Every Winona Ryder movie, ranked according to critics
Abby Monteil
- Winona Ryder is an actress known for movies like "Beetlejuice," "Heathers," and "Edward Scissorhands."
- The actress received two Oscar nominations for her work in "The Age of Innocence" and "Little Women."
- Her highest-rated film is 2009's Star Trek."
- Below are the movies that Ryder has starred in throughout her career, ranked by critics' scores on Rotten Tomatoes.
Winona Ryder has had a decades-long career, and is arguably best known for leading iconic '80s and '90s movies like "Beetlejuice," "Edward Scissorhands," and "Heathers."
Ryder has received two Oscar nominations for her performances in "The Age of Innocence" and the 1994 version of "Little Women."
She has been in 44 films total, but some of them have been more well-received than others.
Here are all of the movies that Ryder has appeared in, ranked according to critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes.
Note: All scores were current on the date of publication and are subject to change.
Ryder's lowest-rated film is the 2000 horror movie "Lost Souls."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 8%
Synopsis: In "Lost Souls," Ryder played a Catholic teacher who meets an atheist journalist (Ben Chaplin) rumored to be the Antichrist.
"Far from being frightening or brutal or harrowing, as an exorcism thriller ought to be, ['Lost Souls' is] silly, undone by lack of faith in its own subject," wrote Entertainment Weekly critic Lisa Schwarzbaum.
In the 2009 Hollywood drama "The Informers," the actress played a TV anchorwoman.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 12%
Synopsis: "The Informers" is based on writer Bret Easton Ellis' short story collection of the same name, and follows several well-off characters over the course of one week in 1980s Los Angeles, which is filled with sex, drugs, and violence.
Ryder was part of the film's ensemble cast, portraying a TV anchorwoman who has an affair with a movie producer.
"['The Informers' is] a narcissistic, knuckleheaded movie about nihilistic, narcissistic knuckleheads — which would have made it an interesting exercise in satire, if it had a sense of humor," wrote John Anderson for The Washington Post. "Which it profoundly does not."
She had a role in the 2011 romantic comedy "Stay Cool."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 14%
Synopsis: "Stay Cool" centers on a successful author named Henry (Mark Polish), who returns to his hometown to give a commencement speech at his former high school. While there, he attempts to reconnect with his old flame (Ryder).
"'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.
Ryder starred in the 1996 thriller "Boys."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 15%
Synopsis: As "Boys" opens, prep school teenager John Baker (Lukas Haas) discovers an unconscious woman named Patty (Ryder), and decides to take her back to his dormitory to nurse her back to health. They soon develop a questionable relationship, and John suspects that Patty is keeping secrets from him.
"As Patty Vare, a townie who is hidden away in a boys' school dormitory while unconscious from a riding accident, Ms. Ryder gives an earnest, carefully shaded performance," wrote Stephen Holden for The New York Times. "But with her wide, questioning eyes, demurely pursed lips and drippy little voice, she fails to convey the reckless sensuality that might have given this older-woman, younger-man drama a spark of heat."
The actress played a terminally ill young woman who begins an unexpected relationship in the 2000 romantic drama "Autumn In New York."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 19%
Synopsis: "Autumn in New York" tracks the romance that builds between a terminally ill young woman (Ryder) and a charismatic older man (Richard Gere) over the course of one fall season.
"Enjoyment of 'Autumn in New York' depends to a certain degree on a viewer's tolerance for a mood of luxurious melancholy," wrote Bob Graham for The San Francisco Chronicle. "At 105 minutes, it becomes too much of an indulgence."
She acted alongside Adam Sandler in the 2002 comedy "Mr. Deeds."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 22%
Synopsis: In "Mr. Deeds," a small-town man (Adam Sandler) suddenly inherits part of a massive media conglomerate. Ryder portrayed his love interest, a reporter at the company.
"There's a price to pay for the guilty pleasure [director] Steven Brill's film affords — a relentless process of dumbing down that tells the audience it's cool to be a doofus," wrote BBC critic Neil Smith.
Ryder had a supporting role in the 2011 comedy "The Dilemma."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 24%
Synopsis: When Ronny (Vince Vaughn), the protagonist of "The Dilemma," sees his wife (Ryder) with another man, he and his best friend (Kevin James) search for answers.
"['The Dilemma'] collapses into comic mayhem, falling-out-of-trees slapstick, snore-bore misunderstandings and a sizeable distance between laughs," wrote Cath Clarke for The Guardian.
The actress appeared with Joseph Fiennes in the 2006 indie comedy "The Darwin Awards."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 25%
Synopsis: In "The Darwin Awards," a former homicide detective (Fiennes) and an insurance investigator (Ryder) team up to investigate bizarre insurance claims that resulted in deaths or strange accidents.
"['The Darwin Awards' is] a not always digestible blend of screwball comedy, black humor and film noir [...] With the specter of death hanging over everything," wrote Ruthe Stein for The San Francisco Chronicle. "[...] The humor dissipates as we watch one weird death after another."
She starred in the 2007 dark comedy "Sex and Death 101."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 27%
Synopsis: "Sex and Death 101" revolves around business executive Roderick (Simon Baker), who receives an email containing the names of 101 women (29 of whom he's had sexual relationships with).
Believing that this list names everyone he will ever sleep with, Roderick breaks up with his fiancée and begins pursuing the other women, before crossing paths with the last woman named in the email — Death Nell (Ryder), who has been killing off men guilty of sex crimes.
"As a writer, Waters is best-known for creating Ryder's sharp black comedy, 'Heathers,' and Bruce Willis' self-indulgent bomb, 'Hudson Hawk,'" wrote The Seattle Times critic John Hartl. "As a director, he tends to waste actors (Ryder and Baker can do much better than their work here) and he fails to establish a consistent comic tone."
Ryder costarred with Meryl Streep in the 1994 historical drama "The House of the Spirits."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 30%
Synopsis: Adapted from author Isabel Allende's best-selling novel, "The House of the Spirits" follows the melodramatic events in the lives of one South American family during the 20th century.
"Inert from its opening moments to its too-long-delayed close, this lackluster production is an example of international filmmaking at its least attractive, and a misstep in the careers of pretty much everyone involved," wrote Kenneth Turan for The Los Angeles Times.
In the 1987 drama "Square Dance," the actress played a teenager who goes to live with her estranged mother.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 31%
Synopsis: At the beginning of "Square Dance," 13-year-old Gemma (Ryder) goes to live with her formerly estranged mother (Jane Alexander) in Fort Worth, Texas. While there, she develops a close bond with Rory (Rob Lowe), a young man with special needs.
"There are so many small, well-crafted touches about the movie, it's painful to report that the whole is not quite the sum of its parts," wrote Johanna Steinmetz for The Chicago Tribune. "[...] We wind up with bits and pieces, none of them very satisfying."
She starred in one of the 10 stories that make up the 2007 anthology comedy "The Ten."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 35%
Synopsis: "The Ten" is an anthology movie comprised of 10 short stories, each of which are based on one of the 10 Commandments. Ryder starred in the first one ("Thou Shalt Worship No God Before Me"), playing a woman whose fiancé (Adam Brody) develops a god complex after becoming a celebrity overnight.
The A.V. Club critic Nathan Rabin wrote that "The Ten" is comprised of "early, funny triumphs eventually giving way to something resembling creative exhaustion."
She appeared in the 2008 offbeat romantic comedy "The Last Word."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 40%
Synopsis: "The Last Word" follows Evan (Wes Bentley), a man who makes a living writing other people's suicide notes. However, Evan's job becomes much more complicated when he begins dating the sister (Ryder) of one of his late clients.
"The film pushes the eccentric without creating believable characters," wrote James Greenberg for The Hollywood Reporter. "Ryder's surprising flair for comedy and a few laughs along the way could give [distributor] ThinkFilm some modest boxoffice returns, but 'Word' is more likely to find its place as a cult item on home video."
The actress starred in "Celebrity," a 1998 dramedy about the lives of a recently divorced couple.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 40%
Synopsis: "Celebrity" centers on writer Lee (Kenneth Branagh), who decides to divorce his wife, Robin (Judy Davis), and become a journalist who covers celebrities (before beginning to doubt the actual importance of his new career). At the same time, Robin becomes enamored with the world of Hollywood after she meets a TV producer (Joe Mantegna).
Ryder plays Nola, one of the women who Lee becomes involved with throughout his investigation of high-profile life.
"In 'Celebrity,' Woody Allen's line of attack is compromised by his being at least half in love with the very glitterati he sets out to savage," wrote The Independent critic Xan Brooks.
Ryder played a psychologist in the 2004 drama "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 41%
Synopsis: Based on the novel of the same name, "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things" follows the difficult relationship between drug addict Sarah (Asia Argento) and her young son, Jeremiah (Jimmy Bennett). Ryder briefly appeared in the film, playing a psychologist.
"The emotionless, overwrought movie's lack of psychological depth or dramatic verisimilitude makes the boy's grim odyssey a curiously remote and unshocking horror show," wrote David Rooney for Variety.
The actress appeared in the 2013 action thriller "Homefront."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 43%
Synopsis: In "Homefront," a former DEA agent's (Jason Statham) hopes of starting over with his family in a quiet town are upended when he becomes entangled with a local meth dealer called Gator (James Franco). Ryder appeared in the thriller as Sheryl, Gator's girlfriend and accomplice.
"The basic ingredients of a throwback action movie are all there; what's missing is action and style," wrote The A.V. Club critic Ignatiy Vishnevetsky.
She was a troubled teen fixated on a movie star in the 1990 coming-of-age drama "Welcome Home Roxy Carmichael."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 44%
Synopsis: "Welcome Home Roxy Carmichael" opens in a fictional Ohio small town, as its residents prepare for hometown movie star Roxy Carmichael's homecoming. Her ex-boyfriend's (Jeff Daniels) troubled teenage daughter, Dinky (Ryder), comes to believe that Roxy is her birth mother.
"There's enough material here for several movies, but none of them turns into this one," wrote Roger Ebert for The Chicago Sun-Times. "[...] Instead, the movie sinks into contrived plot manipulation."
In the 2002 sci-fi dramedy "S1m0ne," Ryder played a contentious actress.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 50%
Synopsis: In "S1m0ne," a Hollywood producer (Al Pacino) synthetically creates an actress (Rachel Roberts) to appear in his new film after its original star (Ryder) drops out last minute. However, the robot's existence becomes more complicated when she becomes a Hollywood sensation.
"['S1m0ne'] bounces around haphazardly, at some moments steeping in its juvenile irony and bitterness, at others trying to become exactly the kind of Hollywood light entertainment it decries, and all without any relationship to the real world," wrote Andrew O'Hehlr for Salon.
She and Keanu Reeves co-starred in the 2018 romantic comedy "Destination Wedding."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 53%
Synopsis: Ryder and Reeves (who previously co-starred in movies like "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and "A Scanner Darkly") reunited for "Destination Wedding," which follows the unlikely romance that grows between two reluctant wedding attendees.
"['Destination Wedding'] relies solely on Ryder and Reeves — they are the only two characters with any dialogue, which gives it a screwball sort of energy whereby we only see the wedding from the perspective of two people who do not want to be there," wrote Little White Lies critic Hannah Woodhead. "Given that Winona and Keanu are old pals, they have an easy chemistry together, even playing such utterly repugnant characters."
In the 1999 psychological drama "Girl, Interrupted," Ryder played a young woman navigating her stay at a psychiatric hospital.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 54%
Synopsis: Ryder starred in this adaptation of Susanna Kaysen's memoir of the same name, portraying a young woman who spends one year in a psychiatric hospital in the late 1960s. Angelina Jolie, Whoopi Goldberg, and Elisabeth Moss also appeared in supporting roles.
"Veering from the serious to the trivial and from the clinical to the lurid, James Mangold's 'Girl, Interrupted' is a middling film that only partially conveys the spirit of its source material," wrote Variety critic Emanuel Levy. "[...] Ryder is credibly cast as the rich, spoiled and confused girl, occasionally rising above the script's limitations."
The actress fought aliens in the 1997 sci-fi horror movie "Alien Resurrection."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 55%
Synopsis: Set 200 years after "Alien" protagonist Ellen Ripley's (Sigourney Weaver) death, "Alien Resurrection" opens as Ripley is revived via an alien-human hybrid clone. She soon joins forces with a group of rebel pirates in hopes of stopping vicious alien predators from reaching Earth.
Ryder played Call, one of the pirates who becomes Ripley's ally.
"Ryder is a wonderful actress, one of the most gifted of her generation, but wrong for this movie," wrote Chicago Sun-Times critic Ebert. "She lacks the heft and presence to stand alongside Ripley and the grizzled old space dogs."
She costarred with Robert Downey Jr. in the 1988 drama film "1969."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 55%
Synopsis: "1969" centers on best friends Ralph (Robert Downey Jr.) and Scott (Kiefer Sutherland), who clash with their families by attempting to avoid the Vietnam War draft. Ryder played Ralph's younger sister, Beth.
'''1969' is awash in the problems that arise from these domestic situations, building up to a painfully self-congratulatory ending in which the whole town where the story takes place rises up in protest against the Vietnam War," wrote Janet Maslin for The New York Times. "Winona Ryder, the beautiful young actress who plays Mr. Downey's sister, has such fascinatingly offbeat timing that she becomes a lot more interesting than her role."
Ryder starred in the 1995 coming-of-age drama "How to Make an American Quilt."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 61%
Synopsis: In "How to Make an American Quilt," grad student and bride-to-be Finn (Ryder) goes to stay with her grandmother (Ellen Burstyn) and great aunt (Anne Bancroft) after becoming suspicious that her fiancé is cheating on her. She finds out that they're members of an all-female quilting group, and its elderly members regale Finn with advice about love and growing up.
"['How to Make an American Quilt' is] a subtle, surprisingly witty film," wrote Time Out. "Nevertheless, it's the remarkable performances which really enhance the mixture of nostalgia and world-weary realism: Ryder, as gamine as ever, delivers her most credible performance to date."
The actress had a role in the 1989 biographical music film "Great Balls of Fire!"
Rotten Tomatoes score: 63%
Synopsis: "Great Balls of Fire!" dramatizes the real-life story of musician Jerry Lee Lewis and his rise to stardom. Ryder had a supporting role in the movie, playing his cousin and future wife, Myra.
"'Great Balls of Fire' gives us a Jerry Lee Lewis who has been sanitized, popularized and lobotomized," wrote Ebert for The Chicago Sun-Times.
She appeared in the 1994 cult classic rom-com "Reality Bites."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 65%
Synopsis: In the cult classic film "Reality Bites," recent college graduate Lelaina (Ryder) films a documentary about her and her friends' lives as twenty-somethings. Actors Ben Stiller and Ethan Hawke played two of her close friends.
"Written with verve and played with grace, 'Reality Bites' is too smart to pass itself off as a definitive statement, but it gets the details delightfully right," wrote Newsweek critic David Ansen.
In the 2012 biographical drama "The Iceman," Ryder played a hitman's wife.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 67%
Synopsis: Inspired by real events, "The Iceman" revolves around hitman Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon), from his early days in the mob to his eventual arrest in 1986. All the while, Richard keeps his work a secret from his wife (Ryder) and young daughters.
"A true-crime thriller directed with grit, gristle and punchy energy by Ariel Vromen, 'The Iceman' is never less than fascinating, even if things get a little ham-fisted here and there," wrote Steven Rea for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The actress starred in the 1996 adaptation of Arthur Miller's historical drama "The Crucible."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 68%
Synopsis: Based on Arthur Miller's classic play about the Salem witch trials, "The Crucible" follows the hysteria that builds in 1690s Salem, Massachusetts when a young woman named Abigail (Ryder) attempts to convince the townspeople that her ex-lover John Proctor's (Daniel Day-Lewis) wife, Elizabeth (Joan Allen), is a witch.
"['The Crucible'] sets a mood of eroticized fear and delirium that reverberates throughout the movie," wrote Gleiberman for Entertainment Weekly. "[...] Ryder, usually a soft, placid actress, unleashes a bold new anger here. It's a schoolgirl's fit made demonic — spite magnified to destruction by the power of a society's hypocrisy."
She starred in the 2006 animated sci-fi thriller "A Scanner Darkly."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 68%
Synopsis: "A Scanner Darkly" takes place in a future where America's "war on drugs" has all but been lost. Meanwhile, undercover narcotics cop Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) begins dating a dealer to try and catch her supplier, but becomes addicted to the futuristic drug Substance D.
The movie is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's 1977 novel of the same name.
"The brilliance of 'A Scanner Darkly' is how it suggests, without bombast or fanfare, the ways in which the real world has come to resemble the dark world of comic books," wrote Carina Chocano for The Los Angeles Times.
The actress appeared alongside Robin Wright in the 2009 romantic comedy "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 69%
Synopsis: In "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee," the movie's titular, picture-perfect suburban lead (Robin Wright) has an existential crisis and confronts her past trauma after her much older husband (Alan Arkin) moves them into a retired living community. Ryder played an eccentric poet who befriends Pippa.
"['The Private Lives of Pippa Lee'] is a triumph," wrote The Telegraph critic David Gritten. "Uniformly well acted, it boasts a psychologically knowing script, clearly written by a smart, assertive human being rather than a software programme."
In the 1986 teen dramedy "Lucas," she played the geeky protagonist's best friend.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 70%
Synopsis: "Lucas" focuses on its main character of the same name (Corey Haim), an awkward 14-year-old who deals with heartbreak after his older brother figure, Cappie (Charlie Sheen), gets with his crush, Maggie (Kerri Green). Unbeknownst to Lucas, his close friend, Rina (Ryder), is developing feelings for him in the meantime.
"['Lucas' is] a poignant and effective character study that manages not only to explore important teenage issues without condescending to the audience, but to offer an upbeat ending without descending into mawkishness," wrote James Berardinelli for Reel Views.
Ryder starred in the 1992 gothic horror film "Bram Stoker's Dracula."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 71%
Synopsis: In this adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic novel, Ryder played Mina (the young fiancée of Keanu Reeves' lead character, Jonathan), who Dracula (Gary Oldman) attempts to turn into a vampire.
"A gorgeous, stylised adaptation, full of visual tricks and dazzling camerawork, ['Bram Stoker's Dracula'] places the emphasis firmly on perverse, rampant eroticism," wrote Time Out.
Ryder appeared alongside Cher in the 1990 family drama "Mermaids."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 73%
Synopsis: "Mermaids" centers on unconventional single mother Mrs. Flax (Cher), who frequently moves from town to town with her two daughters (Ryder and Christina Ricci). When the Flaxes move to a small Massachusetts town, a series of interconnected events strain their familial bonds.
"Having made something of a specialty of woe-is-me, adolescent angst, Ryder finds a deeper level here, a level of comedy with something genuinely painful mixed in," wrote Hal Hinson for The Washington Post.
In the 1991 art dramedy "Night on Earth," she was a cab driver.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 75%
Synopsis: Ryder starred in "Night on Earth," a film that presents five scenes set in a cab, in which a bond forms between the cab driver and their passenger. Each vignette takes place in a different city around the world. The actress portrayed Los Angeles cab driver Corky, who connects with a Hollywood casting agent (Gena Rowlands) she picks up from the airport.
"'Night on Earth' dawdles a bit, and a couple of the segments, notably the one in Helsinki, feel like half-baked epiphanies," wrote Gleiberman for Entertainment Weekly. "Throughout, though, there are moments that catch you delightfully off guard."
The actress was featured in the 2016 documentary "Author: The JT LeRoy Story."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 78%
Synopsis: Ryder appeared as herself in this documentary, which explores the story behind the long-running fictional literary persona JT LeRoy (who was created by writer Laura Albert).
AP critic Lindsey Bahr described it as "a fascinating peek into one of the wildest literary scandals in recent years and the bizarre nature of celebrity relationships."
Ryder appeared in the 1996 Shakespeare documentary "Looking for Richard."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 81%
Synopsis: This Al Pacino-directed film documents a group of actors' Shakespeare workshop, in which they learn about and prepare to perform the play "Richard III." Ryder participated in the production, playing the character of Lady Anne.
"Pacino's first film as writer/director is a marvellously intelligent, witty and imaginative exploration of the problems faced by anyone wishing to act in Shakespeare or translate the plays to film," wrote Time Out.
She starred in the 1993 historical romantic drama "The Age of Innocence."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 84%
Synopsis: "The Age of Innocence" is based on Edith Wharton's classic novel of the same name. In the romantic drama, an 1870s New York attorney (Daniel Day-Lewis) secretly falls in love with his respectable socialite fiancée's (Ryder) unconventional older cousin (Michelle Pfeiffer).
"'The Age of Innocence' is about the tyranny of the culture over the individual and the rites that preserve the tribe, be it the Mafia or a coterie of 19th-century snobs," wrote Rita Kempley for The Washington Post. "Perhaps it shouldn't come as such a grand surprise that [director Martin Scorsese] is as deft at exploring the nuances of Edwardian manners as he is the laws of modern-day machismo."
In 1988's "Beetlejuice," the actress played a teen who moves into a haunted house.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 84%
Synopsis: "Beetlejuice" puts an unconventional spin on the classic haunted house story — its two main characters, young couple Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam (Alec Baldwin), die in a car accident and become trapped in their house as ghosts.
When new owners move in, they unexpectedly connect with the family's teenage daughter, Lydia (Ryder), and accidentally summon the chaotic spirit Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton).
"['Beetlejuice'] brilliantly creates a sense of wonder missing from so many current Hollywood films," wrote Kyle Counts for The Hollywood Reporter. "[...] Driven by director Tim Burton and his fanciful imagination, the film is colorful, delightfully deranged and endlessly inventive — a grand-scale funhouse that can be enjoyed by children of all ages."
Ryder had a role in the 2015 biographical drama "Experimenter."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 85%
Synopsis: "Experimenter" follows a fictionalized version of social psychologist Stanley Milgram (Peter Sarsgaard) as he conducts the controversial Milgram experiments — behavioral experiments that test participants' predisposal to obedience and use electric shocks. Ryder played Stanley's wife, Sasha.
"'Experimenter's' most striking quality is the way it encourages us to think deeply, from the first frame to the last, even if it's just to consider what on Earth an elephant is doing on screen," wrote Stephanie Merry for The Washington Post.
She played a former ballerina in the 2010 psychological drama "Black Swan."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 85%
Synopsis: In "Black Swan," New York City ballet dancer Nina (Natalie Portman) begins to unravel due to pressure from her manipulative director (Vincent Cassel) and overbearing mother (Barbara Hershey), as she prepares to perform the lead role in "Swan Lake."
Ryder was Beth, a ballerina who is forced into retirement due to her age.
"Fantastically deranged at all times, Darren Aronofsky's ballet psycho-melodrama is a glittering, crackling, outrageously pickable scab of a film," wrote Peter Bradshaw for The Guardian. "[...] The casting of Winona Ryder is sadistically judged."
In the 2012 supernatural horror-comedy "Frankenweenie," the actress was the eccentric girl next door.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%
Synopsis: "Frankenweenie" centers on Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan), a young scientist who attempts to revive his dog, Sparky, after the Bull Terrier unexpectedly passes away. Victor succeeds, but when his altered dog escapes, he must find Sparky before the townspeople learn about his experiment.
His deadly serious next-door neighbor, Elsa (Ryder), helps him in his search.
"The overall effect is great cinema, good fun, a visual feast for pie-eyed [director Tim] Burton fans — and a terrifically warped reminder of just how freaky a PG film can be," wrote Amy Biancolli for The San Francisco Chronicle.
Ryder appeared in the 1990 fantasy romance "Edward Scissorhands."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
Synopsis: At the beginning of "Edward Scissorhands," a scientist (Vincent Price) builds an animated human named Edward (Johnny Depp). However, the man dies before he can finish him, leaving Edward with scissor blades for hands. A kind suburban woman (Dianne Wiest) takes him in, and Edward soon falls in love with her teenage daughter (Ryder), while attempting to adjust to the real world.
"The romanticism has a personal dimension — for Edward is, of course, Burton's surreal portrait of himself as an artist: a wounded child converting his private darkness into outlandish pop visions," wrote Gleiberman for Entertainment Weekly. "Like Edward, he finds the light."
In 1994's "Little Women," she portrayed Jo March.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
Synopsis: The actress starred in the 1994 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel "Little Women." The story follows four sisters as they come of age during the Civil War.
She played protagonist and headstrong writer Jo March and received an Oscar nomination for best performance by an actress in a leading role.
"['Little Women'] is such a graceful, unsentimental, well-made movie that it would be a damn pity if the thing languished because all the guys in town were blowing their bucks on 'Dumb and Dumber,'" wrote Schwarzbaum for Entertainment Weekly, noting that Ryder gave an "Oscar-worthy performance" as Jo.
She starred in the 1989 dark teen comedy "Heathers."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
Synopsis: "Heathers" follows Veronica Sawyer (Ryder), an '80s teenager who has grown tired of the mean girl clique that she's joined. She soon meets and falls for J.D. (Christian Slater), a charming and sociopathic new student who plans to kill the popular kids.
"Two decades later, Heathers is so on the money, with its vague but unmistakable parallels to several school shootings, that it could never be made today," wrote Mick LaSalle for The San Francisco Chronicle.
Her highest-rated movie is 2009's "Star Trek."
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
Synopsis: Ryder briefly appeared in the 2009 film "Star Trek," playing the iconic character Spock's (Zachary Quinto) human mother. The movie itself is based on the popular sci-fi franchise of the same name, in which a space crew explores the universe aboard the starship USS Enterprise.
"Just when you thought that the 'Star Trek' phenomenon had truly run its course, along comes J. J. Abrams's stunning prequel to resuscitate the most enduring franchise in sci-fi history," wrote Debra Craine for The Times. "[The movie is] perfectly pitched to satisfy Trekker nerds and a more general action-flick audience."
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