As you may have noticed (if you religiously study my year-end lists even months after the given year has ended), I recently moved Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There up to #3 on my 2007 list. I did this after rewatching the film on DVD, and then rewatching it again with Haynes’ commentary track. When I first saw the film in the theater, I was convinced of its greatness — now, though, I’m comvinced it’s one of the best films of the ’00s and further proof that 2007 was one of the finest years for cinema in a very long time.
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Monthly Archives: May 2008
Celebrity Girlfriends – #1 Jennifer Garner
The “veteran” on this list, Jennifer Garner high-kicked her way into my consciousness in 2001 as Sydney Bristow, the grad student/super spy at the center of the wonderfully addictive TV show Alias. The show itself was ground-breaking, combining big-screen production values and an addictive mythology with the personal journey of a flawed, very human “superhero,” who happened to be a woman. It was a premise that would soar or fall flat based completely on its lead actress, and Garner knocked it out of the park.
To borrow a comment I once heard a sportscaster make about running back Terrell Davis, Garner‘s strength is that she has no weaknesses. She is beautiful, in fantastic shape, down-to-earth, funny and talented. She is equally adept at playing action (Alias), comedy (13 Going on 30) and drama (Juno and, again, Alias), making her the sort of triple threat rarely found in Hollywood, and maybe never before among female actors.
I toyed with putting others at the top of this list, but in the end I came back to the woman who was the inspiration for the first list of this sort that I posted online, back when I was blown away by the first season of Alias. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s still here in another 7 years.
So there you have it, Jennifer Garner is Celebrity Girlfriend #1, and with that, this series is complete.
Celebrity Girlfriends – The Runners-Up
It was tough to narrow this list down to ten. So here’s a look at some of the other women who were edged out (presented alphabetically).
Top row: Jessica Alba, Alessandra Ambrosio, Cate Blanchett, Tina Fey, Jenna Fischer, Lauren Graham, Eva Green
Bottom row: Anne Hathaway, Keira Knightley, Beyonce Knowles, Mila Kunis, Natalie Portman, Shakira, Marisa Tomei
Celebrity Girlfriends – #2 Michelle Monaghan
Probably the lowest-profile member of this list, Michelle Monaghan has yet to reach any legitimate measure of stardom. She has had two well-received but mostly ignored turns in the dramas North Country and Gone Baby Gones and bigger roles in a couple lame romantic comedies.
But her transcendent moment, the one that should have rocketed her to the A-list, came in the woefully underseen Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Monaghan more than holds her own against the brilliant Robert Downey Jr. as the razor-sharp, devastatingly sexy Harmony Faith Lane — a tough but tender L.A. dame in the classic film noir mold, with a modern twist.
I fell so hard for her in that film that it pretty much cemented her status near the top of this list. I hope she gets some roles worthy of her talents (Gone Baby Gone was a good start). Until then, she can rest assured that she is well represented here, as my Celebrity Girlfriend #2.
Elvis Costello – Momofuku
Elvis Costello can be described in many ways, but ‘spontaneous’ is not among them. His albums tend to be high-concept and fastidiously produced. From the chamber music and literary theme of The Juliet Letters to Painted From Memory, an album co-written with Burt Bacharach. Even his rock output has followed suit: The Delivery Man was a song cycle based on an unwritten play about a southern love triangle.
The man doesn’t do simple.
