Jennifer Aniston's Career

Back in December, I wrote here that Jennifer Aniston's career was "in high gear" while comparing her to her hapless former "Friends" co-stars. Well, it appears I stand somewhat corrected. Her two most recent movies, as Entertainment Weekly recently reported, haven't quite lived up to expectations; the thriller Derailed did adequate box office business with a take of $36 million, but still fell short of studio projections, while Rumor Has It - which, bear in mind, came out the day after I made that earlier remark - barely registered at the box office.

Jennifer Aniston was long expected to have the big movie career when "Friends" ended, but while she's continued her career since that show went off the air in 2004, she hasn't quite been the big box office draw that studio executives thought she would be; she hasn't been able to draw large audiences to the theaters on the strength of her name and reputation like Julia Roberts or Tom Hanks has. She has gotten a lot of publicity, but the entertainment media seem to be more interested in her personal life than her work as an actress.

Quite frankly, I think Hollywood is expecting way too much from Aniston too soon. After all, "Friends" hasn't been off the air that long (though its inescapable presence in syndicated reruns makes it harder for Jen to escape Rachel Green, perhaps impossible to do so completely), and her movie career hasn't been going on very long yet. She seems to have had as many hits as flops, and her most recent movies haven't done too terribly overall. She continues to work steadily, and she chooses roles in different films ranging from small productions to grander Hollywood star vehicles - vehicles in which she isn't the only star. Many folks in Hollywood consider Aniston's long-term strategy rather solid, so it's only a matter of time before she's a bankable movie actress. She's certainly had more luck moving from TV to the cinema than, say, Debra Messing. (Remember The Wedding Date? No? Exactly.) And she continues to be more visible than her, umm, former "Friends" co-stars.

Jennifer Aniston had best have some bona fide hits, though. If she's had enough flops, she'll get to the point where Hollywood insiders will say that if she has one more flop, her career will be through. And if will be if she does. Hollywood insiders have a way of making their most dire predictions come true.