Her breakthrough came with the role of Cindy Campbell in Scary Movie (2000), which spawned a film franchise and established Faris as a notable comedic actress. She appeared in the subsequent three sequels of the movie, with her last appearance being in the fourth installment, released in 2006. During the early-mid 2000s, she played supporting roles in dramatic pictures such as Lost in Translation (2003) and Brokeback Mountain (2005), and appeared in various comedies, including The Hot Chick (2002), Waiting… (2005), Just Friends (2005), and My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006). She received critical praise for her role in the indie black comedy
Smiley Face (2007) and then starred in the Playboy-themed movie The House Bunny (2008) which was billed as her star vehicle and earned her a MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Comedic Performance. In 2009, she co-appeared in Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel and Observe and Report, and also had voice-over roles in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (she has continued to lend her voice for both films’ sequels). She starred and co-produced the feature What’s Your Number? (2011), which was followed by comedic roles in the political satire The Dictator (2012), and the anthology film Movie 43 (2013). Faris has played Christy Plunkett on the CBS sitcom Mom since 2013.