Is Julia Roberts the next Marlon Brando?
Filed under: Comedy, Romance, Critical Thought, Celebrities and Controversy
People are always surprised when I tell them that I find Julia Roberts.sort of immoderately impressive. I'm not exactly sure why it's such a shock - I guess I'm suppossed to be more cynical than that –but I'm actually suspicious of anyone who claims not to get any sort of pleasure from watching her films. When a Julia Roberts movie comes on TV – any Julia Roberts film, whether its a deliciously dated guilty pleasure like Mystic Pizza or Sleeping with the Enemy, or even something resoundingly mediocre, like Stepmom – I simply can't look away. Putting aside Pretty Woman for a second – which I maintain has aged incredibly well, to the point where it more and more seems like a tragically undervalued update on 30s rom-com convention – she's got the ability to make the otherwise unwatchable undeniably compelling. It's hard to unpack what it is that Julia does that's so good. It's not acting, exactly; it seems strange to even talk about it as though it's something that can be broken down into technique. But, still - I just stumbled across this little rant about Ms. Roberts, from a Guardian interview with Ethan Hawke, and it seems a little strange. Though he does take pains to be diplomatic about Julia's own technique, he still blames it for a kind of disease that he says has infected the industry.
"The person who's had the most impact on acting since Marlon Brando, the only person who's really changed acting, is Julia Roberts," Hawke says. "It's an excess of competence. She's got all these imitators, and they just basically get on screen and smile...Julia Roberts does something with it, but all her imitators...it looks simple to them and they copy it, but they're missing the thing that made it special." Obviously, this isn't exactly a compliment. But what is he actually saying? Who are these imitators? And have any of them actually managed to stick around long enough to wreak the kind of havoc Hawke describes?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-01-2005 @ 4:14PM
Carla Young said...
I think the compelling thing about Julia is her ability for her characters to react to situations like normal women would. Sandra bullock has that same quality. They are not Bette Davis of Lauren Bacall but they have an ability to portray their characters and make them seem real therefore we're drawn to them in that sense. You don't watch their movies for the theatrical quality but because they seem familiar.
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10-17-2005 @ 9:16AM
mick du russel said...
Granted, Julia Roberts is a great actress but to say she has changed acting is a bit far fetched. The next Brando? Let's hope she doesn't emulate his size as well.
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10-17-2005 @ 9:28AM
Jay Gameg said...
Uh, Karina,
You don't "wreck" havoc, you "wreak" it.
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10-17-2005 @ 2:06PM
Scott Weinberg said...
Not bad for a girl who once played second banana to a Neeson-wooing Justine Bateman.
And I don't listen to the Julia-bashing much. She's a solid actress and a likable movie-star-type.
And I assume some of those "imitators" could include Reese Witherspoon, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez (basically, any female cast as the lead in a romantic comedy, I guess) -- and the one gal who looks like she could be Julia's lil sis: Monica Potter
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10-17-2005 @ 11:39PM
Chelsea said...
While I agree that the more "atended" movies of Roberts tend to be the romantic comedies, she has also done (in my opnion) some great dramatic roles. One of my favorites being Conspricy Theroy, she had a great scene in that movie, not saying she deserved an oscar for it, but she did an amazing job. All her work, is pulled off with such great tallents that it doesnt appear to be acting at all. Personally I dont see the big deal, as previously stated I dont see any of her imatators sticking around for long. Sure thier movies aren't as great as they might be if Julia was cast in the lead or what ever, but some aren't that bad. Someone has to be "below the bar" if your going to place it on Roberts or where ever. Who made Ethan Hawk and expert anyway? I dont see him acting in any Blockbutster Dramas and pulling off crying scenes and comedies and doing voice overs and theater. His career seems pretty "focused" Stop wining and make a romatic comedy, if thats what you want. Is he a imatator of someone who is a great Action/Thriller actor?? Anyway -everyone is intitled to there opion-
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11-15-2005 @ 11:18PM
Chelsea said...
While I agree that the more "atended" movies of Roberts tend to be the romantic comedies, she has also done (in my opnion) some great dramatic roles. One of my favorites being Conspricy Theroy, she had a great scene in that movie, not saying she deserved an oscar for it, but she did an amazing job. All her work, is pulled off with such great tallents that it doesnt appear to be acting at all. Personally I dont see the big deal, as previously stated I dont see any of her imatators sticking around for long. Sure thier movies aren't as great as they might be if Julia was cast in the lead or what ever, but some aren't that bad. Someone has to be "below the bar" if your going to place it on Roberts or where ever. Who made Ethan Hawk and expert anyway? I dont see him acting in any Blockbutster Dramas and pulling off crying scenes and comedies and doing voice overs and theater. His career seems pretty "focused" Stop wining and make a romatic comedy, if thats what you want. Is he a imatator of someone who is a great Action/Thriller actor?? Anyway -everyone is intitled to there opion-
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10-18-2005 @ 4:05AM
Beverley Sporck said...
I really liked her acting in some of the scenes in Mona Lisa Smile. Her smile is her, but I am looking forward to her maturity as a woman and that expanding her ability as an actor.
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10-18-2005 @ 7:07PM
Finished.Law.School said...
It is nice to see her taking a break from acting. For a moment it seemed like she was in every movie being released. Kind of like that Jude Law scenario not too long ago...
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10-18-2005 @ 10:46PM
Jack Frost said...
Listen, it's called having different tastes.
I don't think Ms. Roberts is a talented actress, and she's not a "movie star" (real movie stars of yesteryear were never seen in public without looking first rate - which includes make-up and decent clothing). That Oscar of hers was an outright travesty and purely due to hype and her inexplicable popularity.
Personally I can't stand her, but that's just me. I'm entitled to my "TASTE" just like you're entitled to yours. I won't call your taste into question, so please show me and all of those who feel like me, the same courtesy.
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