Perhaps death becomes Reese Witherspoon.
But is an America in mourning ready to weep with laughter at the sight of everyone’s favorite blonde possibly losing her life minutes into her new romance?
Weeks after Hurricane Katrina tore through her home state of Louisiana, Witherspoon finds herself burdened with the task of selling a Ghost-ly romantic comedy about love and death. In Just Like Heaven, Mark Ruffalo believes his new apartment is haunted by its previous occupant (Witherspoon). But is she really a ghost? She certainly doesn’t think so.
Witherspoon‘s challenge is almost the same one that Ben Stiller faced in the wake of 9/11, when Zoolander debuted several weeks after the terrorist attacks. But the highly touted fashion farce-about two dopey male models who unite to foil an assassination plot-failed to make the nation crack a collective smile. Instead, the Michael Douglas thriller Don’t Say a Word beat out Zoolander at the box office. Zoolander still laughed up a total $45.1 million-not bad, considering its $28 million budget-but this prototype Frat Pack comedy probably would have made more had Americans been in a better mood.
Just Like Heaven doesn’t have a fierce competitor such as Don’t Say a Word. It opens against Nicolas Cage‘s arms-dealing satire Lord of War, which won’t have the same mass appeal as National Treasure, and the low-budget horror yarn Cry Wolf. And that should help Witherspoon win over women looking for something light to cheer them up and spare them from the college and pro football games their husbands and boyfriends plan to watch.
But Just Like Heaven isn’t likely to be another early fall blockbuster à la Witherspoon‘s 2002 Sweet Home Alabama. Legally Blonde came out of nowhere and prompted talk that the perky and adorable Witherspoon-then a mainstay of eccentric comedies (Election, Pleasantville) and teen thrillers (Fear, Cruel Intention)-was the next Julia Roberts.
 |
Witherspoon’s Greatest Hits |
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
Yawn.
OK, however lazy and trite the comparison to the Pretty Woman, Witherspoon seemed destined for greater things. And mainstream audiences finally took a shine to Witherspoon‘s Southern charms, ensuring Sweet Home Alabama opened with the biggest debut ever in September ($35.6 million).
Don’t expect Witherspoon to repeat such a feat, especially if Just Like Heaven is nothing more than Ghost played for chuckles. Come on, why else would you throw in a wacky psychic (Napoleon Dynamite‘s Jon Heder) into the proceedings?
What could work in Just Like Heaven‘s favor is the presence of director Mark S. Waters. He turned Lindsay Lohan into a household name with his funky take on Freaky Friday and the catfights he orchestrated in Mean Girls. If anyone can give Just Like Heaven a Ghost of a chance of feeling fresh, it’s Waters.
No wonder Witherspoon‘s placing her trust in Waters. She needs Just Like Heaven to put her back on the right track after her failed attempt to make the social-climbing machinations of Vanity Fair relevant to a generation weaned on Legally Blonde. After all, the last thing the paparazzi magnet needs to revive her popularity is to dress head to toe in pink for a third time as resourceful go-getter Elle Woods.
That said, even if Just Like Heaven proves simply divine for Witherspoon, isn’t it time for her to stop squandering her talent solely on comedies?
Roberts didn’t make another comedy for four years after Pretty Woman. Even Sandra Bullock realizes the limitations of falling in love onscreen time and time again, as she’s now juggling the likes of Two Weeks Notice and Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous with Crash, 28 Days and Murder By Numbers.
It’s way too early for Witherspoon to pigeonhole herself, which probably explains her willingness to do Vanity Fair. But she was all wrong for Mira Nair’s opulent but terribly morose adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s literary classic. And for all Witherspoon‘s noble intentions, Vanity Fair earned only $16.1 million after being during last year’s Labor Day holiday weekend.
Unfortunately, signs are Witherspoon‘s not grown too tired of comedies, especially those of the romantic kind. She currently linked to Penelope, The Sports Widow, The Dog Walker and London is the Best City in America.
Witherspoon must demonstrate her diversity if she is to enjoy a Roberts-like long and prosperous career as a leading lady. After all, Roberts remains a hot commodity after 15 years because she’s proven she can open comedies, romances, dramas and thrillers.
At least there’s Walk the Line (Nov. 18), in which she June Cash to Joaquin Phoenix‘s Johnny Cash.
Buzz is already strong for director James Mangold‘s account of the late, great country singer’s rise to fame. And signs point to Witherspoon landing an Oscar nomination for her moving portrayal of Cash’s true love. If that indeed happens, Witherspoon may finally wise up and realize that it’s OK to play it straight as often as it is to try to yuk it up.
|
|
|
|
A return to the box office glory of Legally Blonde and Sweet Home Alabama would be Just Like Heaven for Witherspoon. But that’s only going to happen if America’s regained its sense of humor–and is in the mood to grapple with love and death–after Hurricane Katrina. Regardless, enough with the romantic comedies. Yes, it’s been Reese‘s bread and butter since 2001, but time to move on. And Walk the Line might finally give her enough of a reason to do just that. | |
|
||
