Five Underrated Films of Birthday Girl Jennifer Aniston
On Jennifer Aniston’s birthday, we look back upon some of the star’s lesser known performances.
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When we talk about birthday girl Jennifer Aniston, the first role that crosses our mind is always that of Rachel, her character in the popular TV show Friends and then of course we remember some of her popular films like Bruce Almighty (2003), Marley and Me (2008), We’re the Millers (2013) and a couple of others. But did you know she has 43 films to her credit?
In 2011 Men’s Health named her the ‘Sexiest Woman of All Time’, in 2004 she was called the ‘Most Beautiful Woman’ by People Magazine, which was also the year she got her Hollywood Walk of Fame Star. And of course she is among the highest paid actresses in Hollywood.
As Rachel, oops! we mean Jennifer turns 51, we get you her five most underrated films:
1. Office Space (1999)
Office Space is an American dark comedy on the everyday work life in a typical mid-to-late-1990s software company. Aniston plays Joanna, a waitress at Chotchkie’s, which is something like TGIF. She might just remind you of Rachel in her waitress avatar at ‘Central Perk’ in Friends. Office Space got a 79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 95 reviews, most of them praising Aniston’s work. If you’re a fan of Jen then you absolutely must watch this film.
Watch Jennifer Aniston get dramatic in a scene from Office Space.
2. The Good Girl (2002)
This is an absolutely fantastic drama directed by Miguel Arteta, and it stars Jake Gyllenhaal opposite Jennifer Aniston. Yet another film of Jen that was very well received by critics, it received 81% positive reviews from 156 critics who reviewed and rated this film.
In The Good Girl, Jennifer plays a 30-year-old girl who lives in a small town in Texas with her husband, she works at Retail Rodeo, a big box store where she ends up having a relationship with the newly appointed cashier Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal). In his review Roger Ebert said, “Jennifer Aniston has at last decisively broken with her Friends image in an independent film of satiric fire and emotional turmoil. It will no longer be possible to consider her in the same way”. Need we say more?
3. The Break-Up (2006)
Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston star in this adorable romantic comedy, The Break-Up. The two buy a condominium and start living together. She manages an art gallery and he works as a tour guide. Her biggest complaint is that he doesn’t physically contribute enough at home. Arguments that start with small things like who will do the dishes reach a break-up point but the problem is, neither will leave the condo! And then follows the hilarious torture since they decide to live as roommates. This film received mixed reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and has only a 33% rating based on 189 reviews. But trust me, Jen fans will love this film!
4. Friends With Money (2006)
This was the opening film at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, though it got mostly positive reviews, it ended up getting a limited release in North America. The Rotten Tomatoes aggregator rated it 72% based on 151 reviews. Olivia (Jennifer Aniston) has rich friends but she works as a maid in Los Angeles who finds it tough to make ends meet. Because of the disparity, she ends up having fights with her good friends. She feels they are giving her a tough time. And that’s not the only problem, she doesn’t have the money or love!
5. Cake (2014)
An American comedy-drama, Cake, directed by Daniel Barnz debuted in the Special Presentation sections of the 2014 Toronto Film Festival. For her role in Cake, Aniston got nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe Awards. In the film, Claire (Aniston) finds it tough to come to terms, not only with the aftermath of the car accident that killed her son and left her partially disabled by chronic pain. Cake shows how Claire’s pain and grief affect her behavior, her relationships with other people. At the Toronto premiere, the cast received a standing ovation. The performances of Aniston and Adriana Barraza were highly praised by some critics.
(This article is from The Quint’s archives and was first published on 11 February 2016. It is now being republished to mark Jennifer Aniston’s birthday.)
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