
Selena Gomez started as a child star on Barney & Friends alongside Demi Lovato, became big on Disney Channel, tried the transition to serious actress and ultimately decided that music and producing were her thing. Her film career has been mixed: Disney films, an edgy turn in Spring Breakers, work with Jim Jarmusch and Woody Allen, and voicing a teenage vampire in four animated films. These days she shines in Only Murders in the Building, but here are the ten films worth watching.
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Spring Breakers (2013)
Four college girls (Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine) rob a restaurant to fund spring break, end up in jail and are bailed out by a grill-wearing drug dealer named Alien (James Franco, who steals the film). Gomez plays Faith, the religious one who's first to leave when things get too dark. Her attempt to prove she was no longer a Disney kid, and her most interesting choice.
Only Murders in the Building (2021-present)
Okay, this is TV, not a film, but it's her best work. Gomez plays Mabel Mora alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short: the cynical Gen Z-er opposite two older comedy legends, and the chemistry works perfectly.
Emilia Pérez (2024)
Jacques Audiard's musical about a Mexican cartel boss who transitions. Zoe Saldaña is the lawyer, Karla Sofía Gascón is Emilia Pérez and Gomez plays Jessi Del Monte, the cartel boss' wife. She sings and dances, and her Spanish divided opinions, but the film won awards at Cannes.
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016)
Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne versus a sorority, with Zac Efron returning to help them. Gomez plays the president of a rival sorority in one scene, and it's hilarious.
The Dead Don't Die (2019)
Bill Murray and Adam Driver play cops in a small American town, Tilda Swinton is a samurai and Gomez is a hipster killed by zombies. The cast is absurd: Steve Buscemi, Chloë Sevigny, Danny Glover, Tom Waits. Deliberately deadpan, and Gomez is good in her scenes.
The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)
Paul Rudd is a caregiver and Craig Roberts a disabled teenager on a road trip. Gomez plays Dot, a hitchhiker who joins them. Quirky indie formula, but it works thanks to the cast, and Gomez holds her own next to Rudd.
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie (2009)
The Disney Channel film based on the series that made her famous. Alex Russo (Gomez) accidentally wishes her parents had never met and has to fix it. It drew 11.4 million viewers, a record for Disney Channel at the time.
Ramona and Beezus (2010)
Joey King is Ramona and Gomez her big sister Beezus, with John Corbett and Bridget Moynahan as their parents and Josh Duhamel as the uncle. Wholesome family entertainment, with Gomez playing the responsible older sister well.
Another Cinderella Story (2008)
The second film in the A Cinderella Story franchise. Gomez is Mary, a dancer with a mean stepmother (Jane Lynch) who falls for a pop star. Lots of dancing, a masked ball and a lost Zune instead of a shoe. Pure kitsch, but fun.
Monte Carlo (2011)
Gomez plays Grace, a Texas teen who travels to Paris and is mistaken for a British heiress. Leighton Meester and Katie Cassidy are her friends and the late Cory Monteith is the love interest. Pure fantasy: beautifully shot in Monaco, an unlikely plot, but fun if you're 12.
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