1. Change of Habit (1969)
Just before she became the beloved Mary Richards, Moore took a wild leap of faith, co-starring opposite Elvis Presley in his final narrative film. She plays Sister Michelle, a nun in street clothes assigned to work with a doctor (Presley) in a tough inner-city
clinic. The premise alone is a fascinating piece of late-60s pop culture, blending social commentary with a will-they-won't-they romance between a nun and the King of Rock and Roll. While the film can feel dated, Moore’s performance is the anchor. She navigates the character's crisis of faith and budding romance with a sincerity that grounds the film's more outlandish moments. It’s a far cry from the bubbly comedy she was known for, showing an actress unafraid to tackle a complex, conflicted role right as her television stardom was about to explode.
2. Six Weeks (1982)
Riding the wave of her Oscar-nominated dramatic turn in Ordinary People, Moore took on another challenging role in this heart-wrenching drama. She plays Charlotte, a wealthy cosmetics mogul whose precocious 12-year-old daughter is dying of leukemia. The film follows their whirlwind friendship with a congressional candidate (Dudley Moore) during the girl’s final weeks. The movie itself received mixed reviews, with some critics finding it overly sentimental. However, it’s an essential watch for seeing Moore stretch her dramatic muscles beyond the icy matriarch of Ordinary People. Here, she portrays a different kind of maternal pain—one defined by fierce love and impending loss. Though the film earned her a Razzie nomination, her performance is a raw and committed portrayal of a mother trying to cram a lifetime of memories into a few short weeks, a powerful if imperfect showcase of her dramatic depth.
3. Just Between Friends (1986)
In a film directed by “Mary Tyler Moore Show” co-creator Allan Burns, Moore plays Holly, a traditional housewife who strikes up a close friendship with Sandy (Christine Lahti), an ambitious TV reporter. The twist is that they are both in love with the same man—Holly’s husband (Ted Danson). When he dies suddenly, their friendship is tested by grief and betrayal. The film was praised for its realistic depiction of adult female friendship, a rarity in cinema at the time. Moore’s performance is wonderfully layered; she is not the plucky career girl here, but a dependent wife who must find her own strength after tragedy. It’s a mature, quiet, and deeply felt performance that allows her to be both likable and flawed, proving she could handle sophisticated melodrama just as deftly as a thirty-minute sitcom. Critics noted her excellent performance, which helped elevate the melodramatic plot.
4. Flirting with Disaster (1996)
In David O. Russell’s frantic screwball comedy, Moore enjoyed a late-career renaissance with a scene-stealing supporting role. She plays Pearl, the neurotic, Jewish-American adoptive mother of Mel (Ben Stiller), who is on a cross-country search for his biological parents. Far from the sweet-natured characters she was famous for, Pearl is overbearing, hilariously insecure, and utterly memorable. Director David O. Russell later recalled that Moore was fearless, funny, and set the pace for the entire cast with her electric performance. In one iconic scene, she counsels her daughter-in-law (Patricia Arquette) on the importance of a good bra by brazenly flashing her. It’s a chaotic, unhinged, and brilliant comedic turn that shows her timing was as sharp as ever, perfectly suited to the anarchic energy of 90s indie cinema and a world away from the WJM-TV newsroom.
