Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Who's That Lady? - It's Jennifer Coolidge!

It's been a couple of months since I posted an installment of Who's That Lady?. Blog Cabins post Familiar Faces - Unknown Names, where Fletch catalogs the careers of That Guys, is the older brother to my little baby. My series spins the gender, focusing on those women we love when they appear in a film.

This week I will remedy my delinquent attention to this series by spotlighting four unsung women. All four ladies appear in the film Best in Show, which I recently reviewed as part of Film for the Soul's series, Counting Down the Zeroes. Ibetolis's ambitious project chronicles a decade's worth of cinema: the noughties.

If you've seen Best in Show, you may have found yourself asking:

Who's That Lady?
Jennifer Coolidge


Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Jennifer Coolidge started her career working in New York with the Gotham City improv group and continued in LA as a member of The Groundlings comedy troupe. She's credited with over seventy projects, with five releasing this year! You will usually see Ms. Coolidge portraying a petty gold-digger, an unscrupulous mother, or a sultry cougar. You may not remember the movie, but you won't soon forget her role in it.


3 Unforgettable Roles
American Pie -
"Dude, that chick's a MILF!" Even if you never knew her real name, everyone recognizes Stifler's mom. She brought the term MILF, or Mom I'd Like to Fuck, into the mainstream vocabulary. Even though her total screentime in the first three American Pie films was limited to less than five minutes, her popularity is boundless.

A Mighty Wind - Ms. Coolidge is equally adept at portraying female characters that make you wonder how they survived to adulthood. One such mature airhead is Amber Cole in this Christopher Guest mockumentary. Her knowledge of the locomotive industry is astounding.

A Night at the Roxbury -Her role as the Hottie Cop is an obscure one to most, but it's the first time I saw and remembered her. If she's good enough to float Steve Butabi's boat, then she's good enough for me.


Honorable Mentions: Jennifer kept Elle Woods looking her best as stylist Paulette in the Legally Blonde franchise. In Best in Show, Down to Earth and Pootie Tang, she put many a money-grubbing floozy to shame. A more recent appearance was as the voracious band-aid to Bernie Mac in Soul Men.


Saw it, but even I don't remember her in it!
With so many credits, it's possible even I've forgotten Jennifer's appearances! Her are a few flicks I'd sit through again just to watch her work.

Films: Click, Date Movie, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, For Your Consideration, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Zoolander


Sassy, sultry and just plain silly; Jennifer Coolidge brings more to the role than just voluptuous curves. Those who have seen her know exactly what I mean. If you want to know more about her career, be sure to check out her IMDB and Wikipedia
pages.

Of her five upcoming productions, I don't know if I'm more curious to see her work in the Jared Hess film Gentleman Broncos or to see her star alongside Gary Cole in Say Hello to Stan Talmadge. Those movies may not amount to much, but I'm sure she won't disappoint.

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3 comments:

  1. Nice tie-in to your 00s post. I'm not a huge fan of Coolidge's, but she's definitely become a part of the pop culture zeitgeist with her roles in American Pie and Best in Show, where she practically stole the show.

    As for what's on the horizon, just about anything with Gary Cole is worth seeing, and I'm curious to see if Hess's new film is any better than his last. The cast is certainly strong...

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  2. Excellent idea, I love this post and I'll tag it when I post your entry for Counting Down The Zeroes.

    I love, love Coolidge. Fletch has got it right when he mentions that she practically steals the show.

    Incidentally, no line makes me laugh harder than 'we both love soup'. Said in perfect deadpan by Coolidge in Best in Show.

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  3. @Fletch: I'm staying optimistic on Hess's film. What makes the Cole film so great is it sounds like the shifty role he's best at.

    @Ibetolis: Thanks. I've been such a slacker with all my special features of late; thought this was a great chance to remedy that.

    The soup line is awesome. It's amazing any of them can keep a straight face amid all the silly dialog.

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