When I first heard of Rose Byrne, I was familiar with her name, yet I could never place her face. But it wasn't until maybe 2011 where that all changed and she had three very different films. First was the horror film Insidious, then the 2011 sci-fi prequel X-Men: First Class, and lastly the comedy Bridesmaids.
That last one certainly opened a new chapter in Byrne's career, proving how gifted she is as a comedienne, and proved how she was the unsung hero of Bridesmaids. While her flashier co-star Melissa McCarthy got an Oscar nomination, a case could've still been made for Byrne's inclusion. (Heck, she was better than the performance that won that year.)
But Neighbors is where she really showed us what she was made of as she single handedly walked away with the testosterone-filled picture. I personally would've nominated her in Supporting, but I can understand an argument that she's Lead. Supporting Actress was much more sparse, so if she was put there, she would've been an easy winner. Just like if she were nominated this year for Spy, a performance that gets better upon repeat viewings, she would be my winner.
But of course, simply due to bias against comedies, Byrne's work in Neighbors and Spy never got much traction which is a shame because having comedic timing is much more difficult than dramatic plate-smashing.
On the horizon, she has the X-Men and Neighbors sequel, which likely won't get her much traction. She does an indie drama known as The Meddler opposite Susan Sarandon, but we'll see where that goes.
No comments:
Post a Comment