The Oscar curse
I was sitting down to watch “Take Me Home Tonight” (a decent movie that sadly tacks on its 80s setting, rather than fully embracing it) when I was bombarded with a trailer for “Your Highness,” a movie that looks like a quick “Pineapple Express” cash-in starring, wait, what? Natalie Portman, current Oscar queen? What’s she doing in this?
This got me thinking, what does an actor do once they’ve completed a future Oscar- winning performance? Most actors like to take a break and work on something a little lighter, but what I found was surprisingly disappointing.
“Your Highness” isn’t actually the first film Portman has done since “Black Swan.” Nope, instead it was the classic “No Strings Attached” with Ashton Kutcher. Oh wait; “classic” isn’t the right word. “Completely forgettable” is more what I meant.
Fresh off “Million Dollar Baby,” Hilary Swank participated in the weak “The Black Dahlia.” Even one of the most well-respected actresses, Dame Helen Mirren, followed up her winning performance in “The Queen,” with “National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets.” Not one of these films has gotten more than a 50 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Then again, they’ve done more than “The Blind Side” lead, Sandra Bullock. She’s done nothing since.
And it’s not just the ladies who have disappointed. The guys have done just as much, or in this case, little.
As much as I like it, Jeff Bridges’ “Tron: Legacy” didn’t live up to expectations. Forest Whitaker tried an animated feature “Everyone’s Hero” with similar results.
But the absolute worst of the worst is Jamie Foxx. After his powerful performance in “Ray,” he followed with “Stealth.” Do you remember “Stealth,” AKA “Top Gun” without the volleyball and, consequently, the good? Yes, “Stealth,” the movie with a 13 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Among the stinkers, there have been a couple bright spots. Sean Penn transitioned from “Milk” to the decent CIA agent thriller, “Fair Game.” Kate Winslet went from “The Reader” to “Revolutionary Road.” Neither of these was stellar, but they weren’t atrocities like the others.
I’m all for actors taking a break after a really demanding role, but there’s a fine line between something light and something bad, and too many actors seem to be crossing it.
