Top 10: Actresses That Need Better Parts

Don't you hate it when an actor or actress that you truly admire starts throwing their career away? There always seems to be a plethora of talented entertainers who pick project after project that does them no favors and has no artistic merit whatsoever. Here are a few actresses I happen to love and see enormous potential in, that rarely seem to land in the roles as great as their talents.

10. Mena Suvari
Most promising film: American Beauty

Remember this? Stellar lead performances from Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening hogged all of the attention back in 1999, but there was some phenomenal supporting work in the film. One that still stands out to me is Mena Suvari as Angela, Janie Burnham's friend who uses ambition and sex appeal to mask a seething center of insecurity. Her delivery is perfect throughout the entire film, and she manages to turn a bitchy character with a serious attitude problem into someone sympathetic and likable in the film's final act. Her performance is funny, infuriating and ultimately sad.


9. Rachel McAdams
Most promising film: Mean Girls

In one of the best high school movies ever, Rachel McAdams played the now legendary Regina George, the queen bee and most popular girl in school desperately trying to hang on to her social status. The voice of writer Tina Fey made this movie an instant comedy classic, and its strongest player was undoubtedly McAdams. Her timing and delivery were genius, and made her character a quotable and memorable screen villain for the ages. If she could shy away from romantic leads for a while, and maybe take on a gritty role where she's not required to look drop dead gorgeous, she has a shot.


8. Emmy Rossum
Most promising films: Mystic River, The Phantom of the Opera

The National Board of Review named Emmy Rossum their breakthrough actress of the year back in 2004, and I think they were on to something. She has some quality that makes her instantly likable. In Clint Eastwood's Mystic River she played Katie Markum, the ill-fated daughter of Sean Penn's Jimmy, and didn't need a lot of screen time to show us that Jimmy's loss was profound and unfair. In the coveted role of Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera, she was wonderful, even if you couldn't say the same for the film itself.


7. Keri Russell
Most promising film: Waitress

Keri Russell first started stealing hearts and impressing critics as the iconic title character in the WB's college drama, Felicity. But it was her role as an unhappily pregnant waitress with a talent for making pies and eyes for a new doctor in town that really made the world take notice. She gives a witty and endearing performance, and carries the quirky little indie with charm and grace. It's a tragedy that this film marks the end of writer-director Adrienne Shelley's career, but at least there is the joy in what will hopefully be a long and colorful filmography for Russell.

6. Kristen Stewart
Most promising films: Into the Wild, Adventureland

I know that Stewart has made loads of money and picked up quite a fan base with her involvement in the Twilight franchise, but I have to say it may be one of the worst decisions she could have possibly made if she wants to be taken seriously as an actress. She was one of the strongest supporting elements in Sean Penn's beautiful Into the Wild, and gave a perfect performance in this year's college comedy Adventureland. She was smart, funny, and desperately lonely and lost. Here's hoping she lands more important roles in the future.



5. Scarlett Johansson
Most promising films: Lost in Translation, Girl With a Pearl Earring

I can't quite figure out why things aren't going right for ScarJo. She obviously has talent (3 Golden Globe nominations) and good taste (frequent collaborations with Woody Allen), but yet her name just doesn't excite the kind of praise that one would expect by now. Personally I think Woody puts too much emphasis on her sexuality, because I know she has more to offer than a pretty face and killer curves. Her lonely, neglected new wife in Lost in Translation was a captivating character and I'm sure she has a few more in her.


4. Sarah Michelle Gellar
Most promising film: Okay, her strongest role was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and that success so far hasn't translated to films, but it could!

Call me crazy, but I think Sarah Michelle Gellar could be great. No, she hasn't made good choices where her film career is concerned, but she killed - no pun intended - on Buffy and has all the talent and beauty needed to be a major star. I'll probably take crap for this, but I actually thought she did an awesome job in the teen slasher movie I Know What You Did Last Summer (a guilty pleasure for me). She was the only convincing member of the cast and in the right part she could carry a film.


3. Katherine Heigl
Most promising film: Knocked Up

Katherine Heigl brought the funny in Judd Apatow's Knocked Up, in which she plays a career-minded woman who has to put her plans on hold after a drunken one-night stand leads to an unwanted pregnancy. Heigl is hilarious and holds her own among Apatow's close-knit comedy troupe. She's also a slam-dunk dramatic actress, and she has the Emmy to prove it. She's already landing lead roles left and right (27 Dresses, The Ugly Truth) but a part in a film from a director like Kimberly Peirce or Jane Campion would be a better fit for her range.



2. Kerry Washington
Most promising films: Save the Last Dance, Ray, The Last King of Scotland

Kerry Washington is one of those actresses who commands your attention and demands that you remember her. I saw Save the Last Dance as a teenager (in one of my less discerning moments) and quickly forgot about it, but I thought about Washington for a long time, and kept reminding myself to keep an eye out for her. She gets small roles in a number of great films (she's supported two of her leading men to Best Actor wins), but for some reason no one trusts her to headline a movie. It's a shame, because I'm positive she'll knock a lead performance out of the park as soon as she gets the chance.

1. Kate Hudson
Most promising film: Almost Famous

Kate Hudson is the most tragic example of a talented actress squandering her gifts in films that don't deserve her. Her breakthrough performance in Almost Famous as Penny Lane, the Stillwater groupie in love with the one man who doesn't want her, was phenomenal, and should have ensured a long career in respectable films. As Penny, she has wonderful moments that take the audience from laughter to tears and back again. A part in Rob Marshall's upcoming musical Nine seems like a step in the right direction.



These women all have something great to offer. If their agents would get to work and find them roles in important films, they could be incredible. Who would you like to see challenge themselves a bit more often?

New Kids On the Block

This year is looking to be full of breakthrough performances from young actresses, with at least four potential star-making turns coming up in the next few months. Every year it seems like there are a few actors who break onto the awards scene and become the talk of the town. These four young women are all in line for a lot of attention for much talked about work in four very different festival hits.

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First is Abbie Cornish in Bright Star, the Jane Campion film about the poet John Keats and his romance with Fanny Brawne. Cornish has starred in a few other films - Candy with Heath Ledger and last year's Stop-Loss - but EW's Dave Karger says that this is her star-making role. The film's debut at Cannes garnered quite a bit of attention, with Variety stating Cornish delivered "an outstanding performance." The Hollywood Reporter sang her praises too:

"Cornish has the acting skill to match her striking beauty and she makes the small loving gestures that the British might call soppy both real and touching."

Campion directed both Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin to Oscar wins in 1993's incredible The Piano, and Barbara Hershey to a nomination in Portrait of a Lady. Cornish could be the fourth woman to make a trip to the Academy Awards with Campion, but she'll have some stiff competition. Bright Star's limited release is scheduled for September 18th.

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Katie Jarvis landed her role in Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank after a casting agent saw her having a heated argument with her boyfriend at a train station and asked her to audition. She plays Mia, a troubled and aggressive working-class teen with a passion for dance and her mother's new boyfriend.

Those who have seen the film have been wowed, especially by Jarvis' performance. Guy Lodge's review for In Contention said Jarvis brought "vivid physical charge to the character" and called her "an astute and fully-formed actress (not to mention a great dancer) in her own right".

Fish Tank tied for the Jury Prize at Cannes, and has US distribution with IFC Films, though no official US release date has been named. UK theaters will begin playing the film this Friday.

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Carey Mulligan in An Education has been the one to keep an eye on since Sundance. She plays Jenny, a young girl torn between a college education and a romance with a much older man who shows her the ways of the world. Jeffrey Wells over at Hollywood Elsewhere has been ecstatically shouting her name from rooftops since he attended a screening if the film in January:

"I know that special old-soul-mixed-with-youthful-effervescence quality that you see in very few actors and actresses over the years, and trust me, Mulligan has it. A wondrously true and satisfying film has broken out of the Sundance '09 pack, and a brand-new actress with just the right face and just the right approach and precisely the right touch of sadness in the corners of her mouth has hit one out of the park."

Mulligan's performance and the film have been capturing the hearts of almost everyone who sees them all year, with Mulligan widely thought to be the one to beat in this year's Best Actress race. Something about her is charming and winning, and I have to admit this is the performance I'm most anxious to see this year. Look for it in theaters October 9th.

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Another Sundance hit, Precious, stars Gabourey Sidibe in the title role. Precious is an illiterate Harlem teen pregnant with her second child by her father. She endures physical and emotional abuse from her mother and endless, cruel bullying from her peers over her obesity.

Most of the talk has been of Mo'Nique and her brutal performance as a montrous mother and Mariah Carey's non-glamorous role as a social worker, but Sidibe has earned raves as well. From the Hollywood Reporter:

"As Precious, Sidibe is superb, allowing us to see the inner warmth and beauty of a young woman who, to her world's cruel eyes, might seem monstrous."

It's a brave first performance to be sure. Precious hits theaters November 6th.

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All four names are sure to be floating around quite a bit as we come into the awards season. As far as Oscars go, Jarvis is a long shot due to her film's obscurity, and Sidibe will have a rough time keeping up with Mo'Nique's powerhouse performance. Mulligan is supposedly good enough to be a lock, and Cornish's chances are bolstered by the genre strength of the doomed period romance.

Sight unseen, my money is on Mulligan and Cornish, who will be battling it out in the coming months for the impressive newcomer vote.

As I've said, I'm most interested in Carey Mulligan, who's been drawing comparisons to Audrey Hepburn (who had her own breakthrough with Roman Holiday) for months. Who are you most excited about? Are there any other newcomers on your radar?

Best Actress, 2004

You may or may not have noticed that I've been watching and profiling the films that had Best Actress nominees back in 2004 over the past week or so. In my reading about this year's Oscar contenders, I've come across a number of people who feel that not one, but BOTH of Hilary Swank's Oscar wins have been undeserved.

As someone who thinks she does great work given the right material, I was a little surprised. So I decided to revisit her most recent win and decide for myself, after watching all the nominated performances, whether or not she deserved to take the Academy Award home that year. Here are my thoughts.

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Annette Bening in Being Julia
This was the only performance of the five that I had not seen when I started this project last week. Annette Bening is always a wonder to watch, and this is no exception. She plays Julia Lambert, an actress who becomes bored with stardom and looks to fill the void in her life with an affair. Bening is terrifically funny in a rather boring film, and has a joyful presence that helps her handily outclass the rest of the cast. She plays a few characters here, in a sense, as an actor playing an actor always does, but I don't feel like the part asked much of her. It's a light film, and I think her performance is less effective because the material doesn't require a true showcase of her enormous range. It's a great and entertaining performance, but it doesn't speak to me on an emotional level. ***/4

Catalina Sandino Moreno in Maria Full of Grace
Catalina Sandino Moreno was one of the last actresses director Joshua Marston came across while casting his film about a Colombian teen who gets involved in drug traficking in the hopes of forming a better life for herself. What a find. Moreno has some beautiful moments here. Her performance rings painfully true, and I found myself wondering about the actress' background. Are there echoes of her real life in the script? I don't know. She is eerily focused during every moment of her performance. Moreno is also fantastic at thinking onscreen. Watch this movie and notice that there is always something going on in her expression. Even in silent scenes she shows an intelligence that is essential in understanding how and why Maria does what she does. I would have expected bigger things to have happened in Moreno's career after this shocking and phenomenal first performance. Hopefully there are more great roles on the way for her. ****/4

Imelda Staunton in Vera Drake
Imelda Staunton is one of my favorite British actresses. Before Mike Leigh's terrific Vera Drake, I'd only seen her in small (yet enormously entertaining) roles. Mrs. Jennings' daughter in Sense and Sensibility. Lady Viola's nurse in Shakespeare in Love. Here, though, she gets the chance to really show off her talent. Vera Drake is a wife and mother in 1950s England. She's a big-hearted woman who helps everyone she can in any way she knows how, including helping women terminate unwanted pregnancies. Staunton plays Vera Drake splendidly. She's a cheerful, happy woman, who we immediately love and support, despite the fact that she performs criminal acts every week. The story and the rest of the characters fall into place specifically because of her performance, which conveys love and heartbreak effortlessly and powerfully. It's the role of a lifetime, and Staunton adds an unsettling dose of humanity to the controversial subject of abortion. ****/4

Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby
Hilary Swank plays Maggie Fitzgerald, a poor waitress from southern Missouri whose dream is to become a prize fighter. She's the only smart and driven member of her hillbilly family, and she won't rest until she makes something of herself with the help of trainer Frankie Dunn. Hilary Swank is perfect. She nails every moment on screen, from Maggie's earnest pursuit of Frankie's help, to her determination in her training, to her heartache as she seeks the love and acceptance of her mother. We feel every bit of hurt and triumph with Maggie, and it's so heartbreaking when the light inside her gets snuffed out that I break into sobs during the third act. Swank's performance packs an emotional blow to rival any knockout punch she throws as Maggie. ****/4

Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Kate Winslet is my favorite actress ever. I mean that. She's been #1 on my list since I was ten years old and no one has ever come close to unseating her. Her role here as Clementine, an unstable woman who erases her boyfriend Joel from her mind, happens to be my favorite of her performances. When Joel decides to have Clementine erased as well, we follow the procedure through his memories of their tumultuous relationship, and Winslet's performance is key. A less capable actress would have been lost not only in the brilliant maze of a screenplay, but in the character's frequent and severe ups and downs. Not Winslet. She's the sole reason the journey through Joel Barish's mind works. We identify with his frustration with the compulsive and exuberant Clementine, and ten minutes later we understand why he fell in love with her in the first place. ****/4



Final thoughts: Though this was an extraordinarily strong year for actresses, this is an easy call for Swank. I think the main reason people are upset about this win is that it makes two times she (deservedly) beat Annette Bening for the Oscar glory. While I agree that Bening is overdue, I don't think Julia Lambert was an Academy Award-worthy role.

Here's how I'd rank them:
1. Swank in Million Dollar Baby
2. Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. Staunton in Vera Drake
4. Moreno in Maria Full of Grace
5. Bening in Being Julia

Oscar Trivia #1

Only twice in the 81-year history of the Academy Awards has a pair of actors been nominated for playing the same character in the same film in different stages of his or her life. Both times, Kate Winslet played the younger half of the roles.

First in the 1997 hit Titanic, Winslet earned a Best Actress nomination as Rose DeWitt Bukater, a 17-year-old passenger on the famous doomed ship. Gloria Stuart was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, playing a much older Rose telling her story decades later. Neither woman won her category that year.

In 2001 Kate played writer Iris Murdoch in flashbacks, while Judi Dench played the aging Murdoch, suffering from dementia, in the acclaimed film Iris. Winslet got a Supporting Actress nomination, while Dench went lead. Again, neither actress took Oscar home.

Penelope Is One To Watch. Again.

Penelope Cruz is quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses.

It seems after years of struggling to make a place for herself in Hollywood, Cruz has finally found a balance that works for her. Volver was her turning point. Finally everyone is taking her talent seriously. She makes time to do Spanish films with close friend Pedro Almodovar, but also works in A-list American fare like the Woody Allen comedy Vicky Cristina Barcelona, for which she won her first Oscar last year.

This year she has two big projects. The first is her fourth collaboration with Almodovar, Broken Embraces, due out November 20th. There are some parallels between their new movie and their real-life relationship. Cruz plays an aspiring actress named Lena who develops a close bond with a filmmaker she idolizes.

Just five days later, Rob Marshall's Nine hits theaters. Nine is a film adaptation of the award-winning stage musical, which in turn was based on Federico Fellini's classic film 8 1/2. The story is again about a filmmaker, this time played by Daniel Day-Lewis, as he works on his ninth film and tries to juggle his relationships with the many women in his life. Cruz will play Carla, the filmmaker's mistress, in her first musical. It's a role that won Jane Krakowski a Tony in 2004. Could Penelope be making yet another trip to the Kodak this year? I think so.

I found this video recently and thought it was interesting. It's about a year old. In it Penelope talks about when she fell in love with the movies, her early obsession with Almodovar, and how attending the Oscars made her crave cheeseburgers. It's worth a watch, if you've got a few spare minutes.

Whatever Happened To Winona Ryder?

I haven't seen Winona Ryder in anything since she played Adam Sandler's love interest in the awful Mr. Deeds back in 2002. I know she's been working here and there since that, but she hasn't headlined anything worthy of her talent in a long time. Girl, Interrupted was the last knockout lead performance I saw from her.

What's the explanation for this? Is everyone still angry about that whole shoplifting incident? Why do we care? God knows there are plenty of actors who have done a lot worse. If nude picture scandals and drunk driving can't kill a career these days, it seems a little unfair that Winona, one of the greatest actresses of the 1990s, has one misstep and never gets an A-list role again.

For goodness' sake people! This is a two-time Oscar nominee who's only 37 years old. She's got plenty left to show us, I'm sure of it. Maybe Winona is getting plenty of offers and only taking the parts she wants. If that's the case, fine. But if it's not, I think it's high time someone gives her a new challenge.

Too Good For Her Own Good

Nathaniel Rogers over at the Film Experience Blog had a fun little post up the other day. He asked people which actor or actress they'd like to see play against type, and there were plenty of interesting responses. My first thought was Amy Adams, who, while wonderfully entertaining in almost everything she's done so far, has never proved she can play anyone even remotely dark.

Adams has been wowing us with charming, innocent characters for years now. But her career choices are starting to seem a little one-note. It's time she shook things up a bit. How impressive and fun would it be to see her do a complete about-face and play a truly horrible person? I for one would be thrilled to know whether or not she has it in her.

She needs the kind of role that Tilda Swinton often takes, like Karen Crowder in Michael Clayton or the title character in her recent Julia, for example. Playing a part that everyone loves to hate can work wonders for your career. Just ask the recent string of Oscar-winning baddies: Forrest Whitaker, Daniel Day-Lewis, Javier Bardem, Tilda, and the late Heath Ledger.

Are you listening, Amy? Just do it already! Play a drug addict, or a neglectful mother, or a slut, or all three at once! I promise America will still love you afterwards.

If you have a moment, head on over to The Film Experience and chime in. And let's keep rooting for Amy Adams. I know she's got some tricks up her sleeve.

Meryl As Julia

I saw Julie & Julia about a week ago and have to say I didn't enjoy it much, but Meryl Streep's performance is definitely going to be a major contender this year. Surprise, surprise, right?

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Streep plays Julia Child with an immense, irrepressible joy. The film follows Julia in 1950s France, enrolling in culinary school, mastering the art of French cooking, and striving to publish the first French cookbook written for Americans. Then there are these irritating interruptions in which some self-obsessed, whiny cubicle worker in New York, played by Amy Adams, tries to cook her way through Child's revolutionary cookbook in one year. This part of the movie doesn't work. At all. Thank goodness for Streep's lovable Julia Child. Every time she graced the screen the audience I watched it with was overcome with the giggles.

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This is without a doubt a wonderful performance from Meryl. She and Stanley Tucci, as Julia's husband Paul, are the reasons to see this film. Their chemistry as the married couple they portray and as actors is perfect. Ms. Streep has another comedy Globe coming her way this year, and probably a 16th Oscar nomination as well.

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I know plenty of people are aching to see her with a third statue to add to her mantle. She hasn't won since 1982, after all, and you can't deny that she's one of the most brilliant actresses film has ever seen. But I can't help but hope she doesn't win this one. She's phenomenal here, to be sure, but I want her to win her third for a powerhouse dramatic role instead. Here's hoping she signs up for one soon.

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Also keep an eye (and ear) out for Meryl in It's Complicated, a Nancy Meyers comedy due in December, and the Wes Anderson stop motion animation feature The Fantastic Mr. Fox, to which Streep lends some voice talent.