Jennifer Aniston: A Career Study
Every year, Jennifer Aniston is one of the highest-paid actresses globally, yet despite her popularity and stardom, has produced a career of some of the best comedy-dramas around
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| Jennifer Aniston in 'The Break-Up' (CREDIT: Universal Pictures) |
Very rarely does such a high-profile actress become someone not only I admire, but one I recommend to others to follow the career of too. However, Jennifer Aniston has somehow become a relatable and highly-talented actress with an impressive filmography filled with classic comedy-drama treats, despite being one of the most popular and most photographed movie stars on the planet. Normally, I find it very hard to even like the highest-earning of actors just because the amount of money and fame they have seems to put them worlds away from me. And, with the exception of Tom Cruise, most of these huge "stars" don't have the talent or personality to justify these big pay checks. Despite being frequently ranked as one of the highest earning actresses globally each year (she was ranked fifth last year with $25 million in earnings), despite earning $20 million each year on Friends royalties (supposedly), and despite high-profile relationships to Brad Pitt and Justin Theroux, Aniston is one of my favourite actresses, who I have a great deal of respect for. So, let's take a dive into some of her best movies...
Aniston was born on February 11th 1969 as the only child to actor John Aniston and actress Nancy Drew, although her parents separated when she was nine years old. Her godfather was another famous actor, Telly Savalas (most known for playing Blofeld in the 007 adventure On Her Majesty's Secret Service). Having moved to New York City at a young age and enrolled in LaGuardia's High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, Aniston was considering becoming an actress, although her father (a TV actor himself) barred her from watching TV. In 1988, she starred in Off-Broadway productions like For Dear Life, supporting herself with part time jobs as a waitress and bike messenger amongst other things. Aniston soon moved back to Los Angeles where her appearances in many critically panned TV series that were subsequently cancelled, not only meant she lacked the necessary funds to support herself, but also led to a growing depression with her apparent "failings" with being an actor. Knowing this, it's easier to understand her immense wealth now, as she came from a place of financial failure as an actress early on. Much like Richard Branson, she's made her wealth all by herself.
So, that brings us to Friends. The American sitcom that became a worldwide phenomena, running for ten seasons from 1994 to 2004, Friends not only catapulted Aniston from being a struggling, nobody actor, to one of the most famous and upcoming actresses around, it also introduced us to would-be stars like Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer. How did this happen for Aniston? Well...depressed with not finding success in her chosen career path, Aniston approached Warren Littlefield (the head of NBC entertainment) at a gas station (allegedly) who encouraged her to keep acting and later cast her in Friends as...Monica Geller!? However, Courtney Cox was on the scene by this point, and so Aniston was given Rachel instead. 5 Primetime Emmy's, two Golden Globes and being (along with Cox and Kudrow) the highest paid TV actress around with a $1 million per episode fee for the last season, later, it's fair to say Friends really did change her life. I have to confess, I'd never seen Friends, except from catching the odd episode on cable TV on a Sunday afternoon, which is a mistake I am now on the road to correcting (only on Season One so far). You have to remember I'm British, and although big across the world, Friends was never the "must-see" show like it was in the States. Anyway, it's safe to say that apart from showcasing her comedic acting talents, it also allowed her to give audiences a glimpse at the more dramatic side of her acting ability which she would bring to full fruition later in her career. Friends (if you haven't seen it) is a very light and funny sitcom, and a mere teaser of the Aniston about to be shown to the world.
During the series, her movie career started kicking off with roles alongside Kevin Bacon in Picture Perfect in 1997, Paul Rudd in The Object of My Affection in 1998, and then in 2002, what was considered by most critics her breakthrough, The Good Girl. However, it was only with her role as the girlfriend to Jim Carrey's reporter in the 2003 comedy Bruce Almighty that she hit the commercial success that was to define the rest of her career. A classic of the genre no doubt, Bruce Almighty set the course for Aniston's post-Friends film career. It established the genre of films she would make (romantically-themed comedy/dramas), her status as a lead actress (often second billing), the commercial success of her movies ($484 million - the highest of that year) and that she would always star alongside a big-named actor (Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Gerard Butler to name a few). Unlike most "break through" movies, commercially speaking, it's fair to say that Bruce Almighty did not introduce the world to Aniston. Rather, it set the template for her as a popular, second-billing actress in a series of soon-to-be classics of the rom-com genre, where her inclusion became a guarantee of box office success alone.
That brings us to the first "best" movie of her career. 2004 brought us John Hamburg's Along Came Polly, in which she starred alongside Ben Stiller, with a key (and very funny) supporting turn from the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Aniston played Polly, a former classmate to Stiller's Rueben Feffer, who teaches him to let go and enjoy life after he found his wife cheating on him with a scuba diver on their Honeymoon. Much like Stiller's very funny The Hearbreak Kid, this Stiller and Aniston rom-com is a delight. It's funny, potent and well-intentioned in finding the good in people and in life. Not to mention a series of great comedy sequences, like Stiller's recovery from a "hot" curry in Polly's bathroom and an energetic and pulse-raising salsa dance-off. Alec Baldwin makes a small, but very well-served appearance here too as a businessman.
Skipping through to 2006, and we get a classic from one of my favourite actors Vince Vaughn. Based on his original idea, The Break Up charts the failing relationship between Gary Grobowski (Vaughn) and Brooke Meyers (Aniston), and it's original hook of being "the usual rom-com but in reverse" makes it an interesting watch. We start out where most rom-coms end, the "happily every after" phase, and after a phenomenally, well-performed argument scene at the first act climax, the film shows the fighting, battles and downhill descent of their relationship leading to...the break up. Although it's premise will make it sound a little more sombre than other rom-coms in Aniston's career (and the movie does have some serious, dramatic and emotional weight behind it), The Break Up also finds plenty of time to have fun as Vaughn and Aniston go head-to-head in trying to "win" the argument. I think this is the first real show of Aniston's dramatic capabilities, something we don't really see again to that extent until The Morning Show.
In 2009, we get the charming romantic-drama Love Happens courtesy of writer/producer Mike Thompson and writer/director Brandon Camp. When a self-help, motivational speaker Burke (Aaron Eckhart), whose successful book allows others to overcome their grief, meets Aniston's Florist and falls in love, she helps him come to terms with his own grief regarding his wife's death three years before. This is a masterpiece, not only in that it's story feels fresh and it's characters vibrant and three-dimensional, but it's refusal to deal with cliché and instead focussing on relatable emotion, makes Love Happens a must-see. Yes, it has charming, funny moments, but like The Break Up, is more about two upcoming Hollywood lead actors using their human, dramatic sensibilities to make a profound movie out of their performances, without relying on overt comedy or light gags. Although Eckhart carries much of the emotional baggage here, along with Martin Sheen, Aniston judges her supporting "love interest" so-to-speak role well, and complements his performance as a sincere shoulder to cry on character. Certainly one of her most underrated films.
After a role alongside Gerard Butler in The Bounty Hunter, Aniston's next "best" movie comes with the Adam Sandler vehicle Just Go With It in 2011. Dennis Duggan's tropical comedy is a very light-hearted and aggressively fun movie, following a plastic surgeon (Sandler) who convinces his assistant (Aniston) to pose as his wife so he can convince the girl he's dating to take the leap. We get many funny situations, many of which come from the chemistry between Sandler, Aniston and her "children" played by Bailee Madison and Griffin Gluck. It's a solid piece of Friday night fun for all the family, but with a lot of heart. What shines across is how natural and relatable Aniston makes her performances, considering the big movie star she is. Also, in 2011 we get her second collaboration (of five) with co-star Jason Sudeikis in Horrible Bosses, a side-splittingly funny comedy about getting revenge on your horrible bosses. It's a really good comedy, the sort of light entertainment you want sometimes, although I believe it's sequel, written and directed by the fantastic Sean Anders, Horrible Bosses 2 is slightly better. Aniston stars in both by-the-way. However, both are awesome movies, and ones that will never cease to be funny.
Skipping around to another Aniston/Sudeikis team-up, and we get to Rawson M. Thurber's We're The Millers in 2013, also starring Will Poulter and Emma Roberts. This sees a drug dealer (Sudeikis) and stripper (Aniston) unite with a virgin (Poulter) and thief (Roberts) to form a fake family to pick up and deliver drugs from across the border in Mexico to the USA to get some cash to start a new life. Another example of a really funny and immensely entertaining movie, We're the Millers ends up in a heart-warming place (the fake family becomes the real family), despite it's very light and unserious antics through it's second and third acts. If you haven't seen this then please do so now.
That brings us to a quirky, and very funny low-budget arthouse movie She's Funny That Way, starring an array of a-list names, who all deliver some of the best performances of their careers. I'll go as far to say it's one of the best acted ensembles ever. The screwball comedy from writer/director Peter Bogdanovich sees Aniston playing a therapist, who brings her usual relatable charm through her performance, successfully finding comedy in the most understated of lines/actions, whilst adding a sense of dramatic timing that's come from a longstanding career. Alongside Owen Wilson, Imogen Poots, Kathryn Hahn, Will Forte and Rhys Ifans, Aniston is most delightful in how she brings her character alive here. She's Funny That Way is different from Aniston's other commercial comedy projects, in that despite it being a star-fronted movie, it isn't grounded in a series of extended gag-based sequences or deeply fantastical storylines (not that that's a criticism), but rather in very realistic human relationships and interactions. And, because it's not that widely seen (or known?), it's a hidden gem of Aniston's career.
In 2016, Aniston and Sudeikis reunited for their fifth (and at this point final time) on Garry Marshall's Mother's Day, the romantic-comedy which is the third in a loose trilogy of ensemble rom-coms set on a holiday by Marshall after Valentine's Day 2010 and New Year's Eve 2011. Mother's Day doesn't quite hit all the marks, both in it's comedy and dramatic elements, however, the Jennifer Aniston/Kate Hudson/Julia Roberts/Timothy Olyphant/Jack Whitehall/Jason Sudeikis flick is a light-watch and it's intentions and morals are in all the right places.
Aniston returned to her TV routes last year, with Apple TV Plus's acclaimed and Golden Globe Award winning The Morning Show. Yes, she got a healthy pay check for it, both as the joint lead (another $1 million per episode) and as an executive producer (a slice of the profits), but the excellent series depicting sexual assault of women in the workplace really was a vehicle for Aniston and her co-star Reese Witherspoon to showcase their talents. Aniston embodies her news anchor character Alex Levy, for all ten, hour-long episodes, no mean feat considering the amount of emotional and storytelling lifting she has to carry on her own. It's truly a masterclass, both in how it was written, and how Aniston amongst others (Steve Carrell, Bel Powley etc.) brought their characters to life, capturing the fear, divide and passion that comes with the topic of sexual harassment. I'm most looking forward to season two when it arrives on the streaming platform.
So, there we go. Aniston has had quite the career, going from depressed and failing nobody actor to one of the highest-paid actresses in the world, working on some classic rom-coms alongside Hollywood heavyweights. What can we learn? Well, never to give up because sometimes life throws us an opportunity that can change our lives. Also, that no matter how successful/famous/rich we get in life, as long as we stay grounded to who we are, we gain respect and stay relatable to others.
Jennifer Aniston may be one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood. But to me, she's more recognisable as a highly-skilled actor, who will provide escapist entertainment in comedy roles or emotional relatability in human dramas - or maybe, a bit of both.
Skipping through to 2006, and we get a classic from one of my favourite actors Vince Vaughn. Based on his original idea, The Break Up charts the failing relationship between Gary Grobowski (Vaughn) and Brooke Meyers (Aniston), and it's original hook of being "the usual rom-com but in reverse" makes it an interesting watch. We start out where most rom-coms end, the "happily every after" phase, and after a phenomenally, well-performed argument scene at the first act climax, the film shows the fighting, battles and downhill descent of their relationship leading to...the break up. Although it's premise will make it sound a little more sombre than other rom-coms in Aniston's career (and the movie does have some serious, dramatic and emotional weight behind it), The Break Up also finds plenty of time to have fun as Vaughn and Aniston go head-to-head in trying to "win" the argument. I think this is the first real show of Aniston's dramatic capabilities, something we don't really see again to that extent until The Morning Show.
In 2009, we get the charming romantic-drama Love Happens courtesy of writer/producer Mike Thompson and writer/director Brandon Camp. When a self-help, motivational speaker Burke (Aaron Eckhart), whose successful book allows others to overcome their grief, meets Aniston's Florist and falls in love, she helps him come to terms with his own grief regarding his wife's death three years before. This is a masterpiece, not only in that it's story feels fresh and it's characters vibrant and three-dimensional, but it's refusal to deal with cliché and instead focussing on relatable emotion, makes Love Happens a must-see. Yes, it has charming, funny moments, but like The Break Up, is more about two upcoming Hollywood lead actors using their human, dramatic sensibilities to make a profound movie out of their performances, without relying on overt comedy or light gags. Although Eckhart carries much of the emotional baggage here, along with Martin Sheen, Aniston judges her supporting "love interest" so-to-speak role well, and complements his performance as a sincere shoulder to cry on character. Certainly one of her most underrated films.
After a role alongside Gerard Butler in The Bounty Hunter, Aniston's next "best" movie comes with the Adam Sandler vehicle Just Go With It in 2011. Dennis Duggan's tropical comedy is a very light-hearted and aggressively fun movie, following a plastic surgeon (Sandler) who convinces his assistant (Aniston) to pose as his wife so he can convince the girl he's dating to take the leap. We get many funny situations, many of which come from the chemistry between Sandler, Aniston and her "children" played by Bailee Madison and Griffin Gluck. It's a solid piece of Friday night fun for all the family, but with a lot of heart. What shines across is how natural and relatable Aniston makes her performances, considering the big movie star she is. Also, in 2011 we get her second collaboration (of five) with co-star Jason Sudeikis in Horrible Bosses, a side-splittingly funny comedy about getting revenge on your horrible bosses. It's a really good comedy, the sort of light entertainment you want sometimes, although I believe it's sequel, written and directed by the fantastic Sean Anders, Horrible Bosses 2 is slightly better. Aniston stars in both by-the-way. However, both are awesome movies, and ones that will never cease to be funny.
Skipping around to another Aniston/Sudeikis team-up, and we get to Rawson M. Thurber's We're The Millers in 2013, also starring Will Poulter and Emma Roberts. This sees a drug dealer (Sudeikis) and stripper (Aniston) unite with a virgin (Poulter) and thief (Roberts) to form a fake family to pick up and deliver drugs from across the border in Mexico to the USA to get some cash to start a new life. Another example of a really funny and immensely entertaining movie, We're the Millers ends up in a heart-warming place (the fake family becomes the real family), despite it's very light and unserious antics through it's second and third acts. If you haven't seen this then please do so now.
That brings us to a quirky, and very funny low-budget arthouse movie She's Funny That Way, starring an array of a-list names, who all deliver some of the best performances of their careers. I'll go as far to say it's one of the best acted ensembles ever. The screwball comedy from writer/director Peter Bogdanovich sees Aniston playing a therapist, who brings her usual relatable charm through her performance, successfully finding comedy in the most understated of lines/actions, whilst adding a sense of dramatic timing that's come from a longstanding career. Alongside Owen Wilson, Imogen Poots, Kathryn Hahn, Will Forte and Rhys Ifans, Aniston is most delightful in how she brings her character alive here. She's Funny That Way is different from Aniston's other commercial comedy projects, in that despite it being a star-fronted movie, it isn't grounded in a series of extended gag-based sequences or deeply fantastical storylines (not that that's a criticism), but rather in very realistic human relationships and interactions. And, because it's not that widely seen (or known?), it's a hidden gem of Aniston's career.
In 2016, Aniston and Sudeikis reunited for their fifth (and at this point final time) on Garry Marshall's Mother's Day, the romantic-comedy which is the third in a loose trilogy of ensemble rom-coms set on a holiday by Marshall after Valentine's Day 2010 and New Year's Eve 2011. Mother's Day doesn't quite hit all the marks, both in it's comedy and dramatic elements, however, the Jennifer Aniston/Kate Hudson/Julia Roberts/Timothy Olyphant/Jack Whitehall/Jason Sudeikis flick is a light-watch and it's intentions and morals are in all the right places.
Aniston returned to her TV routes last year, with Apple TV Plus's acclaimed and Golden Globe Award winning The Morning Show. Yes, she got a healthy pay check for it, both as the joint lead (another $1 million per episode) and as an executive producer (a slice of the profits), but the excellent series depicting sexual assault of women in the workplace really was a vehicle for Aniston and her co-star Reese Witherspoon to showcase their talents. Aniston embodies her news anchor character Alex Levy, for all ten, hour-long episodes, no mean feat considering the amount of emotional and storytelling lifting she has to carry on her own. It's truly a masterclass, both in how it was written, and how Aniston amongst others (Steve Carrell, Bel Powley etc.) brought their characters to life, capturing the fear, divide and passion that comes with the topic of sexual harassment. I'm most looking forward to season two when it arrives on the streaming platform.
So, there we go. Aniston has had quite the career, going from depressed and failing nobody actor to one of the highest-paid actresses in the world, working on some classic rom-coms alongside Hollywood heavyweights. What can we learn? Well, never to give up because sometimes life throws us an opportunity that can change our lives. Also, that no matter how successful/famous/rich we get in life, as long as we stay grounded to who we are, we gain respect and stay relatable to others.
Jennifer Aniston may be one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood. But to me, she's more recognisable as a highly-skilled actor, who will provide escapist entertainment in comedy roles or emotional relatability in human dramas - or maybe, a bit of both.
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