duplicity Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Just yesterday I was joking around about predominance of "tweens," and today The Hollywood Reporter is saying that they're all that is keeping the industry afloat. High-profile movies like State of Play and Duplicity are faltering at the box office and suffering from soft openings. Mature films starring mature stars just aren't proving as profitable as Zac Efron and fast cars and no one knows why. Is it the reccession? Is it the marketing? The subject matter?

I don't buy that it's the reccession, exactly. I can't pretend to know much about the economy, but if adults lack the disposable income than the kids do too. Now, it's possible that adults are being tighter with their own entertainment and keeping to Netflix and Hulu, but handing money over to their offspring so that they can have some fun with Vin Diesel. Certainly, the ongoing success of Monsters Vs Aliens would suggest that a lot of families may hold out going to the theater until it's a film that everyone can see and enjoy.

Personally, I think it's a combination of subject matter, money, and motivation. Over the years, I've watched my relatives become more and more reluctant to go to the movies. They rarely feel that it's worth the trouble or the expense to see just any movie. It has to be an event, or have the stamp of reliability. It doesn't surprise me that Gran Torino had a bigger and splashier run than State of Play or Duplicity, because I know which film my relatives would consider to be the better value, regardless of critical opinion.

I have a confession to make: I like Julia Roberts.

Boy, it feels good to get that off my chest, even if admitting it makes me the kind of girl that the Guardian's Jeremy Kay sees as lining up for Duplicity to remember being as "touched [as] after watching Pretty Woman for the very first time." I've always found her appealing and rather funny -- enough to even rewatch The Mexican when it was on cable a few weeks ago. (Mary Reilly, however, will forever be a no go.)

But liking Roberts seems to be a shameful thing unless you're David Letterman. Every pre-Duplicity review and article I read was prefaced with a gleeful "I've never liked Julia Roberts!" Many seemed to be rooting for her "return" to fail so they wouldn't be faced with having to type her name again. Roberts doesn't even attract pure girl hate, as many actresses do -- it's split right down the gender lines, with men proud of the fact that they find her unattractive.

I'm really perplexed by it. I just don't get what she's done that inspired such delighted dislike. Maybe it's the whole "America's sweetheart" label that was stuck on her in the 90s -- coupled with the fact that she actually starred in a film called America's Sweethearts. Perhaps she's not the greatest actress, but there's dozens who fit that bill. Sure, she's done a lot of romantic comedies, but as chick flicks go, they're pretty watchable. They're nowhere near as offensive as the ones Jennifer Aniston has in the pipeline. She's had a messy personal life, but again, that's hardly unique, nor are the sneering rumors that she's not very nice off screen. Steven Soderbergh stamp-of-approval be damned, because Steven Spielberg won't work with her again.

So, I'll borrow a page from Peter Martin and Nicolas Cage, and demand an explanation from the Cinematical readers. Love Roberts? Hate her? Explain yourselves in 100 words or less. Bonus points if you reference Notting Hill in some way.