"I can be anyone I want to be"
That's the tagline for Alias, the trendy Jennifer Garner vehicle that I have yet to watch. Apparently, ABC left the tail end of that tagline on the cutting room floor. It should read "I can be anyone I want to be, except for a decent actress."
I subjected myself to watching 45 minutes of 13 going on 30 last night. Strange things happen when you're trying to take your mind off things. I was looking for some upbeat escapism. Unable to finish the movie, I turned to some Ben and Jerry's Super Fudge Chunk ice cream instead.
I realise that she was supposed to be playing a 13 year old trapped in a 30 year old's body, but instead of coming off as charmingly awkward in that gawky pre-teen way, Garner managed to make herself look like an anorexic chimpanzee trying to escape from a straight jacket. She is almost entirely incapable of any facial expression other than pouty constipation. I believe that she was using this, in conjuction with a mechnical Paris Hiltonesque head tilt, to convey "confusion", but I couldn't be quite sure. Much more convincing was Mark Ruffalo's almost-constant look of bewildered disgust. I know that's how I was feeling.
Was anyone with an above-average IQ entertained by this movie? I guess I was hoping for the same sort of endearing, wide-eyed naivete that I remember from Tom Hanks in Big. Though early Tom Hanks is rarely described this way, his performance was a lot more... subtle. And despite what high school drama queens everywhere might think, subtle is usually the way to go with such an over the top plot. You've asked enough from your audience by expecting them to buy into magic fairy dust. Don't put them through 45 minutes of someone coming to grips with underwire discomfort.
Comments
I am definitely not a Jennifer Garner fan. I am however a Ben and Jerry's Super Fudge Chunk Ice cream fan (and since getting pregnant have been able to indulge in chocolate icecream without triggering a migraine! Joy :-). Good choice to ditch the movie in favour of the fudgie stuff!
If you're looking for a distracting, light hearted, brainless, plotless, yet entertaining and kinda goofy movie that also slightly indulges your girly side, I'd recommend the Legally Blonde movies - both 1 and 2.
The Kill Bill V1 and 2 movies were totally fun in a completely different way of course (WAY cool) too but you've probably seen 'em.
Two of my all time favourites of a completely different genre - both comedies, and both absolutely beautiful and intelligent in my opinion (but you gotta be ok with subtitles :-))
1) Tampopo (Japanese)
2) Shall We Dance (the original japanese version, NOT The J-Lo version)
And if you wanna see what the Friday Night crowd has brought over the years, you can puruse the super secret web site at http://www.davidadam.com/movies.html - they are all there in all their glory, with links to their entries in IMDB.com ;-)
Posted by: heather at February 9, 2005 09:36 PM