RSS Feeds
Classy Actresses Are Easier to Come By Than HuffPo Contributor Seems to Think
Posted by STV at 11:00 AM on August 14, 2008
Setting aside the redundant video that uncannily resembles stock news footage shot sometime during the Nixon Adminstration, there's plenty to not get about HuffPo contributor John Farr's recent overview of "smart, classy" actresses' decline in Hollywood. It's not like we can even necessarily argue with his taste for Joan Allen, to whom he ascribes the sense of sophistication, glamour and taste evident in icons like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Vivian Leigh and Greta Garbo:
Personally I still miss this unmistakable quality, and have to ask, where has it gone? We have no shortage of talent and beauty in Hollywood today, but those stars that come across (to men at least) as having true class, style, and by extension, smarts, seem in low supply. I don't see that rare, ethereal quality in Angelina, Charlize Theron, Naomi Watts, or Halle Berry, capable "actors" all. (Admittedly, Laura Linney comes close, but she has a certain earthbound quality; notwithstanding her obvious acting chops, too often she comes off like everyone's sister, the one you instinctively passed over.)
We wouldn't take it that far, but still, this idea that one contemporary actress is the last classy woman standing got us thinking: Pound for pound, what's Joan Allen got that a handful of others after the jump don't?
Patricia Clarkson: She earned an Oscar nod playing up ailing dysfunction in Pieces of April, but she's a revelation of raw, complex class in underseen indies from The Dying Gaul to Lars and the Real Girl to Married Life. Woody Allen should be sued for her character's forced, egregious wimpiness in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Penélope Cruz: Mostly in Spanish-language films, we're afraid, particularly Volver and All About my Mother. But her strides opposite Ben Kingsley in Elegy help us forget her crossover beard efforts in Sahara and Vanilla Sky.
Vera Farmiga: She owned Down to the Bone, overshot hysterically in Joshua, and settled into a tormented, riveting (and generally unseen) sexiness in Quid Pro Quo. Bonus: She belongs here if only for holding her own in The Departed in what's written as little more than a token role for "Anonymous Person with Vagina."
Naomi Watts: Did class and trash with equal aplomb in Mulholland Drive, then slyly revised the role as rags-to-riches starlet Ann Darrow — the only watchable thing opposite Andy Serkis and a green screen in King Kong. Was as classy as they come in little-seen, forgotten The Painted Veil. (Rent it, John Farr.)
Catherine Zeta-Jones: Versatile and gorgeous, too often overshadowed by her male leads in the likes of the Zorro films, Intolerable Cruelty, No Reservations — not to mention in her own marriage. She's reportedly playing Lana Turner in Stompanato, finally giving her a chance at the lead in a melodrama people might actually see. (Sorry, Harvey Weinstein.)
Who did we miss? We know, we know — besides Dakota Fanning.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Miss Anne Thrope
Posted 12:05 PM 14/8/08
@denominator: Jinx!
Miss Anne Thrope
Miss Anne Thrope
Posted 11:51 AM 14/8/08
What about Cate Blanchett?
Miss Anne Thrope
denominator
Posted 11:50 AM 14/8/08
Wait, wait, wait... no Cate Blanchett? Seriously?
denominator
bigleggedwoman
Posted 2:02 PM 14/8/08
Catherine Zeta-Jones? Why is she on the list, aside from the male twitch factor?
bigleggedwoman
magnets
Posted 1:59 PM 14/8/08
such a creepy, gross article
magnets
RobotDoc
Posted 1:54 PM 14/8/08
Hmmm. Salma Hayek? Although her post-Frida work hasn't let her shine I rate her higher than Cruz
RobotDoc
shag_carpet_bomb
Posted 2:22 PM 14/8/08
I never got what the big deal was with Cruz, then I saw Volver. She is actually a good enough actor that I forgot about how beautiful she is and that she was in Vanilla Sky. Also, Charlize Theron was brilliant on Arrested Development. That's plenty for me. And, also, again, no Cate Blanchett? Come on.
shag_carpet_bomb
dietcock
Posted 4:26 PM 14/8/08
Two words: Molly McAleer
dietcock
Benny
Posted 4:52 PM 14/8/08
I think I get what this guy is saying, but I think it's equally true for the guys. It's just a different time with a different kind of actor and celebrity.
Benny
Bear_Necessities
Posted 5:56 PM 14/8/08
Like others before me mentioned: Cate and Charlize, and then there are Monica Bellucci, Charlotte Rampling, Helen Mirren...
Bear_Necessities
Trixie from Toronto
Posted 9:45 PM 14/8/08
@bigleggedwoman: Uhh, yeah, ix-nay on Catherine Z-J but Cate Blanchett is in a class by herself. And let's not forget Brittany Murphy .... kidding. Just kidding.
Trixie from Toronto
StevieQ
Posted 10:55 PM 14/8/08
As others have said, Helen Mirren?
StevieQ
hummingpenguin
Posted 10:53 PM 14/8/08
The Painted Veil would have been not-seen-at-all had it not been for me renting it 12 billion times. Lovely movie, and, yes, it's Naomi's best.
hummingpenguin
Fry_Bread_Power
Posted 11:43 PM 14/8/08
@Benny: In addition, I think that celebrities in the bygone eras had studios to keep them in line.
Fry_Bread_Power
A Pimp Named DaveR
Posted 12:04 AM 15/8/08
Elizabeth Banks!
A Pimp Named DaveR
Posted 1:04 AM 15/8/08
I'm surprised Julianne Moore didn't make the list, although she hasn't impressed me much lately.
Patricia Clarkson is fabulous - I wish she would get more starring roles.
Naomi Watts was excellent in 21 Grams and Eastern Promises. Must see The Painted Veil.
eXXX
Posted 1:37 AM 15/8/08
Yes, Joan Allen is very classy and smart. Let's face it, Death Race is pure Oscar bait.
eXXX
Wonderland
Posted 1:54 AM 15/8/08
I think the bigger question here is how opening your mouth effects other peoples view of how classy you are. Lets take Katherine Heigl for a second... she is a rare knock out. Old Hollywood. Whatever you want to call it. But, god forbid!, she speaks her mind. She also has a loud laugh. She also runs her relationship. She is not a 'real woman' or even a bit classy by old Hollywood's standards.
Thoughts? Come on..you all know it is true.
Wonderland
Posted 2:39 AM 15/8/08
I forgot Tilda Swinton. Odd fashion sense, but an elegant class act.
Posted 2:38 AM 15/8/08
Cate yes, those others, no. Not a Dame Judi in the bunch.
Huge Tracts of Land
Posted 2:26 AM 15/8/08
Am I the only one who found this article old timey, kind of school marm-ish, and plain old lame?
Huge Tracts of Land
Posted 2:54 AM 15/8/08
@Huge Tracts of Land: Nope.
In Garbo's and Kelly's time, Bruce Willis wouldn't have leaped from the the exploding top of the Nakatomi Building either. And Halle Berry wouldn't showcase her chestage just cos, on Swordfish. I think this writer could use a nice tall foamy glass of STFU and Count Your Blessings.
Oxycontinmoron
Posted 3:21 AM 15/8/08
Catherine Keener, Blythe Danner...
Oxycontinmoron
Posted 4:01 AM 15/8/08
Why no love for Laura Linney? I will watch anything & everything she's in.
That near-final scene in Mystic River where she gives her "speech" to Sean Penn - Pure Genius. LOVE HER.
Posted 5:32 AM 15/8/08
In Europe, actresses actually acquire supernatural divinity as they get older, like Isabelle Huppert and Sophie Marceau. Here, they get typecast as desexualized matrons and resort to surgery after surgery until whatever aura they had is destroyed. Whatever your complaints about the studio system, at least they knew how to manage a brand.
Calraigh
Posted 6:23 AM 15/8/08
Gillian Anderson. If someone would just give her a goddamn standout role in a movie that people want to see. Hands down.
Calraigh
Posted 6:15 AM 15/8/08
Wow, Gawker Media's commenting system is f'd up. My previous comment was for WGARefugee.
Posted 6:14 AM 15/8/08
@: Good point. The problem is that execs seldom greenlight pics that feature older female protagonists because those pics are hard to market. It comes back to the audiences. How many people would watch a movie starring...I dunno... Blythe Danner and Estelle Harris? Most likely Boomers over 50. How many of them troop out to a theater to catch a flick on a weekend night?
But you've got me now thinking about the audience demographics for Bucket List. Maybe there's some clues there.
Posted 6:40 AM 15/8/08
@wrapitup: Well, part of it, I think, has to do with the fact that culturally, when it comes to sexuality, America is an adolescent. Europe (excluding Britain) is much more adult. So over there an experienced, beautiful older woman like Huppert can star in The Piano Teacher and be a national treasure while here we're totally fixated on catching a glimpse of Anne Hathaway's breasts. I feel that this is slowly changing but not nearly fast enough for me as a writer.
(Psst Defamer--the "reply to" thing is busted)
Calraigh
Posted 6:25 AM 15/8/08
@Calraigh: Em that was for you @magnets. Commentmonster is lurking obviously..
Calraigh
Calraigh
Posted 6:24 AM 15/8/08
@: Yeah, I can't quite believe it either. Or that noone else seems to think so. I even added my own suggestion before I realized what I was doing.
Calraigh
claudrophenia
Posted 7:49 AM 15/8/08
@Wonderland: oh, right, and classic film sirens bette davis and joan crawford CERTAINLY embodied the delicate, wilting-daisy, doily-like femininity that you apparently require of women. if i roll my eyes any harder, they will burst forth from my skull.
god, i just hope having an opinion doesn't ruin my chances of snagging a husband. saints preserve us!
claudrophenia
Benny
Posted 4:19 PM 15/8/08
@claudrophenia: Uh, I think Wonderland was making that very point claudrophemia.
Benny
Wonderland
Posted 10:58 PM 15/8/08
@claudrophenia: you misunderstand.
@Benny: gracias
Wonderland