Monday, August 23, 2010
"HAIRSTYLE INSPIRATION" IS A PLAUSIBLE ANSWER: With her latest movie bombing and news that she will return to TV opposite her former co-star as a guest star on Cougar Town, it's time to ask what Jennifer Aniston should be doing with herself. Should she content herself with being a mid-range movie actress--too famous to really do supporting roles, but not famous enough to open a movie? Is there a movie role that she should be looking for? Should she return to TV--and if so, in what capacity--a sitcom, a drama? Can this career be saved? Should it?
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Don't try to be Julia Roberts, Jennifer. You've made some good movies, but every time you're in a romcom with serious overtones it's been a disaster. Stick to smaller, better stuff like The Good Girl and you'll be fine. Maybe Emily Mortimer would be a good guide for your career.
ReplyDeleteWould love to see her back on TV - cable, maybe?
ReplyDeleteWe're two years away from the inevitable critically-acclaimed, cancelled-after-one-season dark comedy on pay cable.
ReplyDeleteBut a short point: I think it's arguable whether or not she's famous enough to open a movie, who is anymore? It's a quality that, outside of comedy, is in short supply these days. I don't know a lot of people who say "Oh, XXXX McXXerson is in that, we should go see it."
The stars who can do it, off the top of my head: Will Ferrell, Tyler Perry, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Adam Sandler.
As I pointed out to Linda Holmes a few weeks ago, George Clooney is not really a huge movie star. His only 100M+ movies are the Oceans flicks, Batman and Robin, and Perfect Storm. Admittedly, that doesn't mean he couldn't have been if he wanted to be, but because of the choices he's made, less so.
ReplyDeleteAnd "Madea" is the star far more than Tyler Perry is. The non-Madea movies (while they make a profit), are not the big hits that the Madea ones are.
Yep - agree with Matt - Clooney doesn't open movies. Will Ferrell isn't even a guaranteed draw anymore (see: Land of the Lost).
ReplyDeleteThe movie stars of today in terms of who can open a movie: Will Smith, Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Vince Vaughn (sad but true), Tyler Perry (Matt, I'd argue he's still able to open ANY movie, though you're right that the Madea movies are bigger hits it's partially due to them being more comedic than the "Tyler Perry's..." movies), maybe Robert Downey and Zach G (if Due Date works, which I think it will). For women I'd say Meryl Streep, Sandy Bullock, Angelina, Julia Roberts.
George Clooney opens movies for me -- does that count? I will go see anything that he's in, and not just because he's my movie husband, either. I think he's turned into a remarkably good actor, and he has a tendency to pick very good material. Looking forward to The American next month.
ReplyDeleteBella, how dare you include Kevin James on that list. Paul Blart: Sign Of The Apocalypse did good box office, but he's not a star you can count on to put butts in seats.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't think Zach Galifianakis is a must-see for anyone but comedy nerds. He's good, but he's done a lot of Direct To DVD stuff recently.
Does Ladykillers + Charlie Wilson's War + Terminal mean that Tom Hanks no longer qualifies?
ReplyDeleteOn Ansiton: Bill Simmons had the provocative theory last week that she's only interesting because she's still single ... and she knows it. As soon as she marries, she's no longer America's Sweetheart-Victim and we'll all move on.
Charlie Wilson did 66M and Terminal 77M, and you omit Da Vinci Code (217M), Angels and Demons (133M), and Polar Express (181M) from that time period. Hanks has still got some oomph, but he has to be linked with some other brand name (either franchise or actor) to guarantee a megahit.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that Matt Damon either should be in that list or merits serious discussion.
ReplyDeleteAs for Jennifer Aniston: I really do believe, based on the last few years of Friends, that she is a good comedic actress. As such, I look forward to the day that she is the star of a cable (basic or premium) show. If there is good writing and a good supporting cast, I could easily see myself enjoying that stage of her career.
I definitely see her on tv, although not on a sitcom. I wish she could still do supporting roles, because my favorite thing she did was Dreams for an Insomniac. She was perfect as friend of the lead.
ReplyDeleteSo what really need is a VORP for actors. It would have to be a sliding scale based on the role, though, cause even though in most cases Will Smith would have a higher VORP than Leo DiCaprio, it's hard to imagine that Inception would have made more money had he been in the lead, but likewise, while DiCaprio is a draw, Hancock wouldn't have made half the money it had with him in that role.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you'd have to factor in salary demands, so that even though Brad Pitt would have a pretty high VORP for most projects, that number would be reduced because his addition to any project tends to balloon the overall budget.
It would be impossible to calculate with precision, but it would be an interesting avenue for speculation.
Aniston is a peculiar case, given that I suspect most pictures she's in would be improved without her in them (say replace her with Linney, Louise-Parker, or Collette in just about any role she's been in, and you probably have a more interesting movie), yet it's her name recognition factor that gets these films made in the first place.
She's probably not a bad actress, but she's a horrible reader of scripts, apparently.
Actually, I always thought she worked well on Friends, even though I'd usually skip over all the romantic triangle stuff- that she had good comedic timing, and was a good straightwoman for wacky Pheobe and neurotic Monica. Mostly, I remembered loving the trivia contest that they all did, and how much fun she and Courtney Cox seemed to be having. Giving her a show like Cougartown seems too obvious, and the edgier stuff wouldn't work either. But maybe put her on something like Modern Family, a show with good writing, a fun cast, that's warm-hearted with a little bit of bite? Maybe it would be considered below her billing, but I think it'd be a good fit. She'd be in her element in a comedic ensemble, it might finally shake all the tabloid stuff by doing something different than rom-coms/playing a victim, and would generate a lot of critical good will by surrounding herself with some good comedic actors and letting them shine.
ReplyDeleteYou've also got to hold her agent and her manager somewhat respnsible for the bad choices. People in those roles are supposed to be experts and help find something that works for their client. The Aniston team has latched on to the America's Sweetheart-Victim thing and are trying to make her career work in that realm -- even though it isn't working. Someone, be it Aniston or another person in her camp, needs to change course. I think she should follow the Courtney Cox example, find a new likeable ensemble show like Cougar Town or Parenthood, and run with it. Or go dark indie girl and get naked and violent to stir the pot and change directions completely.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair to Clooney, I don't know that he's interested in being able to open a movie. I think he's chosing roles he finds interesting, rather than (if I'm reading you right) making unfortunate choices. If he were, he wouldn't be making choices like Good Night and Good Luck, Up In the Air, and Men Who Stare at Goats. Since B&R, I would only question Leatherheads as a completely pandering choice in roles.
ReplyDeleteAs to who can still open a movie? Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Johnny Depp, Will Smith, Ben Stiller. I can't come up with a single actress. I do think there are some directors that can open a movie: Ron Howard, Clint Eastwood again, and apparently Christopher Nolan. Once upon a time Speilberg, but not so much anymore. And then there's Pixar, the only Production Company that can open a movie.
Because that really worked for Meg Ryan in IN THE CUT.
ReplyDeleteRyan's worth studying, though, because she's the inverse image in terms of how much audiences want to incorporate the real life goings-on into their movie viewing. Once she stopped being America's Sweetheart offscreen, her career plummeted.
Kevin James definitely puts butts in seats. He has a great track record so far - we'll see when Zookeeper (his next one) opens, I guess.
ReplyDeleteZach G's direct to DVD stuff, as I understand at least, is a lot of stuff he did before Hangover made him a massive star.
Hey, I'm not saying it would work, just that it would be a better and more interesting choice than her continued failed attempts to be rom-com it girl. Katherine Heigl seems to be leading the pack in those attempts, even with some pretty bad movies under her belt.
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ReplyDeleteAniston's a capable performer, a comedic actress with some heart and some depth. But she needs MUCH better material to shine; either she needs to do a better job of selecting projects, or she needs to hire someone who can do it for her.
While people refer to a lot of her movies as romantic comedies, the problem is they usually have been neither romantic nor comedies. Her mainstream films have either been creepy instead of romantic (eg Rumor Has It, where she was wooed by Kevin Costner after first thinking he was her biological father) or combative instead of comedic (eg The Bounty Hunter or The Break Up which promised all of the yelling of The War of the Roses without the real twisted dark humor). Office Space, The Good Girl, and even Friends with Money worked for her, but not much else has. And she's often paired with male co-stars like Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Gerard Butler, etc. who can repel audiences just as much as they can pull them in. Put all that together and you've got a real box office buzz kill.
I don't think she needs to make a move to television (though guest spots are fine) She just needs to focus on doing films that are well written and will actually be fun to watch, or darkly moving. And stick to co-stars who bring some warmth and humanity to the table (like Ruffalo) that she can play off of. Don't worry about box-office potential, focus on quality. (She ought to have enough savings that she's not desperate for big paydays.) And if she comes across a role that requires her to do a lot of ranting or shrieking or acting wacky, she should pass and let Kathryn Heigl spin her wheels with it instead.
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I can not believe anyone else has seen this movie! I loved everything about it, including Aniston, whose movies I do not usually enjoy. Plus, Ione Skye! You just made my day, calliekl!
ReplyDeleteOne of Meg Ryan's biggest issues was that she stopped looking like Meg Ryan. Her lips got all poofy, and she looks like her face is botox'd within an inch of existance. Jennifer Anniston doesn't look entirely unlike she did on Friends.
ReplyDeletePlus, Meg Ryan had a very successful RomCom movie career. Jennifer Anniston's movie career has never been that successful. Her America's Sweetheart-Victim image is almost entirely based in the tabloids. I think she might not be able to pull off dark indie, but she could do a TV drama of some sort.
My favorite part? Her condom commercial, where she does the Indian accent and knocks the display over. If you haven't seen the movie, her "thing" is practicing different accents so she can get more acting jobs. I wish I could find the video, but apparently no one has thought to put it on the internets. A huge gap, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteBut as a producer and some time star, even when her products aren't stellar, she does give juice and greenlights to some projects and artists that would never have gotten financing without her participation.
ReplyDeleteYeah, some of those more indie hits have not been good. But some of those indie artists have gone on with careers that she jump started, and I appreciate that she does that even if not every single artist is 'the greatest filmmaker EVER.'
If George Clooney is your movie husband then I owe you an apology... because he's my movie boyfriend. It's OK though, I'll just have to content myself with Clive Owen instead.
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, I do see Clooney's movies. Also Tom Hanks.
I just saw The Switch tonight (I'm a sucker for a rom com and Jason Bateman) and I didn't think it was so bad. In fact, I kind of liked it. Aniston was less irritating than usual, but really I thought what worked in the movie was Bateman and his charm. Plus, the kid was adorable. Aniston was meh. She had no romantic chemistry with Bateman at all but she was somehow less annoying in this than in that movie she did with Aaron Eckhart where she actually seemed like she might drag him down with her.
ReplyDeleteLeaving the movie theatre I overheard a woman making this comment: "Jennifer Aniston must be the luckiest woman in the world. She has excellent hair and she's in all these movies despite her complete lack of talent."
Are there any roles for women that aren't either: a) lead (or friend of lead) in a romantic comedy or b) the victim? I guess she could go the Angelina Jolie route and play a spy. Maybe the script will be more original than the last 1,275 spy movies and will feature male and female leads who are spies for opposing organizations and... no wait, been done. Damn.
Wikipedia says Sex and the City movie grossed $415,252,786. I think a Friends movie is called for.
ReplyDeleteAngelina Jolie can open a movie.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right on this America's Victim thing. Good lord, we need to drop that crap like the turd it is. I think the Brangelina crap (still dragging on years later) is making us all sick of her no matter what movie she does.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I feel sorry for her and for Jason Bateman that this is the best they got offered this year. Both deserve better.
Sorry, I'm just going to have to disagree on the "Kevin James puts butts in seats" theory. He's been the sole lead in exactly one box office success, Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Other than that, he's always been a co-lead with bigger stars (mainly Adam Sandler).
ReplyDeleteI Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, $120 million - people were not going to see that movie because of Kevin James. The ads prominently featured Adam Sandler, Jessica Biel disrobing, and very little emphasis on KJ.
Hitch, $179 million - I honestly didn't even remember he was in this. This was 100% Will Smith's movie.
Grown Ups, $159 million - He's one of four leads, with Sandler as the alpha dog. The only one he outclasses is David Spade.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop, $146 million - This is the only basis you have for your argument, and one movie does not a star make. People are still mystified how this movie made so much money.
The point I think we're working our way to is this: Whether or not Jennifer Aniston's career should be revived is entirely up to Jennifer Aniston. It's not like she needs to run out and make The Steel Ya-Yas Club just so we'll remember who she is.
ReplyDeleteAs to how to do it, I have two words: TNT Procedural.
Okay, yeah, that's just one actual word and a couple of letters. You know what I mean.