Career Assessment is a weekly look back at the hot, young things of yore. A tribute to both those who survived and enjoyed a fruitful career and to the others that flamed out just too soon.
Selma Blair
Character: Cecile Caldwell, a naïve rich girl who is able to woo studly Ronald (Sean Patrick Thomas) despite having the mental capacity and temperament of a six-year-old. She also makes out with Sarah Michelle Gellar’s character in a scene that won an MTV Movie Award for “Best Kiss” and became a masturbatory staple of 14-year-old boys everywhere.
Before: Blair started her career in an episode of “The Adventures of Pete and Pete.” She had a couple of unimportant roles in a few films, most notably Brain Candy and Can’t Hardly Wait.
After: Cruel Intentions was a breakthrough for Blair. She teamed up with co-star Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde, playing Witherspoon’s nemesis-turned-BFF. Then she chopped off all her hair, married Frank Zappa’s son Ahmet, and reached new audiences as Liz in Hellboy. She got divorced two years later.
Career High: She’s probably most recognizable from her role in Hellboy, but she also got to star in John Waters’ A Dirty Shame with Tracey Ullman. The movie was lame but working with those two must have been a hoot.
Career Low: After Legally Blonde, Blair did a few rom-coms. You’ve probably seen The Sweetest Thing or A Guy Thing on an airplane or on TBS in between Overboard and “Saved by the Bell: The College Years.”
Where Are They Now? Luckily, Blair avoided the Aniston curse of being typecast as crappy romantic comedy leads. She had a TV show, “Kath and Kim” with Molly Shannon that was doomed to fail (adapting foreign shows to American television is rarely a success). But Blair’s a fairly versatile actress and has a few projects in the works, mostly indie films with co-stars like Elijah Wood, Jason Lee and Juliette Lewis.
Grade: C+
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Character: Kathryn Merteuil, the popular and beautiful model student who’s secretly a cokeheaded bitch intent on destroying the lives of anyone who slights her. Also, she’s willing to offer sex to her stepbrother as part of a wager.
Before: A child actress and model from the age of four, Gellar first appeared in made for TV movies and commercials (including a notoriously anti-McDonald’s ad for Burger King) before moving on to daytime soaps like “All My Children.” Her massive pop culture breakthrough was due to the popularity of the TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and a swift move into film, including teen horror hits I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream 2 and the teenybopper She’s All That.
After: Including continuing the central role of the “Buffy” franchise, Gellar appeared in a slew of varied roles, from the live action Scooby Doo film (along with future husband Freddie Prinze Jr.), an episode of “Sex and the City,” box office successes like The Grudge and monumental failures like Southland Tales. All the while, she’s been loyal to the box that built her, TV, appearing in “The Simpsons,” “King of the Hill,” “Angel” and “SNL.”
Career High: Being the titular character of a now booming multimedia empire including TV series (and spinoffs), comic books, novel and video games is pretty high. Also, she slays vampires.
Career Low: Gellar has managed a respectable career, but clear paycheck roles like voice acting in the animated TMNT movie is a smudge on an otherwise strong filmography.
Where Are They Now? Starring in a yet-to-be-released film Veronika Decides to Die about a suicidal young woman discovering the joys of, um, not dying, and appearing in an unsold HBO pilot “The Wonderful Maladys” concerning a trio of depressed siblings in New York City. Dark stuff doesn’t always sell, vampire killer.
Grade: C+
Joshua Jackson
Character: Blaine Tuttle, which is not a name that a human being has. He’s got a pretty sweet dye job, though.
Before: One of Jackson’s earliest roles was in the feel-good hockey movie The Mighty Ducks as Charlie Conway- a role that carried on to the film’s two sequels. As he came of age, he started landing roles in teen thrillers like Scream 2 and Urban Legend as well as Cruel Intentions. Around the same time he was becoming known to teens and tweens around America as the teacher-fucking Pacey (also not a name that a human being has) on the WB teen drama “Dawson’s Creek.”
After: While continuing to play a guy whose name kind of sounds like “Pasty,” Jackson took a couple more teen thriller roles in movies like The Skulls and Gossip. None of these movies really caught on, so his cultural moment was capped with a guess appearance in a passable episode of “The Simpsons.”
Career High: Dawson’s Creek, no doubt.
Career Low: The post-”Dawson’s” years weren’t too kind to the guy, constituting roles in lots of movies nobody saw: Wes Craven’s Cursed, Battle in Seattle and Bobby.
Where Are They Now? These days, Jackson has a steady job playing the infinitely annoying Peter Bishop, the son of quirky scientist Dr. Walter Bishop on “Fringe.” It’s a role that entails explaining all the scientific stuff for the show’s dumber viewers.
Grade: C
Eric Mabius
Character: Greg McConnell is the closeted yuppie who Sebastian Valmont decides is a threat towards his efforts to seduce Annette.
Before: Mabius began his film career with a few indie projects and television appearances. His first role was in Welcome to the Dollhouse, and he also showed up in two television movies, an episode of “Chicago Hope” and starred in a memorable episode of Chris Carter’s “Millennium.”
After: Other than the lead in the third The Crow film, Mabius hasn’t made a career out of film roles. Rather, he has appeared in numerous television programs, both on network TV and cable. These include spots in “The O.C.,” “The L Word” and most recently in the popular ABC comedy “Ugly Betty.”
Career High: Fans of the short-lived “Millennium” will remember Mabius’ emotional performance as one of the highlights of the program, though “Ugly Betty” will likely remain his most well-known role.
Career Low: It may be a cash-cow, but even career TV actors should know better than to get involved with “CSI: Miami.”
Where Are They Now? Now that “Ugly Betty” said her final goodbyes Mabius has some serious free-time. So far he’s starring in the upcoming Where the Road Meets the Sun -a drama involving the aftereffects of a car crash putting a man into a coma- but doesn’t have anything else on the books.
Grade: C-
Charlie O’Connell
Character: Court Reynolds, the ex-boyfriend of Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar). Breaking up with her turns out to be an even worse idea than staying put, as it puts into motion a plan to turn his current lady (Selma Blair) into the school ho.
Before: The younger brother of Jerry O’Connell (yep, the fat kid from Stand By Me), Charlie appeared alongside big bro on the science fiction TV series “Sliders,” as well as a slew of crap shows.
After: O’Connell continued the streak of forgettable roles (pity the poor sibling) with minor roles in films like Dude, Where’s My Car? and guest appearances in shows like “Crossing Jordan.” In 2008, he finally ascended to national prominence as the titular rube on the seventh season of “The Bachelor.”
Career High: “The Bachelor” has been his highest profile gig yet and an excuse to be drooled over by impressionable young woman/aspiring skanks.
Career Low: “The Bachelor.” See above.
Where Are They Now? Currently appearing in a forthcoming TV project called “Dateahuman.com.” Probably best just to drop it at that.
Grade: D
Ryan Phillippe
Character: The womanizing Sebastian Valmont, who has a bet with his stepsister Kathryn: if he can’t successfully deflower Annette Hargrove, she gets his Jaguar. Then there’s a lot of scheming and fucking.
Before: Ryan Phillippe’s first major role was a 13-episode stint on “One Life to Live” in 1993, which he followed up with appearances in on “Matlock,” “Due South” and “Chicago Hope.” By Cruel Intentions he was building heat with high-profile gigs like I Know What You Did Last Summer and 54.
After: Right after Cruel Intentions Phillippe somehow made his way into the “legitimate actor” category, moving from teen thrillers to acting in Christopher McQuarrie’s The Way of the Gun, Robert Altman’s Gosford Park and Clint Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers. Not too shabby.
Career High: You might consider his role in the Oscar winner Crash as a high point in Phillippe’s career. I don’t. Instead, let’s go with Gosford Park, which is a film by Robert Altman and not a piece of manipulative Oscar bait by some twit who thinks “Everybody’s racist!” is a revelatory observation.
Career Low: Franklyn, a low-budget (but handsome looking) movie that combines the superheroics of Watchmen, the “clever” screenwriting of Crash and the “It’s not a cool fantasy, the guy’s just crazy” trappings of The Fisher King. It is very annoying.
Where Are They Now? Phillippe can’t not play some kind of soldier these days: Flags of Our Fathers, Stop-Loss, Franklyn and he was considered for the role of super-soldier superhero Captain America. He’s even a military guy in MacGruber.
Grade: B-
Tara Reid
Character: Marci Greenbaum, the forgettable daughter of a minor character. Another pretty face.
Before: TV work on “Day of Our Lives,” “Saved by the Bell: The New Class” and “California Dreams” soon led to the role of Bunny Lebowski in The Big Lebowski. She followed that up with roles in late-90s teen movies like Urban Legend and Cruel Intentions. Then came American Pie.
After: Lots of teen movies: Josie and the Pussycats, American Pie 2 and Van Wilder. Just like fellow party girl Lindsay Lohan, Reid managed to score a role in a Robert Altman film, except it was Dr. T and the Women.
Career High: In terms of being in a good movie? The Big Lebowski, but she’s not in it very much. Otherwise, that period of 1998 to about 2003 was pretty good for Tara Reid. After starring opposite Ashton Kutcher My Boss’s Daughter it’s pretty much downhill.
Career Low: Tara Reid played an archeologist in Alone in the Dark. No, let me rephrase that. Tara Reid played an archeologist in Uwe Boll’s Alone in the Dark. Tara Reid. Archeologist. Uwe Boll. Did I mention Christian Slater does kung fu in it? In my world this is a career high.
Where Are They Now?: Despite the plastic surgery community’s repeated attempts to kill her, Tara Reid continues to act in things. Her last major role was a recurring stint on “Scrubs,” the show which refuses to die. She continues to act in TV movies and direct-to-video dreck like Senior Skip Day. In February 2010 some computer-generated Real Doll resembling Tara Reid posed topless for Playboy.
Grade: D+
Sean Patrick Thomas
Character: The only non-white person in the movie, Ronald Clifford is Cecile’s cello teacher who begins a relationship with her, despite her mother’s racist remarks. When Kathryn tells Ronald about Cecile and Sebastian hooking up, he gets pissed off and finds Sebastian to fight him, ultimately resulting in Sebastian’s death by car.
Before: Thomas had a minor role in Conspiracy Theory with pre-crazy Mel Gibson. He also played the obnoxious guy in Can’t Hardly Wait who is obsessed with reminiscing about the good old days of school.
After: SPT was the break-out lead in the teen romance Save the Last Dance. The movie made him a Tiger Beat poster boy until he landed the role of Detective Temple Page in the TV series “The District.” He also did a couple of bad horror movies and both Barbershop films.
Career High: Save the Last Dance wasn’t an amazing movie, but it’s the only movie besides Cruel Intentions that people can remember he was in. Did anyone even watch “The District?”
Career Low: Tie between Halloween: Resurrection (arguably Jamie Lee Curtis’ career low as well), and Honeydripper, which proved that just because a girl was on “America’s Next Top Model,” that doesn’t mean she should be allowed to attempt to act, especially with a cringe-inducing Southern accent.
Where Are They Now? Awaiting the birth of his second child and (presumably) sitting by the phone, hoping to hear that the pilot of “The Line” got picked up and he can continue his minor role in that for a few miserable seasons until its inevitable cancellation.
Grade: D
Reese Witherspoon
Character: Annette Hargrove, a chaste virgin dedicated to staying that way and the target of Sebastian Valmont’s womanizing gaze.
Before: Not yet a rom-com icon, Witherspoon and her youthful blond bob appeared in a few light dramas prior to Cruel Intentions beginning in 1991 as a 14 year old tomboy (The Man in the Moon). She starred in Fear with Mark Wahlberg in 1996 and Pleasantville a few years later.
After: Witherspoon’s turn as Tracy Flick in Election shocked audiences and secured future parts in American Psycho and Little Nicky. The movie that truly made her famous, Legally Blonde, came soon after. She returned for Legally Blonde 2 and continues to focus on similar popcorn-flicks and light romantic-comedies, showing up in a few impressive dramas in between the big paychecks. She also married and divorced Cruel Intentions co-star Ryan Phillipe.
Career High: Witherspoon’s performance in Election earned her a Golden Globe nomination and a notable spot in the annals of Hollywood’s Great Bitchy Characters. More recently, Witherspoon reminded audiences she can be just as impressive on screen today; her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line won her an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Career Low: Though one of her more popular films, Sweet Home Alabama tarnishes an otherwise impressive career to date. Legally Blonde has some wry humor counteracting its sickly-sweet plot, but Sweet Home Alabama is just bad.
Where Are They Now? Witherspoon has four films in production and is attached to another 12. That makes her one of the more productive ladies in Hollywood even if her career choices are a bit spotty. She also keeps busy with the Children’s Defense Fund, charitable Avon Foundation and her production company Type A Films.
Grade: B+
