I’d like to thank Pajiba for inspiring this ponderation. Thanks to their “Why We Love Jennifer Lawrence and Loathe Anne Hathaway” Pajiba Love edition, which included the link to a Salon article that went into all sorts of depth about former stars and angles of faces and actresses we love to hate, I had a thought.
Yeah, yeah, it hurt. Shu’up ;p
I think it comes down to two things: People love pretty girls with rough edges and we respond to authenticity.
Anne Hathaway is a lovely girl. She’s a talented and versatile actress. She’s proven that.
However, she started as a Disney girl and, while she managed to break out of the mold as an actress, she seems to be all things sugar and spice as a person. Add to it all of the things that have happened to her; Ponzi scheme boyfriend, upskirt shots that get her leered at on the Today Show, a really bad Oscar hosting gig — all of which she sort of smiles through with a gamine “can-do!” attitude, and part of you just wants to slap her. To see her react or not be so perfect.
She may really be that person and, I should mention, I like her. I think she’s talented and sweet and intelligent. I don’t want to see her fail. But I also have no real interest in watching her speak or do interviews because she’s sort of breathy and gushy and I’ve seen it, so I’m bored.
Now, Jennifer Lawrence? Her I want to see more of. Behind the scenes. In the press room at the Oscars. On motorcycles with a biker gang and sky diving with soldiers and being a bad ass. I love her way of saying what she’s thinking. She makes me grin and she makes me root for her and I’m pretty sure that if Matt Lauer had said something like what he said to Anne Hathaway in her presence, she would have socked him in the nose.
I know some people say it’s an act. Personally, I think it’s who she is and that she’s being authentically herself. Which draws my attention and makes me smile and makes me laugh. She says things off the top of her head, damn the torpedoes. And when the media wants to be “shocked” or “aghast”, the public thinks it’s great and they admire her for it.
I just thought of a comparison as I was writing this, so I’ll share…
When I saw Grease, I remember thinking Olivia Newton John looked uncomfortable in the bad girl outfit. I never bought her as the good girl who learned to be more of a bad ass. I saw her as a good girl who dressed up and learned to look and act bad to please a man. Rizzo was my favorite character in that movie and I love Stockard Channing to this day.
Michelle Pfeiffer? I though Stephanie was just Stephanie. She chomped her gum and grinned that grin, and somehow she could sing and dance and still look like the coolest girl you’d ever wanna hang with in school.
I’ll let you decide who is who ::grin::
And, maybe it’s also that bit of us that liked the cool kids more than the preppies. Who wanted to hang in the art room with the musicians instead of the Student Council.
Either way, I think it comes down to this. People instinctively know what feels real and what doesn’t. Anne Hathaway doesn’t feel 100% in her skin to me. JLaw, on the other hand, is so herself, she’s bursting at the seams. And I dig it ;-)
p.s. Salon also mentioned that Anne Hathaway has surpassed Gwyneth Paltrow as the nice girl you love to hate. For myself, I have that “OMG I can’t stand her” thing with Paltrow. Because she feels…milquetoast. She feels half there. I mean, I was actually glad to see her die in Contagion. (I know, I’m evil.)
Only one director has made me actively like her. Joss Whendon. Why? Because he put her in a pair of cut off shorts and bare feet and got her to flirt with Tony Stark and tease with Coulson and made her feel… real.
He’s just that good. ;-)
p.p.s. I’m not saying everyone hates Anne and everyone loves Jennifer. So please, don’t feel you have to convince me otherwise. I’m sharing my thoughts on why people might feel the way they feel, based on the majority of what I see out there. So no getting offended ;p