason Ritter) dies in a car accident, Terri (Duff) starts afresh in a performing arts school in Los Angeles. There, she rediscovers her passion for music while finding love and coming to terms with her grief.

"Thinking adults won't find much of 'Raise Your Voice' worth their time, but Ms. Duff's screen presence and the film's infectious high spirits will make this piece of fluff appealing to young moviegoers without conveying any sinister messages — except the suggestion that soul-crushing grief can be 'cured' in the short space of a summer," wrote Anita Gates of The New York Times.

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Duff played high school student Lucy in the 2009 drama "What Goes Up."

Duff played high school student Lucy in the 2009 drama "What Goes Up."
Hilary Duff in "What Goes Up." Sony Pictures

Rotten Tomatoes score: 16%

Synopsis: Depressed journalist Campbell Babbitt (Steve Coogan) bonds with a group of dysfunctional teenagers who were the students of his deceased college friend.

"'What Goes Up''s high-school milieu is a mishmash of familiar tropes and one-note characters, and a subplot involving a space-themed high-school musical (conceived and directed by a broadly mousy Molly Shannon) is an ill-conceived time-waster at best, and borderline offensive at worst. Yet throughout, [director Jonathan] Glatzer and [writer Robert] Lawson show a deep understanding of how common ideals can hold even a community of outsiders together," wrote Noel Murray of the AV Club.

Duff starred in her first horror film, "The Haunting of Sharon Tate," in 2019. She plays the titular character.

Duff starred in her first horror film, "The Haunting of Sharon Tate," in 2019. She plays the titular character.
Hilary Duff in "The Haunting of Sharon Tate." Saban Films

Rotten Tomatoes score: 19%

Synopsis: A horror film based on the true story of actress and model Sharon Tate's murder at the hands of members of Charles Manson's cult.

"Instead of being just a horror movie it becomes yet another wound, using the actress's tragic death as fodder for cheap thrills," wrote Daniel M. Kimmel of NorthShoreMovies.net.

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In 2003's "Cheaper by the Dozen," Duff played Lorraine, one of the 12 Baker children.

In 2003's "Cheaper by the Dozen," Duff played Lorraine, one of the 12 Baker children.
Hilary Duff in "Cheaper by the Dozen." 20th Century Studios

Rotten Tomatoes score: 24%

Synopsis: Tom (Steve Martin) and Kate Baker (Bonnie Hunt) move their 12 children to a new city as their respective careers take off, but the change proves difficult for their large brood.

"The movie is lighthearted fun, providing little character bits for all of the family members, from young Forrest Landis, whose life centers on his pet frog, all the way up to older sister Hilary Duff, whose romantic adventures involve the usual PG-rated heartbreak," wrote film critic Roger Ebert.

Duff portrayed sultry pop star Yonica Babyyeah in the 2008 satirical comedy "War, Inc."

Duff portrayed sultry pop star Yonica Babyyeah in the 2008 satirical comedy "War, Inc."
Hilary Duff in "War, Inc." First Look Studios

Rotten Tomatoes score: 29%

Synopsis: A satirical take on the military industrial complex in which corporations — not countries — fight wars.

"Without a doubt, there are uproarious ideas in 'War, Inc.,' and even if this scattershot satire on America's foreign entanglements arrives a little late in the day, it still has some agreeably wacked-out moments," wrote Robert Horton of HeraldNet.

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In the 2016 film "Flock of Dudes," Duff played a fiancée who signals a new age of maturity in a raucous friend group.

In the 2016 film "Flock of Dudes," Duff played a fiancée who signals a new age of maturity in a raucous friend group.
Skylar Astin and Hilary Duff in "Flock of Dudes." Starz Distribution

Rotten Tomatoes score: 36%

Synopsis: A group of immature friends faces adulthood after one of its members (Skylar Austin) proposes to his girlfriend Amanda (Duff).

"The potential is there for a greater understanding of Peter Pan Syndrome, but [co-writer/director Bob] Castrone isn't prepared for the bigger battle, instead creating a pleasant, periodically hilarious feature that pokes fun at twentysomethings facing the pains of arrested development," wrote Brian Orndorf of Blu-ray.com.

Duff starred alongside Frankie Muniz in "Agent Cody Banks" in 2003.

Duff starred alongside Frankie Muniz in "Agent Cody Banks" in 2003.
Frankie Muniz and Hilary Duff in "Agent Cody Banks." Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Rotten Tomatoes score: 38%

Synopsis: High school student and CIA agent Cody Banks (Muniz) is instructed to befriend classmate Natalie Connors (Duff) in order to collect information about her scientist father (Martin Donovan), whose evil robots threaten to take over the world.

"Muniz and Duff are always fun to watch, and there are some nice stunts, especially a skateboard rescue of a toddler in a runaway car and a snowboard entry into the bad guy's arctic lair," wrote Nell Minow of Common Sense Media.

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Duff played both Lizzie McGuire and her pop star lookalike Isabella in "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" in 2003.

Duff played both Lizzie McGuire and her pop star lookalike Isabella in "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" in 2003.
Hilary Duff in "The Lizzie McGuire Movie." Walt Disney Pictures

Rotten Tomatoes score: 40%

Synopsis: Based on the hit Disney Channel series, "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" follows Lizzie and her classmates on a school trip to Rome. There, Lizzie meets Italian pop star Paolo, who asks her to stand in for his duet partner who looks just like her, but not all goes as planned.

"Young fans of the TV show will relish 'Lizzie' because the innocuously likable Duff is in every scene, modeling wacky outfits and singing. Accompanying adults will be grateful there's no violence or potty humor, a rarity in kids' films today," wrote Leah Rozen of People magazine.

In 2010's "Bloodworth," based on the novel "Provinces of Night," Duff played an edgier role as Raven Lee Halfacre, the daughter of an alcoholic prostitute.

In 2010's "Bloodworth," based on the novel "Provinces of Night," Duff played an edgier role as Raven Lee Halfacre, the daughter of an alcoholic prostitute.
Hilary Duff and Reece Thompson in "Bloodworth." Samuel Goldwyn Films

Rotten Tomatoes score: 50%

Synopsis: Three brothers reunite with their estranged father, a traveling musician who abandoned them 40 years prior, and try to mend their relationship.

"The film's payoff is clumsy and obvious. But [Kris] Kristofferson, [Barry] Corbin, [Val] Kilmer, [Dwight] Yoakam and Duff create indelible characters in just a few scenes each," wrote Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel.

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Hilary Duff played the titular role in "According to Greta" in 2009, her top-rated film according to critics.

Hilary Duff played the titular role in "According to Greta" in 2009, her top-rated film according to critics.
Hilary Duff in "According to Greta." Anchor Bay Entertainment ; Whitewater Films

Rotten Tomatoes score: 60%

Synopsis: When a troubled teenager is sent to live with her grandparents for the summer, she learns important life lessons and finds love in this coming-of-age film.

"Duff's unexpectedly strong work ensures that her character's relationship with [Evan] Ross' Julie is substantially more intriguing than one might've initially suspected, with the inclusion of several progressively poignant moments and a thoroughly satisfying conclusion cementing 'According to Greta''s impressive transformation from bottom-of-the-barrel teen drama to surprisingly engrossing character study," wrote David Nusair of Reel Film Reviews.

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