Discuss: Who Is America's Next Sweetheart?
Filed under: Fandom
With this week's release of The Ugly Truth, it looks as if the publicity people are trying very, very hard to wrap up and deliver Katherine Heigl as the next America's Sweetheart. Let's face it: Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock are all in their 40s now and are no longer interested in the title. (Bullock's latest romcom The Proposal is a hit, but one gets the feeling that she made it reluctantly, and it's her first foray into the genre in four years, since Miss Congeniality 2.)
Heigl is a fairly good candidate with her combination of all-American blonde goddess looks combined with a goofy, nerdy persona, capable of looking good at a "Star Trek" convention as well as at a beauty pageant. Everyone loved Knocked Up, but it was more of a nerderific comedy than a showcase for her, and her first showcase role, 27 Dresses, was a lazy thing that annoyed critics and pleased fans. The Ugly Truth is even worse; it's so bad that even fans may stay away.
Which leaves the crown still up for grabs. Who else is there?
1. Zooey Deschanel.
She's the essence of quirky, disarming men with her dazzling eyes, but keeping them alert with her slithery voice (which, incidentally, seems incapable of delivering a false note). Even when she's stuck in bad movies, she seems to rise above it all, keenly aware of her presence and of the moment. But in a charming way.
2. Elizabeth Banks.
She was perfectly at home playing with the potty-mouthed bad boys in Zack and Miri Make a Porno, getting an equal share of laughs. But she's girl-next-door adorable, complete with blonde locks and a cute overbite.
3. Kirsten Dunst.
She probably has a steady Spider-job for some time to come, and she hasn't made many pure romcoms, plus she tends to specialize in pretty girls with old, tired souls; she's as sadly beautiful as they come. But she made a nice foil to Simon Pegg in the mostly blown-off How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, so she's a contender.
4. Amy Adams.
This strawberry blond/redhead with huge round eyes specializes in charmingly naïve characters, which somehow leap intact from films like Enchanted to films like Doubt. She's razor-talented, very funny and undeniably cute. Now to find her a man who can stand up to her awesome screen presence.
5. Rose Byrne.
In the new Adam, she plays an anomaly of the genre: a normal career girl whose life does not revolve around the presence or absence of a man. When she meets the guy of her dreams, it's more a pleasant surprise than something she expected. She's so rooted, she grows on you.
6. Anna Faris.
She's brilliantly funny and undeniably sexy, but I think she's more properly used as a foil than as the heroine.
7. Rachel McAdams.
Sweetheart, yes. But she hasn't yet been tested in a real romcom, and Notebook fans seem to want her to keep playing romantic tragedies like the upcoming Time Traveler's Wife.
8. Anne Hathaway.
So beautiful and charming, she seems like a natural for the job. But her Oscar nomination for her brilliant performance in Rachel Getting Married, and her subsequent performance in the turkey Bride Wars suggest she may have a greater destiny.
9. Ginnifer Goodwin.
With a huge smile, sparkling eyes and a refreshingly ordinary looking physique, Ginnifer somehow overcame her annoying character in He's Just Not That Into You and came through with a hit movie. Now we just have to cross our fingers that Hollywood executives don't force her to lose weight.
10. Scarlett Johnansson.
The smoldering Scarlett could get any male to accompany his date to any romcom, but I'm not really sure she's actually that funny.
11. Natalie Portman.
Perhaps the closest thing we've got to a living Audrey Hepburn, Natalie is another one that seems a bit sad beyond her years, and subsequently perhaps best suited to drama. Even so, her turn in Garden State won the heart of many a young man everywhere.
12. Meagan Good.
Lately she's been doing horror and other genres, but she always manages to be a funny and sexy scene-stealer, no matter what kind of movie it is (I love her in Brick). I'd like to see her get a shot at a high-profile romcom just to see if she can pull it off. I'd bet she can.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
7-27-2009 @ 5:25PM
Michael Byng said...
NOT Heigl!
Zooey/Rachel/Amy - Cant pick just one
Reply
7-27-2009 @ 5:29PM
Drewbacca said...
I could see Rachel McAdams, Anne Hathaway, Natalie Portman or Scarlett Johnansson. Just so long as it was NOT Kirsten Dunst!
(I can't think of one movie where she didn't completely suck)
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7-27-2009 @ 5:35PM
Georgie said...
Zooey Deschanel! (500) days of summer will do it. Although I hope she gets better roles for her range and/or voice.
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7-27-2009 @ 6:12PM
chuck said...
For me its Rachel McAdams-Should be a big star
Anne Hathaway-2nd Very likeable and attractive
I also like Rachel Nichols (P2, Green girl in Star Trek and Scarlett in GI JOE).Needs the right role to get bigger exposure
Zooey Deschanel does little for me.
http://blog.entertainmenttodayandbeyond.com/
CHUCK
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7-27-2009 @ 5:55PM
wulff said...
Either Banks or Hathaway.
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7-27-2009 @ 6:10PM
Jake said...
Well, if we're measuring this the way we used to (male level of "smitten" after seeing a romcom), then I have to go with Amy Adams, with Zooey in close second. Frankly, I'm the more smitten with Zooey, but I'm not sure she has the classic Hollywood look (like any of those former sweethearts listed) to have mass appeal.
If Catherine Heigl could, I don't know, get herself cast in a GOOD FREAKING MOVIE, I think she'd be a lock.
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7-27-2009 @ 6:15PM
Lee said...
This is a fantastic list, and more than anything it makes me want to see more flicks with (most of) these actresses.
I hope to see lots and lots of Zooey over the next decade or two. I'll watch Elizabeth Banks any time.
Anna Faris - too comedic. Natalie Portman - too dramatic. Anne Hathaway - too high-minded. Not that any of these are bad, just not broad.
Hiegl doesn't have the charisma or depth. Scarlett can't act her way out of a, uh, bad metaphor.
… IMO.
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7-27-2009 @ 6:22PM
E-Rock said...
Allovem except Kirsten Dunst. Unless of course the discussion is about America's Next Sweet Vampire, then yeah.
RomCom + Kirsten Dunst = Eye Poison
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7-27-2009 @ 6:43PM
Lee said...
And also I continue to not understand the utter venom people throw at Kirsten Dunst. I like her.
There, I said it.
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7-27-2009 @ 8:00PM
robix said...
If she would do more Dedication and less License to Wed, Mandy Moore could sneak in there. Of course, only six people saw Dedication, so that kind of hampers my theory.
Media is really too fractured and specialized these days and the half-life of celebrity in the age of the internet is quickly shrinking from the 15 minutes of Warhol's time. I really don't think we'll have a constant flow of the normal America's Sweethearts outside of whatever Miley Cyrus-type that Disney force feeds us after she goes the way of Lindsay Lohan. We don't seem to want to stand for it anymore.
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7-27-2009 @ 8:06PM
Rebekah said...
I own and love Dedication, but I have to agree it was largely unseen. Mandy Moore has tremendous potentional, but for my money it is Amy Adams. She's genuinely talented and has remarkable comedic timing.
7-27-2009 @ 8:26PM
zach said...
Yeah everyone loved "Knocked Up" except Katherine Heigl, who called the movie sexist. And it's not the first time she had spoken out publicly on the material she CHOSE hefself to be involved with. Every time she opens her mouth I think what an asshole she is.
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7-27-2009 @ 9:53PM
YouFaceTheTick said...
Yeah Heigl doesn't carry movies.
Hathaway has proven repeatedly that she does carry films and when paired can help bring about blockbusters (Prada, Get Smart, Brokeback).
Amy Adams isn't a sweetheart type - more of a solid indie actress.
Scarlett is smokin' hot but she doesn't put seats in theaters. It
Ditto Portman is a great actress but not really a rom-com chick. She tends to do idiotic period pieces and smaller, tighter indie flicks. I can't see her going all mainstream.
Isla Fisher could be a rom-commer but I don't even she will develop into a big surefire hit machine.
Seems Zooey stands a chance. She's been in some big hits, some quirky films and overall girls like her and guys think she's girl-next-doory.
Strangely, Bullock, Ryan, Roberts aren't really hot - like Hayek and Berry - they're more pleasant and this might be the reason they were successful in the rom-com world: women aren't threatened by them and they're almost believable in their banal worlds.
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7-27-2009 @ 10:24PM
Rustin said...
Heigl has shot herself in the foot.
The Ugly Truth numbers are indicative of that - sliding. The reviews are scathing.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/208382
Check out that article and let's vote for Portman. She's a very talented young lady with a lot to offer and often overlooked because she's not taking on the title of sex-kitten.
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7-27-2009 @ 10:25PM
sharkweek is here said...
Youfacethetick brings up a good point. To even be considered the next America's Sweetheart, the actress can't be too beautiful or too sexual or too outspoken or too much of anything. Actresses, of the too much variety, are never fully embraced by the female viewing audience. Without generalizing too much, (too late) women don't like watching other women who remind them of just how ordinary they are.
Scarlett and Natalie are too close to the goddess level. Rachel McAdams has the best chance of becoming America's Sweetheart but I get the feeling that's the last title she wants to hold. If I'm right I say good for her. Sweethearts bore me.
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7-28-2009 @ 12:40AM
Cray said...
I don't think Anne Hathaway wants to be typecasted as America's sweetheart. There's certain quality of films that she would not be in if she were to continue her "Princess Dairies" personality. She'd never been casted in DEVIL WEARS PRADA, or HAVOC, including her role in the upcoming ALICE IN WONDERLAND.
I think Katherine Heigl is already America's sweetheart whether people want to admit it or not. Look at her films, and you can see all them been romance-centric.
However I do think Heigl will quickly grow tired of being in these roles, and I see Amanda Bynes eventually taking her spot.
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7-28-2009 @ 12:58AM
Cray said...
Just thought of another name, Michelle Monaghan could easily be America's sweetheart, she's appealing in both dramas and comedies.
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7-28-2009 @ 1:52AM
jodie said...
i think amanda seyfried is perfect. Also a fan of isla fischer but she's maybe getting a bit old for the america's sweetheart tag. If Olivia Thirlby had a few more high profile roles she's be great, as would Emma Stone. Remember Julia Roberts broke out and became America's Sweetheart when she was 22, not when she was in her 30's. I don't mean to sound ageist but I just imagine America's Sweetheart as a twenty-something.
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7-29-2009 @ 8:56AM
Chuck G said...
"All American Blond..." How come no one ever says "All American Multiracial Woman", or "All American Brunette"? I think we all know the answer, don't we?
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7-28-2009 @ 1:46PM
andrew said...
heigl sucks! hypocritical b***ch!
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