As a longtime fan of Jennifer Lawrence’s work, I’ve always been in awe of all her films, of course, between The Hunger Games, The Silver Linings Playbook and the X-Men prequels. However, there’s always been the funny duality of her also being an absolutely hilarious person in real life who frequently goes viral for interview moments where her personality seems quite the opposite of a deep and dark dramatic actress. So, when No Hard Feelings hit theaters earlier this summer, I ran to my local cinema, and I was absolutely living for J-Law bringing out her comedy chops in a movie that I thought was equally raunchy, silly and very heartfelt. In honor of this, I was thinking about a host of Oscar-winning actresses who need to lead their own comedy next.
Why must there be lines drawn between who can be funny and who is a serious actress in Hollywood? Real talk, but I see male actors slide between movies with ridiculous concepts to award-buzzy ones all the dang time. I mean, just look at Seth Rogen, Adam Sandler or Owen Wilson. Why does Hollywood put so many talented (and already funny) women in boxes? Let’s look at more actresses with a golden trophy who fall in this serious trap who I’d love to see in their very own comedy, stat, especially because they have the power to give a ridiculous concept more gravitas.
Olivia Colman
One of my absolute favorite Oscar moments happened when Olivia Colman’s Best Actress win became the biggest bombshell of the 2019 awards show. At the time when Colman won, I wasn’t personally very familiar with the actress outside of The Favourite, in which she played a moody queen without the vibrant personality of the British actress.
Colman has a really interesting career right now, between being part of more critically-acclaimed dramas like Empire of Light and The Lost Daughter, along with being part of the Secret Invasion cast, Heartstopper and Wonka this holiday season. But, I’d honestly love to see her fully bring out her truly hilarious natural comedic timing. I’m picturing her playing a socially-awkward British woman who travels cross-country through Europe to reconnect with a high-school crush or something random and endearing like that.
Cate Blanchett
The same goes for absolute Oscar darling Cate Blanchett, who has been turning out dramatic performance after dramatic performance for years, between roles like Tár, Carol and Blue Jasmine. I’m a massive fan of her work, but if you’ve ever seen her in interviews, she looks like a super fun and interesting person, who deserves to totally let loose in a future role.
Some offbeat highlights here are when she played the wicked stepmother in Cinderella and a monkey named Spazzatura in Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, but what I would give to see her play a silly character that just goes off the rails. Hey, even if she were the star of a Judd Apatow movie, I don’t doubt she would earn an Oscar nomination for that, too.
Michelle Yeoh
Then there’s our most recent Oscar winner, Michelle Yeoh, who took home Best Actress for her trippy role in Everything Everywhere All At Once. Yeoh is known primarily for being an action star in epics like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but she's also made stoic turns in movies like Crazy Rich Asians. After dancing with hot dog hands and so forth in her Oscar-winning role, I hope she follows that thread and leads a comedy of her own. Look, no matter what she does, I’ll follow her anywhere.
Viola Davis
Then there’s EGOT winner Viola Davis, who is beloved for nailing a host of powerhouse performances in movies like The Woman King, The Help, Fences and in the DCU. So many of Davis’ roles have her character pushing through some serious struggles, so I absolutely love the idea of her starring in a romantic comedy or musical comedy.
I’m not sure it will ever happen, but I definitely think she deserves to emulate some more joy on screen at some point, and I’m sure she’d have a blast doing it. Since she’s frequently compared to Meryl Streep, perhaps she needs her own version of something like The Devil Wears Prada or Mamma Mia, ya know?
Halle Berry
Then there’s Halle Berry, who became the first (and only) Black woman to win Best Actress for her role in Monster’s Ball. In recent years, she has primarily done action or science fiction movies like Moonfall, Bruised, and her incredible role in the third John Wick movie, but I’d love to see her take on another comedy where she has top billing (she has 1997's B.A.P.S. under her belt, of course).
Berry is a really talented actress who I feel is underutilized. She’s always been very charming, thinking back to her role as Jinx in Die Another Day or even her breakthrough rom-com with Eddie Murphy, Boomerang, back in 1992. Give her a new silly comedy – perhaps of the action variety!!
Brie Larson
And, what about Brie Larson? The actress who won for her emotional performance in Room is, of course, also Captain Marvel in the MCU, and recently lived her dream of being in the Fast and the Furious franchise, it’s not like Larson is constantly in a super realistic dramatic space. That being said, I find her to be a really genuine personality, who would absolutely thrive in a big Hollywood comedy of her own to lead. I could see her doing well in a buddy comedy, in particular, or a rom-com like 30 Going on 30. She already directed herself in the underrated film, Unicorn Store, but I’d love to see her in even more roles like it.
Angelina Jolie
Finally, Angelina Jolie desperately needs to be in a future comedy, in my humble opinion. She’s obviously an incredible talent and we’ll never forget her bringing out the funny in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Her career has certainly showcased that she’s more interested in the real meaty and emotional roles, but there must be the right one out there for her to explore the lighter side of life someday. Maybe after all that divorce drama with Brad Pitt is over?
What can I say, Jennifer Lawrence’s No Hard Feelings really made me happy and reminded me how the comedy space is still vastly male-driven. Hollywood, how about you call up these talented women for your next big silly movie?
