Aubrey Plaza Was Actually In Two Of The Best Nerdy Comedies Ever Before Parks And Recreation
Aubrey Plaza had roles in Mystery Men and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World early in her career.
Aubrey Plaza’s career has been on a nice upward trajectory ever since her days playing April Ludgate on the hit sitcom, Parks and Recreation. Since the series ended in 2015, she has found time in feature films and television, both showcasing her humor and her dramatic acting chops.
But prior to films like Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, Black Bear, and the Jason Statham-led Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre as well as TV series such as The White Lotus and even Parks and Recreation, Aubrey Plaza starred in two of the best nerdy comedies ever.
The first nerdy comedy Aubrey Plaza took on was actually the very first feature film of her career. It came back in 2009 with the comedy Mystery Team. The film was put together by Derrick Comedy, a comedy group consisting of Dominic Dierkes, DC Pierson, and Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino).
Mystery Team tells the story of three high schoolers, Charlie (Dierkes), Duncan (Pierson), and Jason (Glover), who have been friends since childhood and as kids, they loved to solve neighborhood mysteries. They have taken this affinity into their teenage years.
The boys finally get to prove their mettle when a young girl, Brianna, hires them to find out why her parents were killed. So, the boys get down to business not only to help the girl but to prove to themselves and the town that they can be real detectives. Aubrey Plaza factors into the mix.
In her first role, Aubrey Plaza is Kelly, Brianna’s older sister. She is reluctant to let the boys try to solve the mystery of her parents, telling them to let the police handle it. Of course, they don’t listen to her. As the mystery deepens, Jason finds himself falling for Kelly. Now he has one more reason to solve the mystery.
Mystery Team is filled with R-rated sophomoric humor that is hit-and-miss. Aubrey Plaza shows this early in her career a hint of her dead-pan comedic styles that would make her a Parks and Recreation fan favorite.
The second nerdy film that Aubrey Plaza was involved in before Parks and Recreation boosted her career was the wild and wacky 2010 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Edgar Wright wrote and directed the feature, basing it on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series.
Michael Cera plays the titular hero, Scott Pilgrim, a slacker who aspires to be a musician. Pilgrim enters a music competition to win a record deal, but along the way, he must battle the seven evil exes of his newest girlfriend, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).
As Julie Powers, Aubrey Plaza is at her snarky best. She models her character just like the graphic novel version – bitchy and then some. As the film took a PG-13 rating, Julie’s bitchiness is self-censored. When she curses, a black bar and censor beep covers the curse words, something that she controls.
Along with Cera and Aubrey Plaza, the film also stars Chris Evans, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Brie Larson, Brandon Routh, and Jason Schwartzman.
While the film was shooting, Michael Cera and Aubrey Plaza became an item. In fact, according to Cera, the pair almost decided to make their relationship official back then on a trip through Las Vegas.
Michael Cera and Aubrey Plaza became an item while shooting Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
“Well, we were driving through Vegas and we almost just spontaneously took a detour and got married,” Cera explained to Rolling Stone. He went on to say that the plan was to stop at a cheap wedding chapel complete with an Elvis Presley impersonator as the wedding official. Then he gave the reason as to why they wanted to marry.
“Like something where you get a certificate,” he said. “I think the idea was to then get a divorce right away, so we could call each other ‘my ex-husband’ and ‘my ex-wife’ at like… 20 [years old].”
Although their near-marriage and relationship eventually fell apart, he still holds Plaza in high regard, especially now that she is finding massive success. “I mean, she’s always been so committed to everything that she does,” Cera told Rolling Stone. “It’s not surprising to me that she’s doing really well.”
Cera has since married, as has Plaza. In 2021, Plaza wed her long-time boyfriend, writer/director Jeff Baena in a secret wedding. She spilled the beans on an Instagram post where she called him her “husband,” by writing: “So proud of my darling husband @jeffbaena for dreaming up another film that takes us to italia to cause some more trouble…”
From simple, nerdy beginnings to a full-on Hollywood star, Aubrey Plaza has got it going. Not only is she working hard in front of the camera, but she is also doing fantastic work behind the scenes, producing and directing as well. One of her next film projects is Marvel’s Agatha: Coven of Chaos. She has come a long way.
