I've had three articles published at different sites recently, focusing on three very different actresses: Michelle Pfeiffer, Megan Fox, and Jennifer Lopez. In fact, this might be the only time the three have ever shared a sentence together.
You could say I love the films of Michelle Pfeiffer. You might even say I'm one of her biggest (p)fans. I've been engaged in a thorough revisiting of every one of her films recently, writing about some here when I have a chance, so you'd think putting together her top ten performances would be easy for me, right? Sort of, but not quite. While my top five Pfeiffer is fairly locked down, the ordering could easily be rearranged. I agonized over work that I left out of the top ten, and if you checked back with me tomorrow I might include one or two of them at the expense of one or two that I did include. That's how strong her filmography is.
She's the best, that's it. And let's not forget, her peak years—roughly, 1987–1994—are as outstanding a run as any actress has ever had, before or since. As I say in the Top 10 Films article, she is our Ice Cold, White Gold Queen, and we do not deserve her.
Most people, whether they rank Pfeiffer the best or not, will concede that she is at least a truly talented actress. Most people, however, would not willingly say this of Megan Fox. Luckily for them I wrote a brief editorial for Horror Geek Life examining how her exceptionally good performance in the 2009 film Jennifer's Body has been criminally overlooked. Then I get into why that was the case and, to the surprise of no one, conclude that gender politics played a large role in torpedoing both the film and Fox's career. As you might imagine, the reactions on social media to my opinions about Fox in Jennifer's Body have run the gamut, from "Nope, you're wrong. She sucks, the movie sucks," to "Agreed, she's fantastic in the film," with hardly anyone falling in between those polar extremes.
Similarly, no one seems to be falling all over themselves these days to champion the acting skills of J. Lo. That's where I come in. She was a gifted performer early in her film career, turning in some lovely performances, often times even being the best part of her films. I explored her work in five films from her peak years (mostly from the 1990s) in order to remind people that, for a while, Jenny From the Block was pretty fly in film. Thankfully I'm not the only one who remembers Lopez's early acting success, but we're a rare breed, that's certain.
Clearly, I take pride in being a contrarian. Most people believe Meryl Streep is the greatest living actress. I scoff and note that while Streep is marvelous, she ain't no Michelle Pfeiffer. Most people will tell you Megan Fox is and always was nothing more than a pretty face and a hot body. I would remind them to watch Jennifer's Body and behold one of the most enjoyable cult film performances in recent memory. Most people only see Jennifer Lopez as a celebrity—famous for being famous. I would shake my head and tell them to know their history, that Lopez was fabulous in films in the '90s.
In other words, most people are wrong. Except me, I'm always right.
As you can imagine, I'm a lot of fun at cocktail parties.
You're a refreshing voice around the blogosphere. Too many people tend to sing from the same hymn sheet when it comes to the likes of J-Lo and Megan Fox and it does get a little monotonous. Of their combined filmographies I've only seen Anaconda, but it is refreshing to read a different viewpoint on their work.
ReplyDeleteAs for Meryl and Michelle, well you know where my loyalties lie. The fact that I've seen almost every Pfeiffer pfilm and only a handful of Meryl's movies speaks volumes.
Thank you, my pfriend. I've realized over the years that I'm most interested in reclaiming or championing work in film (and elsewhere) that few others seem interested in supporting, or are unable to because they too shortsighted or biased to do so.
DeleteToo many people default to proclaiming Meryl the best, when, to us, it's clearly Michelle. She simply has it all, and above all, an incredibly organic acting style that it is unmatched by her peers. I love certain Streep performances (mostly her earliest work), but for the last several decades she's been far too performative for my taste. I prefer Michelle's natural style. She and her acting are just sublime.