Jennifer Lawrence Deserves an Oscar and a Hug

The other night, I watched Silver Linings Playbook. I'd heard that it was "my kind" of movie, and indeed it was. It was actually a lot funnier than I expected, and a lot sweeter. But it was also very raw in places. The best acting took place in facial expressions and exchanged glances between characters. The dialogue was...ok. But that's kinda how real life is isn't it? I mean, rarely am I having conversations using elevated language in my day to day interactions...except when I talk to Meredith...then all bets are off.

She's making homemades!

I've always struggled with Bradley Cooper. I mean, don't get me wrong, he's very nice to look at. I don't even mind his perma-sweat look that he sported in the Hangover movies.What I DO mind is the fact that he was actually IN the Hangover movies. We all make mistakes. Silver Linings was not one of them for Cooper though. He nailed the part, and if you've ever known someone with Bipolar then you know he nailed it. If you aren't sure if you know anyone with Bipolar, now you can be sure...just watch his performance.

De Niro was great too, but I mean...that's like saying chocolate is good. OF COURSE IT IS.

For me the best performance was given by Jackie Weaver (not to be confused with Jamie Gertz's character on The Neighbors), who played the wife/mom of the family the movie centers around. Her lines were minimal, but spot on. Her mannerisms were...amazing. She nailed everything about her role...from accent to eyebrow raises to her nervously cautious but hopeful smiles.

Wait just a minute...when did Julia Stiles become an extra.

Even though Weaver was incredible, Jennifer Lawrence stole the show. Her presence on the screen is just so powerful. I would say that's the same for any movie I've seen her in so far. She's so into her characters that she makes everyone else look like they're phoning it in. She has a confrontational scene with Robert De Niro that blew me away. Not only did she hold her own, she was so clearly the best actor in the room. I was in awe of her the entire movie.

The other night I actually had a dream that J Law was my best friend. We were camping together and she was advising me what to wear to some party I was attending. I woke up with the sweetest most satisfied feeling...having J Law as a bestie would probably give you that permanently. So she was already on my mind this week, but seeing her performance just made me love her even more.

I wasn't gonna focus on this, but I have to say something. I don't get why her size is ever even talked about. Her face is kind of heart shaped like Mini Driver or Reese Witherspoon. But there is nothing abnormal at all about her body, unless curves are the new abnormal. Can we women just agree to stop praising stick figures who look like they are malnutritioned? In my opinion, the most beautiful women have curves. That's what makes us look like women instead of 11 year old boys. Here, someone hold my soapbox, so I can finish this blog.

Wait, what's wrong with the way she looks? Oh...you can see her hips? Dammit J Law...get your shit together!

The thing that I worry about more than anything for Jennifer Lawrence is that she will get hard. She's obviously a target for some people. Rather than choosing to believe the best about her when she accepted her Golden Globe declaring, "I beat Meryl!" (A line from First Wives Club), the media questioned her ego. Nothing about her screams ego to me. The media has even tried to perpetuate some crazy feud between her and Jessica Chastain, who commented recently that this is purely nonsense. She seems to be handling things well. But then, that's what happens to celebrities. They seem like they're doing ok then they shave their heads and start dating John Mayer. The last thing I want to see is Jennifer Lawrence giving a bitter, Jodie Fosteresque speech later in life about the impossibility of privacy in Hollywood and how hard it is to grow up in the spotlight. Until then, I think she's on her way to being a seriously timeless actress.