Monday, May 02, 2005

Actresses that Annoy - Part One

I replied to a post at Particleman's website (www.particleman.org), where I started a short list of actresses who annoy me for various reasons. Due to the replies that reply got, I've decided to make a post of my own on here with actresses that bug the heck out of me. Everyone is free to add to the list as they see fit. The only rules I have is 1. You have to have a reason, not just "she's lame," 2. if you disagree with someone else's addition, you can say you disagree, but give a valid reason, not just "She is NOT!," and 3. If you agree with someone else, go ahead and share that with the world, as well.

At any rate, without further ado, here's the start of my list, which I'm sure I'll add to as well:
1. Meg Ryan. Easily rates as my Most Annoying Actress. She plays one role ad nauseum, and doesn't really convey any dramatic range. She has that same sideways, aloof grin in all her movies where I can't tell if she is content or trying not to belch. Finally, her diner scene is When Harry Met Sally is overplayed to the point that I think it should be banned from any rebroadcast from now until the end of time.

2. Jennifer Lopez. Can she act? Her tone never changes, and she hasn't shown any emotion in any movie for as long as I can remember. In fact, I think I saw more range from her days as a dancer on In Living Color than I have in any of her movies. Examples: look at her scared in Anaconda, then look at her empathetic in Jack, then look at her mad in the Cell, then look at her motivated in Selena, then look at her at all in Gigli. Are any of those images any different in your head? I didn't think so.

3. Reese Witherspoon. Heiress to the Meg Ryan I'm so perky I need barbituates to keep from driving everyone near me insane approach to the world. Perhaps it's not her fault. Perhaps it's the roles she's been given, but I don't think so. Sweet Home Alabama could have used just about anyone who could read a line, but they wanted "sassy." ugh. Legally Blonde was an exercise in annoying shtick. On the bright side, she's rather young, so she'll be able to annoy the snot out of us for years to come.

4. Courtney Cox. I didn't like her before Friends. I like her even less now. I don't think she's that talented, her hair looks like she washed it in Quaker State, and she's so scary skinny that when she was pregnant it looked like she ate a raisin that refused to digest. ugh.

5. Julia Roberts. The woman who started this whole thing. Is there anything about her that's really worthwhile? I remember hearing about a charitable event she worked at where she wouldn't go near the kids because they were "smelly" or something like that. When she was filming Erin Brokovich, apparently she rented a house, then complained because the owners had a dog and there was "dog smell."She's reportedly a real slob herself. It doesn't help that her movies are all annoying as all get out as well. And she just strikes me as really needy.

That's all for now. There are more, indeed I posted more than that on Particleman's blog, but I've got to get back to work here, and I'll be able to add to this soon. I can't wait to see what everyone else puts.

8 comments:

heatherfeather said...

winona ryder: it's her voice and her delivery. seriously, the voice has to go... and her accent in dracula had more holes in it than... you don't really want me to make a vampire victim's neck joke here, do you? she may be a good actress (who doesn't do dialects well), but i can't tell because she always insists on using her voice.

kirsten dunst: rationale? it's kirsten dunst. i don't like her teeth, i don't think much of her acting skills, her idiosyncracies, i'm not crazy about her whole head in general. and not to mention it's another voice that annoys me

agreed on jennifer lopez.

agree on the meg ryan diner scene and lack of versatility, but i am a fan of her chickflick stuff

disagree on reese witherspoon: i do think election was BRILLIANT (thanks sophia for pointing that out)

Bookworm said...

Vanessa Redgrave -- the politics, the abysmally stupid politics. Other actresses have followed in her footsteps (I don't think I need to list them here), but she has the honor of being the first and, quite possibly, the most irritating.

English Professor said...

Dana Delaney. Seeing her in one of the worst movies of all times, in which she played a dominatrix at some resort, was enough to completely turn my stomach. Rosie O'Donnell and Dan Ackroyd somehow wound up in the same movie. She was awful, awful, awful.

Steve said...

I can agree with Winona, Heather. I liked her in Beetlejuice, but I was 13 then. I've not liked much else she's done, ever since (reality bites?).

I don't know about Kirsten Dunst. I want to say she's annoying, but I haven't seen any of the annoying movies yet. I liked her in Interview with a Vampire, though I hated that movie, and I thought Jumanji was good.

BW - I'm afraid I'm not the most familiar with Vanessa Redgrave. However, any actor/ress who puts acting behind politics tends to grate me.

EP - I saw Dana Delaney in Tombstone, where she made one of the least believable love interests ever. I haven't seen Exit to Eden, so I can't speak intelligently about that one, but since she was such a pain on the otherwise good Tombstone, I'll trust your instinct on this one.

Good job everyone, keep them coming!

Bookworm said...

Am I showing my age? Vanessa Redgrave has become sort of the Grand Dame of British "thea-tuh." She was in a bunch of Britain's hot, young movies in the 1960s and some in the 1970s. She rose up the ranks on family fame, since her father, Michael Redgrave, was a very famous English actor.

Redgrave as an actress? Well, she's just another fairly solid upper-class British type. What she's always been is a radical leftist, who already back in the early 1970s had made common cause with the violent leftist Palestinian types. She's extremely anti-Semitic. I think, if she'd had to give up acting, she'd probably have been the type to ally herself with Germany's radical Bader Meinhoff gang.

particleman said...

"i'm not crazy about her whole head in general." LOL. agreed.

Erik said...

steve, this is erik. i linked from particleman, don't freak out.

my vote is for andie mcdowell, and it is firm and unwavering. four weddings and a funeral was amusing, as was groundhog day. but she was far from special in either of them. the point i'm trying to make, is 'green card'. has anyone seen that abomination of a performance? it's laughable. she's like a statue that moves around every once in awhile. the first time i saw that thing, i got the impression that the directing and editing were done by...no one, i guess. i'd hate to see the scenes that were cut. no seriously, i'd really hate to, that would suck.

Steve said...

Erik,

Everyone is welcome at my blogspot to say what they wish. I am glad you stopped by, and you're welcome to return at your convenience!

I don't know if I can agree completely with Andi MacDowell... I've liked most of her movies that I've seen, like Multiplicity, Michael, and ok, I didn't care for Bad Girls, so, never mind that...
I can see what you mean, though, she does the same expressions and accent all the time...