Entertainment Weekly’s cover this is week is “Beyond Beautiful”: a conversation with Kerry Washington, Elizabeth Banks, Reese Witherspoon and Eva Longoria about diversity, feminism, #AskHerMore, and being women in Hollywood. You can see EW’s cover preview here. I can tell you already that Kerry is the one really bringing it to this roundtable discussion, whereas Eva Longoria is kind of meh. But in the midst of a high-minded conversation about important subjects, Reese offered up an interesting blind item. I’m not sure if she meant to frame it as a blind item. I think she was just offering a story of her “breaking point” when she realized that she needed to produce more female-centric films. Here’s the blind item:
“About four years ago I got sent an awful, terrible script. And this male star was starring in it, and there was a girlfriend part. And I thought, “You’ve got to be kidding me. No, I’m not interested.” They said, “Well this actress is chasing it, that actress is chasing it: three Oscar winners and two huge box office leading ladies.” And I thought, “Oh, that’s where we’re at? You’re fighting to be the girlfriend in a dumb comedy? For what?” And by the way, two Oscar winners did it.”
What was the movie and who were the two Oscar winners? That’s the blind item. I would really love to know. It’s not Jennifer Lawrence, just because her CV is very light on rom-coms. My first thought was Natalie Portman and No Strings Attached, which is an awful film, but Ashton Kutcher is not an Oscar winner. One of Gwyneth Paltrow’s films perhaps? It could be Thanks For Sharing or Mortdecai, although Mark Ruffalo and Johnny Depp aren’t Oscar winners either. Charlize Theron in A Million Ways To Die in the West? No other Oscar winners in that either. One of those Garry Marshall films maybe? I’m really hitting a wall here, I’d love to hear your theories.
Anyway, I don’t hate Reese for talking openly about the crappy scripts she gets offered. But there is something like High Horse Syndrome (something I just made up) going on here, because Reese has made some absolutely awful/stupid movies too. Hot Pursuit? This Means War?
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
I say Don Jon. Released in 2013.
Scarlett Johansson eventually played the girlfriend role.
It also had 2 Oscar winners – Julianne Moore and Anne Hathaway.
Reece is so passive aggressive.
And what about that dreck she made with Vince Vaughn?
(They famously hated each other on set!)
Don Jon was a really fantastic film though, definitely not an awful com by any stretch of the imagination.
Isn’t she saying that three Oscar actresses were chasing it? Not necessarily in it?
She straight up says in the final line :
“By the way 2 Oscar winners did it.”
And it wasn’t a bad film at all, but did only OK business
But all subjective.
The premise might have been dumb to Reece.
But she only refers to the male as a “star”.
Don Jon was great, I thought.
I actually enjoyed “This Means War”. I usually think the rom coms I see (usually on an airplane) are stupid and not funny, but I really enjoyed that one.
Don Jon got pretty good reviews though?
It did. Plus it was Joseph Gordon Levitt’s baby – he wrote it and directed it. And I believe Scarlett Johannsen was always his first choice for the girlfriend role because they knew each other decently well. His budget wasn’t extensive enough to get anyone unwilling to take a pay cut.
Can’t even imagine Reese in that role.
I loved Don Jon, especially Moore’s role.
That was Four Christmases, a truly awful, horrible movie. Not only was there no chemistry between Reese and Vince, they also played two very unlikeable, unpleasant people (in a rom-com with a Christmas theme, of all things!).
The only Oscar-winner in Don Jon is Julianne Moore, who won the award some years later.
Also, Don Jon was actually not stupid (?)
Oscar winner Cuba Gooding, Jr. played HW Actor #2 in the film within a film. Channing T. was HW Actor #1 opposite AH. I enjoyed Don Jon. I think JGL has steered his career rather well since Third Rock.
Could be Don Jon, but that was not a bad rom-com like the many ones Reese has actually done. I didn’t actually like the movie (I can’t stand JGL as an actor), but it had substance.
If its Don that was a good film, wouldn’t even describe it as a Rom Com, more like a film about growing up & maturing.
Passive aggressive is right. You can tell a LOT about a woman by the company she keeps. Paltrow, Chelsea Handler, etc.? Ugh.
By the way, Reese is starting to look like Handler which is a sorry and very sad state of affairs.
Great cover otherwise, Banks and Washington look great, Eva does too – but she is a bit too highlighted. That ‘highlighting baking,’ trend needs to go bye bye.
Right? I thought she was throwing some shade towards the 2 oscar winning actresses. I get why she is complaining about the lack of good roles but does she have to out down the actresses that star in crappy films? whats wrong with these actresses who insist on putting people down to prop themselves up?
Btw- Reese has starred in plenty of crappy romcom films after she won her Oscar. So what the heck is she blabbing about?
Anne Hathaway was a cameo though. And she did it because she’s good friends with JGL.
I’ve watched this film twice and never seen her in it?
If I remember correctly Anne was in the romantic movie within the movie that Scarlett’s character took him to see. Coincidently a really cheesy rom-com.
I feel like when she says two Oscar winners, she means a male and female. The part she is referencing is for the male Oscar winner’s girlfriend, which went to a female Oscar winner. At least, that is how I’m interpreting it. And it may make it easier to figure out what movie she’s talking about.
Just a thought…she didn’t say that both Oscar winners were in front of the camera. There could well have been an Oscar winner in the crew.
My thoughts exactly…hello Reese…Hot Pursuit ring a bell?!?
And why in Eva in this mix? What does she do nowadays???
Eva is starring in Telenovela, which I am watching in hopes the scripts will get better. She is beautiful in it, the costumes are fab, I want to support the diverse cast, and Zachary Levy is in it… But whoever is writing the scripts needs to be replaced. I always cheer for and hope that a show like this does well, because each success opens the door (hopefully) for more diversity. Sadly I don’t think her show will make it to season 2.
Eva also produces Telenovela and Devious Maids, and directed a couple of episodes so she’s actually making television with and about Latina women, so she definitely deserves to be included.
Hot pursuit might be drek, but at least the role Reece played was a lead role and her character had an arc (I’m assuming, I haven’t actually seen it) as opposed to being just ‘the girlfriend’. Maybe it was funnier on paper and just didn’t turn out as well as she hoped. It looks like a complete rip off of The Heat, but it starred two women (one a woman of colour).
She tried something, this one didn’t work. Hot pursuit was bad, but she also produced Wild and Gone Girl and they were great. I think she was a pretty decent record overall.
Hot Pursuit was bad, but I definitely think people were harsher on that movie because of it’s female leads. I felt it was boring and really stupid, but watching it didn’t anger me like Adam Sandler films do.
Hot Pursuit looked stupid in the commercials. I also couldn’t stand Sofia Vergara overdoing the accent. Come on Sofia, I saw Chef and you did not speak with an exaggerated accent.
This means war sucked too.
Playing For Keeps?
Crappy football film with Gerard Port-a-Potty and had Catherine Zeta-Jones and Uma Thurman?
Or New Year’s Eve, maybe. Had Halle Berry and Robert De Niro. Or Larry Crowne?
(I’m slightly ashamed that I know this . . .)
Playing for Keeps is a good guess but Uma’s not an Oscar winner!
For real?
I thought she won for Pulp Fiction for some reason.
*googles*
Ah, Diane Wiest won in ’94.
What about Valentine’s day? Bride Wars? Kate Hudson didn’t win an Oscar but she was nominated. Going back to IMDB to look at rom coms, tell us what movie Reese!
Oh, All about Steve maybe?
Sandra and Bradley FTW! Oops – Bradley hasn’t won an Oscar.
It was a silly but sweet movie. But, it did get a very low critics’ rating (maybe one star).
There’s always the possibility that she kinda made it up just to have something to say.
New Year’s Eve would make sense – two female Oscar winners in it: Halle Berry and Hilary Swank.
Yeah, I think it’s New Year’s Eve and she’s referencing Halle and Hilary. If they wanted her for the “girlfriend” part, she was probably offered Kathryn Heigl’s part (which makes total sense, Heigl is the budget Witherspoon).
They all look lovely on the cover, but EB’s arm on KW’s lap freaked me out for a minute.
Me, too! Something looks off, like its a fake arm or KW has three arms. It’s such an unnatural looking pose.
Has she not seen ‘This Means War’?
I have an unnatural affinity for that movie because they filmed some scenes at my childhood dojo. Tom Hardy touched tatami mats filled with the sweat of my adolescence!
It doesn’t matter if “This Means War” was a terrible movie or not. Her point was that prestigious actresses were offered, chasing and taking “girlfriend” roles.
Reese’s role in “This Means War” was a starring role.
I had high hopes for that one as I love Chris Pine and Tom Hardy. Took my son. Disappointing as well as not funny. Having sex with both guys to decide who you want is hardly rom-com material. Bleh.
Thanks for pointing this out, Ann. I hope that everyone mentioning “Hot Pursuit” takes note.
Witherspoon’s point that it’s degrading to be pressured into taking the girlfriend/background/second-banana role in a dumb comedy that is a vehicle for the male star after you’ve won an Oscar.
Besides, I daresay you get paid a great deal more to star in “This Means War” or “Hot Pursuit” than to play the girlfriend role.
@Kelly but she actually didn’t have sex with both guys; though her friend told her she should. She only had sex with Chris Pine’s character.
@ greeneweenie – cheers that made me laugh out loud – you do have a way with words!
@ Ann – oops it was a throwaway comment, I was under the silly impression that this was a gossip site where throwaway contributions are allowed – I shall try and remember to be suitably serious in future, particularly as you are right, I totally missed the point (as usual) 🙂
Even though Hot Pursuit was terrible she still sees herself as “above” those actresses because they only played the girlfriend. For real? No mention if the comedy was more successful than her own bomb.
I can’t stand Reese but I didn’t read this particular comment as her being “above” those actresses — just frustrated that the girlfriend parts were all that were available to fight over. I think her point was that Oscar winners are resorting to taking lesser roles since presumably they don’t have any other, more substantive options.
I have no problem with Reese, and your take is mine as well- like this is what women are reduced to, even after having won an Oscar. And I liked This Means War- the eye candy was very nice. The one she did that really was abysmal was the one with Paul Rudd(who I love) and Owen Wilson.
That’s what I thought too – it wasn’t so much that she was offered an awful movie, but that the only roles Oscar-winning women have to fight over are the crappy girlfriend roles in crappy movies. I don’t mind her starring in some crappy movies (every actor has those) – the problem is these super-successful women don’t even have the choice of leads in crappy movies to turn down.
[And, by the way, I say this all as someone who is not a big fan of Reese’s – especially given that she’s in the Goop squad. Ugh.]
I see what you mean, but I still think her comments were snarky. Despite some of her recent movies, I’ve liked most of what Reese has done, so that’s not the issue. Just because you are an Oscar winner or a leading lady does not mean you should be shamed for playing a supporting character in my opinion. Yes, it would be nice if there were more lead roles for women. But what if someone simply liked the script and wanted to play that character? If the actresses were that excited to get the part then good for them.
The BS she keeps spewing really winds me up. And the public keep lapping it up.
It’s fact that after her big break ie into studio tent pole films, she demanded mega salary and wouldn’t play lower. The bigger cheques come with mediocrity at best, terrible scripts at worst.
Nothing wrong with demanding bigger cheques, but she stuck to her guns and watched her career go to the toilet. It happens every time. She’s not the first to follow this policy and watch their career go down the toilet. See also Demi Moore, MM and Eddie Murphy.
Once they (and she) realise that bigger cheques doesn’t equal better scripts, they lower their quote which makes them affordable for a bigger pool of scripts and or go back to basics.
It’s so annoying when they don’t own up to their own BS. As irritating as I find MM, at least he acknowledged it.
Who is MM?
Maybe Matthew McConaughay?
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew Mcconaughey
Matthew does own his stuff, plus he doesn’t put down the lighter, rom-coms he has done. RW could learn from him.
I feel like you completely missed the point. It wasn’t about doing a romantic comedy, it was about the role being ‘just’ the girlfriend. MM may have had an awful lot of sell-out roles, but at least even in those he got to be a fully formed individual, instead of his sole purpose being to react to the female main character. And Reese gives us a lot to criticize her about, but this is a story that goes back way beyond what she’s talking about. How many women’s roles in general can be described as “wife of” and “girlfriend of”? And conversely, how many men’s roles are described as “husband of” and “boyfriend of”?
I didn’t miss the point at all. You missed *my* point, so i’ll explain plainly.
Reece was doing good work which made her a star, but not exactly top of the mountain until LEGALLY BLONDE. That’s when she hit the summit. And refused to look below her. The only roles offered at the summit, whoever you are, and especially female, are terrible. It’s a paradox. You’d think the roles at the top of the summit are the best of the lot, but they are not. And the actors who operate at that level do so purely for the paycheque, nothing else. And what a paycheque.
They effectively price themselves out of the industry of decent roles because those roles aren’t being automatically greenlit. Whereas the writers at the top tend to be hacks who write bad scripts that inexplicably make serious money for the studio eg Anything by Adam Sandler, and therefore are automatically greenlit and oodles of cash for all.
For many, many years, RW refused to look at any script that didn’t come with a hefty salary. And for those years she received bad scripts. The smaller, lower tier scripts weren’t reaching her. What’s the point if you know your script won’t be received simply because it isn’t a top summit level script for the studio.
Some actors remain forever at that top because they hit a formula that works eg Adam Sandler again. Others, like RW and MM realise that they are not best served by staying on that summit.
The matrix of what gets through to the summit is very complex, and that’s why the black list exists.
I guess her eureka moment was realising what dross she was receiving despite being paid top dollar.
BTW, i’m not bashing her need to be paid top dollar. We all want that. However, the most interesting work for all actors, male or female, is not the top of the mountain. And those actors who have insisted on staying at that top tend to have a very poor record of films.
No one, male or female, receives good scripts at that level. And I find her disingenuous to the extreme for saying she couldn’t find a decent script when she was deliberately pricing herself out of the pool of decent scripts.
Well said, LAK. Fluff = more cash.
The overarching point wasn’t that REESE specifically was offered crap. It’s the fact that such a thin role wasn’t just being offered to an Oscar winner, but that it was the best thing out there to a point that multiple Oscar winners were fighting to do the role. I didn’t take it at all as Reese being horrified at being offered a bad script so much as its indicative of what’s out there for actresses. And even if she priced herself out, shouldn’t we be asking why so few movies are willing to pay an actress top dollar? She’s made a lot of payday movies, but you better believe that Toth makes sure she still gets offered the best of what’s around – and if that’s the best it’s a sorry commentary indeed. Reese is far from the only actress making this statement, but we’re getting caught up in dislike for her and aren’t acknowledging the point. Even consider the Academy Awards – how many men are nominated for Oscars for a ‘husband-of’ character? And yet how many women are nominated for Oscars for their ‘wife-of’ character?
By the way, I’m not trying to be obtuse or obnoxious, and I get what you’re saying. And if it was just ‘what went wrong’ with Reese’s career I’d agree. I just think she’s using a specific example to make a larger point.
But since you brought up MM, I have a question: Jim Toth represents both of them, and is given a lot of credit for the McConaighssance. Is Reese Witherspoon’s #askhermore her McConaighssance?
I agree with you Bridget. I think the point of her story is that the top female actresses, even Oscar winners, fight over inane roles as just the girlfriend of the male lead, and in really bad scripts to boot. And that’s why she thought she had to go in to producing movies, to make more good roles for actresses.
Doesn’t mean she’s not a thoroughly unpleasant person who may, as LAK claims, have depleted her own pool of roles to choose from by unrealistic salary demands. Just that I agree with Bridget that that wasn’t the point of her story.
You are correct with Jimmy Joe being MM’s agent but Jimmy Joe does not represent Witherdrunk. They are just contractual husband and wife.
Speaking of Mathew McCanoughey, I think the movie is How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. MM-ocsar winner, Kate Hudson ( I think she has an oscar?).
Kate was nominated.
May I just add that RW also married a high powered agent. When she bemoans choices, one has to wonder if her marriage was purely strategic.
MM didn’t have an oscar till recently, no?
@Christian
Ding ding ding! Winner winner chicken dinner! VERY strategic!
Wowow photoshop, I did not recognize Elizabeth Banks on the cover! More candid recent photos don’t suggest she’s had work done (and if she has, I still recognized her). Also, part of me wants to believe that Kerry Washington would not really be friends with Reese Witherspoon, but maybe I just want her to be Olivia Pope at her (non-Fitz-whining) best….
I didn’t recognize Banks either and had no idea who that was at first. And I have no idea why anyone would want to Photoshop her so extensively. It must be weird to see yourself on a magazine cover looking nothing like yourself.
That whole portion of the cover image looks terribly forced and “off.”
I’m pretty sure it’s New Year’s Eve (2011) or Valentine’s Day (2010) or any of those ensemble cast rom coms. Either way, that’s not very nice of her… But then again, Reese has never been very nice!
I think you missed the point. She is not bashing the actresses who take these roles,she is lamenting that these roles are what’s offered to them. I am not Reese’s biggest fan, but I appreciate that she doesn’t mince words here.
I know what she was trying to do, but it didn’t come out right at all. She was trying to highlight the lack of good roles, but it came out badly, It sounds as if she’s rolling her eyes at the world.
She still put down the actresses who were chasing it, by saying that she, Reese, American Citizen extraordinaire, would never chase a role like that. I have a serious rational hate for this woman. She is so full of herself, and thinks she is WAY more talented than she is. I’d like to #askhermore about whether she and her husband still drive around drunk???
I think it’s probably new year’s eve. It has Hilary Swank and Halle Berry who were both oscar winners at the time the movie was made.
I think so too. But i am not going to share my stupid knowledge on rom coms to solve this blind.
*runs away from this thread*
I’ve never seen it, but according to a summary, both of their roles revolved around a dying guy (DeNiro) and not a boyfriend.
Maybe I understood wrong but I just thought that she was saying the movie had two oscar winning women in it, not that her role was taken by an oscar winner. I could be wrong though (it happens frequently).
I didn’t recognize Elizabeth Banks at all. I thought it was a Duff sister.
LOL!
Kevin Kline ( who won for A Fish Called Wanda) was also in No Strings Attached. I hate that I know this.
A Fish Called Wanda! Great movie! I didn’t realize he won an Oscar for that role.
Your career choices aren’t great either Resse.
Word.
The role is the girlfriend in Mordecai, starring Johnny Depp. Gwyneth Paltrow wound up taking the role. Reese is giving Gwyneth snarky payback for Gwyneth’s equally snarky comment that Reese was doing “dumb Romantic comedies” for ” money and status, of course.” Two of a kind, non?
I could see that, but who’s the other Oscar winner in Mortdecai other than Goop?
Goop is the only Oscar winner in it. It’s not Mortdecai.
Reese might have gotten confused and thought Johnny Depp had an Oscar, while in fact he’s just been nominated a bunch of times.
True.
The only other movie I can think of is Aloha? Bradley won one, and so did Cameron Crowe. Wasn’t she tied to it? And man that was an awful film.
@Little Darling
But Reece and Gwyneth are friends.
They coo over each other and hang with the same crew of gal pals.
Kate Hudson, Jen Meyer, Erin Foster e.t.c
Bcoop hasn’t won a Oscar-he’s just been nominated.
That’s too recent, Reese has been producing films for women for a couple of years now and I feel this story happened a couple of years before that. Mortdecai came out last year.
I think it is a film from early 2010s with two female Oscar winners but I do not know what.
I agree with you (and many people don’t seem to be picking this up) that she means two female Oscar winners ended up agreeing to be second bananas in the dumb comedy.
My first thought was Grown Ups, because I still can’t believe Salma Hayek (already married to her billionaire) and Maria Bello would agree to be in that dreck, but those actresses haven’t won Oscars. And Adam Sandler is notorious in my book for asking proper actresses to play his romantic interests in his toddler-man movies.
Love Reese!
And yeah I am really tired of seeing talented actresses playing the girlfriend to a male driven film.
I love Concussion but Gugu
Mbatha-Raw wasted.
I didn’t hate Thank You for Sharing, even though Gwyneth’s part could have been filled by anybody, and Pink’s character should have had a more central role. I liked the concept, and I LOVED Josh Gad in that one. He’s some kind of wonderful.
So, why was her last film a dumb comedy?
Movie wise: All About Steve?
Awful bomb of a movie with Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper . Sandra’s character is an obnoxious stalker , and I could see them courting Reese for the part.
Oooh that’s a great guess. Bradley doesn’t have an Oscar but he’s clearly an Academy darling so the point is more or less the same.
And God damn that movie was terrible. Terrible, terrible, terrible.
I’m a little ashamed to admit that I really liked All About Steve.
Dumb comedy… well, for some a movie might be bad and for others good. I know even with all the hoopla American Hustle got, I barely watched 20 mins. of it. Did not cared for the film.
That’s where we’re at? Sure, you can say that no good leading roles are out there for women. It has been said befored, and it should change. But, I don’t know these actresses and for what I understand you are as good as your last role, and if that was ages ago, well people could forget you.
Now, how do I know that the actresses that wanted that role did not have an A up their sleeve, knew the director was going to direct another project that they were interested in, or the studio was doing a proyect that they were interested in and the “going for that role” was part of the networking?
I understand what she wanted to say, but maybe she could have expressed it better. Plus, she does come out kindda gossipy, 😁.
But she wasn’t a peripheral girlfriend to a male-driven comedy. Bullock was a star in the film, a main character.
True.
To me her point is there are so few quality parts for women that even the highest levels of actresses have to chase even the “girlfriend of” roles. Regardless of what you think of Reese, I think it’s a legit complaint when looking at mainstream movies.
I (thankfully) didn’t see Hot Pursuit, but that was 2 women in starring roles, not a “girlfriend/wife of” role.
Adding: Guys, if she got the script 4 years ago, the movie is probably 2012-current. Anything released earlier wouldn’t fit.
Exactly. Just because many on here don’t like Reese they are taking her comments completely out of context.
That’s how I interpreted her comment too. I don’t think she was on her high horse in this instance dissing the actresses for taking the parts — just noting that this was the situation they were dealing with, and they could be offered better. Seemed like a slam on the industry, not the actresses.
Exactly, and I think she was explaining why she started producing her own stuff, which includes Gone Girl and Wild. You may not like her, but she is making female-centric movies. Of course some are going to be duds, but Hot Pursuit looked like a copy of the Sandra Bullock/Melissa McCarthy film that missed. Happens to everyone.
I thought Wild was really good, and Reese was great in it. I too am glad to see her return to producing, I think she and Nicole Kidman are both producers on Big Little Lies for HBO too.
The Heat did so well, I’m surprised there weren’t more bad knock offs like Hot Pursuit.
The way she put it is that Oscar winning actresses were chasing it and she wouldn’t because it was so much below her. There was nothing generous or kind in what she said about them.
Well, it sounds like not only was it a bad rom-com, but that the role was an insult, just the girlfriend of the main character.
Here’s a profile from The Hollywood Reporter. It says Reese started her production company in 2012. So, maybe in 2013 she turned down the script in question, and that could pin down the movie???
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/reese-witherspoon-her-production-company-833137
She disolved her production company and became a partner with Bruna P in 2012. This company isn’t all about Witherdrunk. It is actually more Bruna P then Witherdrunk who is running the show. She keeps saying she wants to produce all these things but continues to step in front of camera instead of staying behind it. She continues to buy all these rights to books and such to star in. She was very, very salty when she was denied the lead of Gone Girl. Her name was attached but didn’t have her hands in it as much as Wild.
And yet she was in legally blonde, four Christmases and hot pursuit,really bad movies IMO, she comes across as someone who thinks very highly of herself.
Oh, but I LOVED Legally Blonde. It’s such mind-candy. Now the sequel sucked, but the original, yeah, I’m there.
You shut your mouth – Legally Blonde is a seminal classic.
Hear, hear!
Legally Blonde was a great movie, well-written, and she owned it. That’s how you do a comedy/rom-com with a heart and a little unique from all the generic ones.
Besides, she was the lead role. She’s referencing in her comments not just being offered a bad rom-com, but that the part was only the girlfriend to the male lead character, and that good actresses were fighting for such a poor part..
We took our nephews to Legally Blonde when it first opened (their choice, not ours) and expected to hate it. We didn’t. And youngest nephew stood up at the end of the movie and announced to the entire theatre, “That was the best movie I ever saw!”
Legally Blonde is AWESOME.
Legally Blonde is great!
For shame!! Legally Blonde is a classic!
EB’s left arm looks about 6 feet long and she looks like the long-lost smart Simpson sister. Why do that do that to people who are so attractive on their own?
Her point is that Oscar winning actresses are vying for “girlfriend ” roles. Although Hot Pursuit looked ridiculously awful (didn’t see it), she and Sophia V. were the leads. Many good actors make shitty movies, but they are not playing “boyfriend” roles.
Maybe it was that Hugh Grant movie “The Rewrite”. Marisa Tomei was the token girlfriend type part and JK Simmons was also in the film.
Oh, I think you are right. I didn’t think of that movie.
I see any Hugh Grant movie, because I still have a soft spot for him with rom-coms from back in the day. And I love Marisa. It was a same day release to video when it opened in theatres. so watched it at home.
It was cute enough just to watch lounging on the sofa, not paying more at a movie theatre. But it was very slight on the actual story and cliched. And I was very surprised Marisa didn’t have a bigger part in the movie as far as scenes and storyline.
that was the movie i thought of. i didn’t know jk simmons though was an oscar winner. that was a pretty bad movie
At the very least, “High Horse Syndrome” has been born! I bet we can use it again with Reese in the near future.
Maybe Oscar winners were chasing it but didn’t end up in it or it never got past pre-production? I’m thinking a Nicole Kidman movie.
I’m kind of surprised at how many people are missing the point. It isn’t about romantic comedies being bad, it’s about what’s being offered. So many of the roles we see is are defined solely as “girlfriend of” or “wife of” rather than their own arcs and trajectories. Accomplished women at the pinnacle of their careers are reduced to fighting 2nd tier roles simply because there are so few options out there. I’m not personally a huge fan of Reese, but that doesn’t mean that she’s wrong to point out how screwed up this is.
I am surprised too, but I shouldn’t be, really. It’s typical on here when certain actresses or actors aren’t liked to take a comment out of context and completely miss the point they are making.
Your points are very well put.
True
We don’t just want the right message, we want the right person to say it in the right way. Reese isn’t my favorite (and I don’t agree with how they did #askhermore), but she’s echoing an experience that a lot of women have.
I’m surprised so many people are missing the total shade she was throwing at other actresses for chasing those parts – because she stressed they were “chasing” them, when she wouldn’t never deign to stoop that low.
Charlie’s Angels popped up on netflix, and as I was watching it–I realized that allllll the dudes had girlfriend roles. But what was even more sad was that they had more personality and stood out more than in the usual girlfriend roles i.e. The Chad and Alex’s boyfriend (from dude in Friends, I can never remember his name)…../….
I am totally going to copy you and use “High Horse Syndrome.” Awesome.
People! She’s talking about what her breaking point was in Hollywood, which assumably led to her forming her own production company. If you really want to solve this, figure out when her production company was formed and which rom coms came out around the same time.
She’s had a production company since beginning of the 00s. She produced the LEGALLY BLONDE films.
She has no room to criticize after making the crapfest known as Hot Pursuit.
Again, will people read what she is saying. She wasn’t offered a bad-rom with a LEAD role, at least a main character, something to work with as an actress. She was offered a bad-rom com to be the “girlfriend of” lead male character. And what was surprising to her is several respected actresses were vying for the nothing “girlfriend” part, BECAUSE there aren’t many roles out there for women and this is what some very respected actresses are reduced to, taking a peripheral girlfriend part in a not-so-good movie.
She’s not criticizing actresses. She’s criticizing the dearth of parts for actresses and what’s being offered. It’s why she started a production company, creating more roles for women in television and movies.
Thank you for fighting this losing battle, Jayna. I read this site mostly for your insightful comments.
Ditto! Well explained, Jayna.
@Tara, thanks. But I am far from the most insightful on here. I agree, it appears I was fighting a losing battle along with some others, and so gave up. LOL
Why would respected actresses want to take a girlfriend part unless it was a part that interested them? Oscar winners hard up for cash? I’m sorry I see this as snark on her part as well as commentary on what kind of roles are available, but there is no reason a respected actress is “reduced” to taking a part unless she’s broke! Back to LAK’s comment, take less money and get a role that has some substance.
And Hot Pursuit may have ended up not being a good movie, but at least she created a movie that was a female-driven movie, with two female leads. Sometimes your vision just doesn’t pan out.
And she produced and acted in Wild, which was critically acclaimed, which she was excellent in, a movie carried completely by herself almost the entire movie. A movie that probably wouldn’t have gotten made if she hadn’t produced it herself, a true story of a woman, after a personal tragedy and fighting demons, finding herself out in a long and grueling hike along the Pacific Crest Trail.
Hot Pursuit may have stunk, but it was led by 2 women, who were treated as fully formed individuals. Not wives, not girlfriends, but people.
Odd of her to put this tidbit out there.
She produced Penelope, and for that I will be forever grateful.
Yes!!!!!!! and it was in 2006!
I adore that movie. I think that is when I fell hard for my forever love The Mac.
ITA! I’d kept my pig face too if it meant being with him.
I understand the frustration of getting asked to do crappy roles when you’re already established….but what has she done in the past 4 years that wasn’t some dumb comedy/rom-com? Like Wild is the only one coming to mind.
New years Eve had Halle Berry and Hilary Swank in it. Both oscars winners. Their roles weren’t really “the girlfriend” though….
Mud, Wild, Inherent Vice, and the Good Lie. She hasn’t done a rom com since 2012.
Thank you
In 2011 she did the period piece Water for Elephants, which I enjoyed. She was okay in it, but I didn’t really think she and Rob had enough chemistry. But Rob Pattinson was really great in it, and he made the movie for me.
None of those I’ve seen. Wild I remembered because of the oscar nom. I guess Im just so used to her doing rom-com type of movies.
how about “this means war?” awful awful. she shouldn’t throw rocks around in her glass house..
She was the lead, not the secondary girlfriend character to the male lead.
Ever since that “do you know who I am??” hot mess of a DUI arrest a few years ago, I just can’t take anything she says seriously. Aging out of Hollywood relevance probably sucks, and she’s always had that hoity air about her, but I never figured her for one of those my-s***-don’t-stink mean girls.
Not to defend Reese because I don’t care for her personality or her acting, but she said 10 or 11 years ago that sometimes people look at the movies she’s been in and thinks she makes bad choices, but they were actually the best choices she could make because all she had to choose from at the time was complete crap.
And this was after she was successful – she said she would go for years at a time with no good offers, and would settle for the best of the bad just to stay working and stay in the game.
So for people to say she has no right to criticize when she stars in so many dumb movies, I think that was the whole point of her story – there’s not much out there for a mainstream actress that’s any good.
And there’s always the golden few, younger or older, that get first pick.
I kinda understand what point she was trying to make but it makes her come across as egotistical. Putting down other actresses for wanting a part. Just because she didn’t like it doesn’t mean the others need to share her opinion.
BTW, Hot Putsuit was extremely misogynistic. Like, the tough police officer she played needed to look like a “girl” to feel better about herself, and one scene where a man came out of nowhere to save her. Real feminist.
After doing some research, so I can procrastinate actual work…It has to be New Years Eve. Horrible rom com and it sits at 7% on rotten tomatoes and has 2 Oscar winners in it… fits the clues. I thought it could be Labor day with Kate Winslet, but Josh Brolin has never won an Oscar.
Edit: What about The Paperboy? Nicole Kidman and Matthew Mcconaughey? I never saw the movie, so I don’t know what kind of part Nicole played, but isn’t it the same movie where she gets peed on?
Nicole is always a lead in her movies, not a peripheral girlfriend. She doesn’t take a smaller part unless the character, in her mind, is more fleshed out and adds something to the story.
I mentioned down below the supporting role she took in the Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston film Just Go With It. She wasn’t ‘the girlfriend’ but it was a pretty fluff role.
@Kori, I forgot about that role. I remember being surprised when she showed up in the movie in a small part when watching it.
Actually Nicole Kidman does the peeing. She pees on Zac Efron.
You could be right, though. That’s a horrible movie. John Cusack is in it too (not an Oscar winner but he’s a legit actor). I just remember wondering how in the name of God any of these people thought this was a good idea.
It sounds awful.
Matthew Mcconaughey has an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, not sure if that movie really qualifies as a romcom though. I guess the larger problem is that there are a ton of really awful movies in existence.
The ‘American Citizen’ is really passive/aggressive. And, as my mom said when we were coming up: You will be judged based on the friends you keep. Reese, I’m side-eye-ing a lot of your friends.
I hate these Reeses to pieces.,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Any actor in Hollywood, even the untouchable respected ones, have done something that went wrong, or ended up being just an embarrassing movie. All of them. Even Daniel Day Lewis with the Mohican movie.
On the other hand, I think is a paradox that Reese describes an Oscar winning actor as someone who’ll never do bad work. Reese herself has an Oscar, and someone like say, Glenn Close, doesn’t. Oscars are about PR, campaigning, networking and bankability. Anyone with a minimum of acting skills can get one if they play the game.
I’d pick any of Glenn’s films over June Carter. Guess she showed “courage” by singing. Hollywood eats it up.
I’m stunned. How does Glenn Close not have an Oscar when Reese has one and JLaw has two???? Amazing.
Jlaw has one. She has a ton of nominations but just one win.
How dare you! Last Of The Mohicans was AMAZING!! in my opinion, of course 😉
I agree, problematic, sure, but gorgeous
Are there really many good movies anymore, much less individual roles that shine?
I do wonder if Reese is really talking about why she started her production company, or why she married a top agent 4 or 5 years ago? Looks like she started her ‘girl power’ production company about a year after the marriage.
Marion Cotillard gave a really fantastic performance in The Immigrant from 2013 and she was the lead in the movie. Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner were also really good, but Marion’s performance was really nomination worthy to me. The movie was slow and uneven, but I loved the way it was shot. It’s worth it for the performances, though. Of course, I love period pieces.
Cate Blanchett has made a lot of films where her characters are very interesting and her acting is always stellar. I love most of her movies, if not all. I think she’s a brilliant actress and always gets interesting roles..
Thanks for providing examples. I watch lots of older movies because it seems the newer ones I have watched are mostly let downs.
Several of my favorite actors from years gone by never won an Oscar. There are those in old movies who do a great job, yet are sometimes a hardly recognized name now.
@Christin, I hear you. There aren’t a lot of great roles or movies with strong female leads, and God knows, Cate seems to get a lot of the ones out there.
I will always be partial to Cold Mountain from 2003 because I loved Nicole back during that period (massive Nicole Kidman fan), and I thought Nicole Kidman and especially Renee Zellweger gave great performances, and loved that the two main roles were women. And Jude Law was his most beautiful back then.
Julianne Moore is a great example in a kind of recent movie, Still Alice, where she gave a brilliant but nuanced performance that was gripping. She deserved the Oscar for sure last year. I probably never would have seen that movie if she hadn’t gotten nominated and I heard a lot of hype about her in it, and I would have missed a spectacular performance and great story worth seeing.
I’ll have to check out Still Alice. Agree about Cold Mountain having good performances.
Oh, poor Joaquin (mentioned earlier) deserved an Oscar for Walk the Line. He captured Johnny’s persona in every way.
Not gonna lie guys, I can watch Four Christmases any time its on. Its fun, cheap comedy. Also Four Christmases she plays lead / film revolves around her and Vince. She’s not just a girlfriend. And I believe her point was not just to call out anyone but say, if I wanted decent roles i had to make them. Which I have to say she did with Wild. That film with Tom Hardy and Chris Pine did both of their careers in… and again, Reese was lead, not just a side girlfriend. Those Valentine and New Years Eve films were awful and have a roster full of talent. But lets be honest here, for decades most women were relegated to just playing the cute girlfriend… Isn’t the bigger point, its time that changes.
You get paid millions to do a “job” you love. Just be happy you don’t have to work a 9 to 5 minimum wage job, because without an education that’s exactly where’d you be (if it wasn’t for being lucky).
I went over the Best Actress/Supporting Actress winners from the more recent years and here are some possibilities:
Jennifer Connelley He’s Just Not That Into You ; Catherine Zeta Jones No Reservations, Playing for Keeps; Nicole Kidman Just Go with It (she wasn’t *the* girlfriend in it–that was Jennifer Aniston–but it was still that type of insignificant role for an Oscar winner); Renee Zellwegger Leatherheads; Hilary Swank New Year’s Eve and P.S. I Love You (though it was more a lead); Rache Weisz Definitely, Maybe and Fred Claus
Late to the party, but the movie in question is The Dilemma. Casting commenced 2010, Vince Vaughn was the star, two female leads, big name director (Ron Howard)
Kate Beckinsale, Carla Gugino, Nicole Kidman, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Uma Thurman were among the names chasing the parts. Uma even spent her own money to fly in to read because she wanted the role so badly.
Roles were taken in the end by Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly and two-time Oscar nominee Winona Ryder.
Reese fudged the ‘Oscar winners’ thing a little to make her point, but her point still stands.
What about Crazy Stupid Love? From 2011, Julianne Moore and Marissa Tomei for the oscar winners.
While the particulars of the blind fit, I cant say I agree about it being an awful script. I freaking LOVE that movie.
I’m not usually a fan of Reese, but that epic, cut-a-bitch death-glare she’s giving in that last photo? Standing ovation! That stink-eye is a thing of beauty! 😀
It’s definitely Natalie Portman in No Strings Attached. Kevin Kline is also in it, he won an Oscar. Also all those crappy ensemble films really don’t fit the way she’s describing the movie, where she insinuates that it was about being cast in a pathetic one-dimensional role as the romantic interest to the lead.
I think it’s Crazy Stupid Love and she is referring to the role Marisa Tomei played
That could work because the other love interest for Steve Carrell was Julianne Moore (Oscar winner). Although, she said the script was “terrible” which I’m not sure CSL’s was said to be bad?
Ha! Larry Crowne with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.
I lost any type of positive feeling toward her when she was drunk and did the ‘Don’t you know who I am?’ routine to a police officer.
Maybe she can star in a film with Mel Gibson. LOL.
Movies are dumb. Serious “Oscar winner” males get offered stupid roles too. Reese needs to get over herself. Always. She is such an entitled elitist bitch.
it’s not larry crowne. julia roberts’ role was too mature for reese. and the other role which was gugu mbatha-raw and it was too young a role for her.
it’s not valentine’s day or new year’s eve because as bad as those films were, the roles for the women were actually more prominent and not girlfriend roles. the male roles in those films were the boyfriend roles.
it’s the dilemma (with winona ryder and jennifer connelly, she probably thought ryder already won an oscar) or playing for keeps.
Welp, if you have ever worked for her, near her, around her, you would know she is a narcisstic, holier than thou, ungrateful twit! And she LOVES the bottle!
Another Winner winner chicken dinner!