' ' Cinema Romantico: Katherine Heigl Is Not All That

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Katherine Heigl Is Not All That

Am I missing something? What don't I see? What don't I get? Why is Katherine Heigl such a big deal? Why is Hollywood so desperate to make her the rom com queen? I find her so staid, so relentlessly blah, so Tori Scott on "Saved By The Bell."

Look, this has nothing to do with all these accusations of her being a diva. Is she a diva? Perhaps, perhaps not, but as someone who is openly obsessed with Lady Gaga and laughs with rapt delight when Sienna Miller, my official Cinematic Crush, attacks the paparazzi and cheered when Megan Fox renounced her meal ticket, well, if someone is a diva, rest assured, I could not care less. I like that Heigl seems to be a diva and I wish the off-camera diva would turn up more often on camera. I like that Heigl tells like it is. I thought it was humorous when she mocked "Gray's Anatomy" and there was probably some truth to her comment that "Knocked Up" - in which she starred opposite Seth Rogen, and which I liked - was kind of "sexist."

But here's the problem: she followed "Knocked Up" with "27 Dresses", "The Ugly Truth", "Killers", and now "Life As We Know It."

The synopsis for each film, respectively, on IMDB are as follows: 1.) "After serving as a bridesmaid 27 times, a young woman wrestles with the idea of standing by her sister's side as her sibling marries the man she's secretly in love with." 2.) "A romantically challenged morning show producer is reluctantly embroiled in a series of outrageous tests by her chauvinistic correspondent to prove his theories on relationships and help her find love." 3.) "A vacationing woman meets her ideal man, leading to a swift marriage. Back at home, however, their idyllic life is upset when they discover their neighbors could be assassins who have been contracted to kill the couple." 4.) "Two single adults become caregivers to an orphaned girl when their mutual best friends die in an accident."

Ah, yes, a burgeoning Gloria Steinem if there ever was one. Or, as Mary Elizabeth Williams wrote for Salon, "if you're going to crank out tepid rom-coms and applaud your own strength of character, we must call shenanigans." Yes. Yes, me must. So I, too, call shenanigans.

"I’ve been told I’m too forthright with opinions." This is what you told The New York Times, Katherine, before rhetorically asking, "Well do they want a fierce woman or milquetoast?"

I want a fierce woman! Darn tootin', I do, so, for God's sake, stopping taking milquetoast roles, why don't you?

6 comments:

Wretched Genius said...

With the exception of Knocked Up, all her movies have been flops. Polled audiences find her shrill and abrasive onscreen. I don't understand why she keeps getting cast. Even Jennifer Aniston, the reigning queen of terrible rom-coms, manages to make at least 1 hit per every 4 movies she's in.

VP81955 said...

To Katherine Heigl: Summon your inner Carole Lombard*; heck, the real Carole had much the same problem you had until she summoned hers. And in the post-studio system era, you have far more of an opportunity to say "no" to bad scripts than she did.

*Or Myrna Loy, Claudette Colbert, Jean Arthur, etc.

Nick Prigge said...

Strangely, I added "My Man Godfrey" to my Netflix queue a couple days ago. Perhaps this was subconscious.

Castor said...

You hit it right on the nail dear Nic. Yea she is a diva and hard to work with but I couldn't care less. It is what she represents that bugs me, the vapid, sexist, and increasingly ridiculous rom-coms that she has churned out one after the other. When you say something, and do the opposite, I call you an hypocrite!

Louis Baxter said...

Is there an actress or actor to make you more apprehensive about a movie then Katherine Heigl at this point? Nobody springs to mind.

Derek Armstrong said...

Funny, I am just reading this post now, but wrote essentially the same post (and also evoked the name of Gloria Steinem!) on Saturday. I swear to you I did not steal your ideas. :-)

I will give her credit for having great comic timing. I think she's talented in that regard. I also like her boobs. (Hey, I'm just being honest.) But come on, learn to pick a script, Katherine.