I know, I know, based off the title alone, I am being blasphemous, but hear me out. Recently I have been thinking of actors or actresses of this current generation who would be in the "Hall of Fame" of acting if there was one. This means actors under 65 and over 35 who have made a huge impact on people my age. So think Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, etc. Naturally when thinking of this (likely the topic of a future post) I had Julia Roberts in the actress list. However when I went through her filmography and thought more in to it, I couldn't help but be very underwhelmed. Now understand I am not talking about the quality of her films, she has made many very good movies, however her performances have been very....one note. She first showed her skills in Mystic Pizza, Steel Magnolias, and Pretty Woman. All three iconic movies with good Roberts' performances, especially Pretty Woman, which really defined her career. But after that, she took many roles that required the same exact performance from her. Would anyone notice if you replaced Julianne in My Best Friend's Wedding with Anna from Notting Hill? Or how about replacing Darby in The Pelican Brief with Alice from Conspiracy Theory? The bottom line is you would never notice. Is she a bad actress? Of course not, you would never watch a movie and feel she brought it down, however there are not many where she really leaves you in awe of her performance. Looking through her 39 film not animated or just voice acting credits, I counted 3 in which I felt her performance was what I would consider great. Those three would be Closer, Pretty Woman, and Erin Brockovich. The performance in Pretty Woman was the first of the bubbly, lovable Julia Roberts, so even though it has been duplicated 30 times, it still holds up. Erin Brockovich was different and nuanced, and Closer was a hardcore drama, where Roberts had to play a detestable, foul mouthed adulterer, definitely out of her wheel house. But outside of those three what else is there? She was asked to use a Southern accent in Charlie Wilson's War, and it came out the most stereotypical Southern Belle accent in the last ten years of movies, she was asked to play two roles including herself in Ocean's 12, and we just got double her normal performances. Runaway Bride, The Mexican, Mona Lisa Smile, America's Sweethearts, Duplicity....all the same. So again I am not saying she is a bad actress, I am just saying that there is no range there. Many would argue that its not her, these are just the characters she is asked to play, but I would counter that with the fact that the roles are still her choice and she decides whether or not to play the lovable, sweet lady for the 56th time, or to pass and look for more challenging roles. You cannot argue the fact that she has had a great, long, and distinguished career that has made studios billions of dollars, but you also cannot argue the low degree of difficulty factor. Think of Katherine Heigl's career so far, critically panned films that make a huge splash at the box office, with performances from Heigl that never ask her to go outside of the uptight, overly controlling, caricature of a career woman role. So why do critics and non fans despise Heigl's movies so much but still rave and smile over the 14th Garry Marshall/Julia Roberts film? I think the reason is likability, which is something that Heigl's characters have not displayed. Roberts career has seen her playing the wronged or love struck one in the romantic comedies, never the heart breaker or person who doesn't want love yet in favor of her career or past relationships. When she smiles it is almost impossible not to be rooting for Julia Roberts, however it feels like its that smile, and not acting skill, that has kept her career on top for nearly three decades. Let me know in the comments how wrong I am, and let us know what your favorite Julia Roberts performances are to back up your argument.
-Maximus
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