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15 Love Lessons for Jen... from Jen
L to R: New Line Productions; Everett Collection (3)
To mark the actress' 40th birthday, The Daily Beast revisited her film canon to seek romantic wisdom for the ages. We present The Tao of Jennifer Aniston.
Does art mimic life or is it the other way around? For Jennifer Aniston, it's all the same. The age-old question has new meaning when studying her movies, which are filled with eerily coincidental references to her off-screen self—particularly the ongoing drama of her relationships. The title of He's Just Not That Into You speaks for itself, but having recently re-screened 15 films from the Aniston canon, there are clear lessons for the actress in her own work.
“I haven’t wanted to seem demanding or clingy or psycho,” Beth says. So true to life that Googling “Aniston” and “clingy” returns over 23,000 results.
Before we begin, in the interest of full disclosure I must admit to being a shirt-owning member of Team Aniston. Even after logging countless hours nit-picking her work, there is no one I'd rather spend time with. To quote Jake Gyllenhaal when he presented her with the GLAAD Vanguard Award in 2007, “Everyone falls in love with Jennifer and I have to say it's always her fault.”
Caution: The following contains plot spoilers.
MOVIE: Dream for an Insomniac (1996)
LESSON: LOVE YOUR FRIENDS
Most of this movie takes place in the Central Perk of San Francisco. Aniston’s Allison hails from Pacific Heights (Aniston was born in Sherman Oaks) and moves to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career (Aniston moved there in 1989). When her best friend Frankie (Ione Skye) loses the love of her life, Allison consoles: "There are other fish in the sea… You wanna go shopping?" Less appropriately she offers, “Stealing a man for a living—that ain't easy. Unless, of course, he's married.” Bonus lesson from Frankie’s lover: “There are too many mediocre things in life. Love shouldn't be one of them.”
MOVIE: She’s The One (1996)
LESSON: HUSBANDS CHEAT—AND BUY EXTRA BATTERIES
Aniston's small role as Renee in this classic '90s love-triangle is heightened by correlations to Aniston's actual love life. "My husband has some ethics—he’s not some sort of cheating sleazebag," Renee says. Oh, but he is. Even her demands for sex didn't turn him on: "From time to time, I need to pleasure myself with a vibrator. Deal with it."
MOVIE: Picture Perfect (1997)
LESSON: IT’S IMPORTANT TO BE LIKED
Aniston's character Kate pretends she's engaged to an earnest wedding videographer (Jay Mohr) to secure a promotion at her advertising firm. The real takeaway seems to be that manipulation works in the bedroom and the boardroom. And when Kate’s mom aches for grandchildren, the I-never-said-I-don't-want-kids Aniston replies, "I'm looking into getting my eggs frozen." Her character's final epiphany: "I convinced myself that whatever talent I had meant nothing unless it came in this package that everyone liked."
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Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
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Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
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Henry Seltzer is a homepage editor for The Daily Beast. He previously worked at UsMagazine.com and The Huffington Post and filed for Gawker and Wonkette under the moniker of "Henry the Intern." He occasionally contributes to Project.ioni.st and once published Press Gaggle, a blog about the White House press briefings.
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Henry Seltzer is a homepage editor for The Daily Beast. He previously worked at UsMagazine.com and The Huffington Post and filed for Gawker and Wonkette under the moniker of "Henry the Intern." He occasionally contributes to Project.ioni.st and once published Press Gaggle, a blog about the White House press briefings.
I love this! And thanks for saving me from netflixing a few of these titles :) Who is next for the pop psych leatherette couch? Witherspoon? Oooh the canon of Spears?
How can you make so many movies and barely a decent one (office space?) .This girl is so plain and boring (and obviously needy too), she's like a new Meg Ryan, but worst at picking movies.
Don't understand the bizarre fascination for this woman.
Like Paris Hilton who's famous for being famous,
Anniston has become more famous for being
dumped by Bradgeloina.
"So true to life that Googling "Aniston" and "clingy" returns over 23,000 results." Well, Googling "Seltzer" and "clingy" returns over 1,500 results. Anyone fancy drawing a conclusion? (Other than "lazy journalism"...)
can we just not talk about her she not an actress she makes bad movies and she's only in it for the money the bitch can't act her way out of a wet peper bag
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
I've seen Jennifer Aniston on a number of talk shows, and I'm sorry to say - there has never been anything that has left her lips that was even remotely interesting. Five miles wide and half an inch deep, and it's too bad because she seems like such a nice girl.....
Gross = Aniston
Seltzer = *burp*
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I've been in entertainment for years. Nobody I know who has worked with Jennifer Aniston has a bad thing to say about her. On the contrary, I've heard only glowing reviews of how easy she is to work with. In Hollywood, that's a rare and wonderful thing. I wish her a longevity in a business where that's even rarer.
Thank you.
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