Thursday, March 15, 2018

The Best and Worst of Jennifer Garner

"The Best and Worst of" series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of "Love, Simon" star Jennifer Garner.   

Films starring Jennifer Garner that I've seen:
Mr. Magoo
Dude, Where's My Car?
Pearl Harbor
Catch Me If You Can
Daredevil
The Kingdom
Juno
Arthur
Butter
Dallas Buyers Club
Draft Day
Danny Collins
Nine Lives

Best Performance: Butter (2011)
While Garner spent her early years an as action star and has recently affirmed herself as an in-demand dramatic actress, comedy is easily her strongest suit as a performer. Garner's phenomenal turn as an overly competitive, morally bankrupt Iowa housewife that is hellbent on winning a prestigious butter-carving competition in order to boost her social status is the best thing about this underrated indie comedy.

Worst Performance: Juno (2007)
The titular character drove me up a wall, but to ignore the other obnoxious individuals that reside in the film's appallingly quirky universe would be irresponsible. As the wife of the couple that's going to adopt Juno's baby, Garner's smug persona makes it impossible to empathize with her plight. 

Best Film: Draft Day (2014)
Draft Day was pretty high on my list of favorite films from 2014 and I don't regret that choice at all. While it has almost zero appeal to anyone who doesn't like football or inspirational sports movies, I felt that was a wildly entertaining dramatization of the NFL Draft process that hit all of its intended notes.

Worst Film: Pearl Harbor (2001)
There's no more fitting tribute to the memory of those who lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor than a 3-hour Michael Bay-directed melodrama about an awkward love triangle between two pilots (Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett) and a nurse (Kate Beckinsale). Pearl Harbor is so god damn corny, dull and poorly-acted that it made me develop a smidge of respect for Titanic-its more successful albeit still unbearable relative in the corny romantic soap opera set against the backdrop of a real-life tragedy cinematic family.

Thank you for reading this week's installment of "The Best and Worst of". The next victim of my praise and ire will be "Pacific Rim Uprising" star Charlie Day.

No comments:

Post a Comment