With Jennifer Aniston getting her sexy on for Horrible Bosses, we take a look back on some slightly different roles for the star...
With the release of Horrible Bosses this week, it’s tempting to think of this as the first time Jennifer Aniston has played against type. As the sex-obsessed boss of one frustrated worker, the film sees the usually demure leading lady in a supporting role that’s less than sanitary. It’s refreshing to see her play something other than a version of Rachel, a role she’s been stuck with since Friends ended in 2004, but there haven’t been many efforts to shirk the kooky love interest label over the years. Here are five examples of Aniston out of her comfort zone:
Rock Star (2001)
In a film about a tribute singer’s rise to stardom in the very band he admired, Aniston plays the supporting love interest, a situation she knows all too well from later work. In this early movie role
however, she shines within an all-star cast that threaten to envelope her, and sets the groundwork for later success. The important thing to remember is, it isn’t a rom-com.
Derailed (2005)
Do we really buy Aniston as a con-woman? Critics certainly didn’t, as Derailedwas mauled upon release, but her role opposite Clive Owen earned her some kudos for at least trying new things. She plays a married woman who begins an affair with a man she meets on the train, only for the secrecy of their liaisons to be threatened, placing them both in danger.
The Good Girl (2002)
Jennifer playing a sad, lonely woman in her thirties? Some could say she does that just fine in the celebrity magazines every week. The difference here, in her breakout role, was the menial job and loveless marriage her character endured, before meeting an interesting co-worker (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) and beginning an illicit affair. Her performance here might be her best ever, as she puts Rachel away for a while and exhibits some real acting chops.
Along Came Polly (2004)
This Ben Stiller comedy saw Aniston return to a genre we know and love her in, but there was something about the quirky extrovert that draws your attention. Unlike in Bruce Almighty, where she played the straight man to Jim Carrey’s rubber-faced goon, here it’s Stiller who’s overshadowed, as Aniston manages to get the lion’s share of the laughs.
In a film about a tribute singer’s rise to stardom in the very band he admired, Aniston plays the supporting love interest, a situation she knows all too well from later work. In this early movie role
however, she shines within an all-star cast that threaten to envelope her, and sets the groundwork for later success. The important thing to remember is, it isn’t a rom-com.
Do we really buy Aniston as a con-woman? Critics certainly didn’t, as Derailedwas mauled upon release, but her role opposite Clive Owen earned her some kudos for at least trying new things. She plays a married woman who begins an affair with a man she meets on the train, only for the secrecy of their liaisons to be threatened, placing them both in danger.
Jennifer playing a sad, lonely woman in her thirties? Some could say she does that just fine in the celebrity magazines every week. The difference here, in her breakout role, was the menial job and loveless marriage her character endured, before meeting an interesting co-worker (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) and beginning an illicit affair. Her performance here might be her best ever, as she puts Rachel away for a while and exhibits some real acting chops.
This Ben Stiller comedy saw Aniston return to a genre we know and love her in, but there was something about the quirky extrovert that draws your attention. Unlike in Bruce Almighty, where she played the straight man to Jim Carrey’s rubber-faced goon, here it’s Stiller who’s overshadowed, as Aniston manages to get the lion’s share of the laughs.
