Catherine Keener is somewhat of an underappreciated actress. She used to have major roles in wide-released movies, but she’s done several performances in independent movies, often playing moms. She has potential to be in bigger movies, but she never does them anymore. She’s beautiful, talented, worthy of being a lead character, and has two Oscar nominations to her name – both for Best Supporting Actress. The first being from 1999’s Being John Malkovich, which wasn’t a bad performance. I saw that movie, but I wasn’t into the performance enough. It’s an odd movie to begin with. Her next one was from 2005 from the biopic Capote, which I haven’t seen. Since major movies in 2005, she’s been starring in indie movies that are not widely recognized. It seems like her name is dropping when it was barely big enough to begin with. Below I decided to list some of my favorite performances of hers and explain what I like about them. I didn’t bother to rank them or anything. The movies are listed chronologically, the first one being the earliest and so on.
S1M0NE, 2002
S1M0NE is really for Al Pacino as he’s the headliner of the movie, but Keener does play an essential role. She plays Pacino’s ex-wife Elaine, who’s also the head of a production company. I like movies that take place in the Hollywood industry, and one of the things I admire about her character is that as a woman, she owns her own studio. As Elaine, she stands strong about wanting to meet Simone despite that she doesn’t exist. She feels that she deserves to meet Simone but ends up getting into a conflict with Pacino’s Viktor. It’s actually the movie where I first heard of her.
Lovely & Amazing, 2002
This is not only one of her indie movies, but one of the ones under the direction of Nicole Holofecener, which she’s done frequently. Keener wasn’t too essential to the storyline, but she was still part of it. The movie centers around a mother (played by Brenda Blethyn) and her three children, Keener being one of them. It was a simple indie performance that nominated Keener for an Independent Spirit Award. It was an OK performance, but had the movie been wide enough, it probably would have had a slightly different plot and storyline.
The 40-Year-Old Virgin, 2005
Now this one was a wide release and one of my favorites of hers. When we think of a Judd Apatow comedy, we always associate it with being a raunchy, dumb comedy with an abundance of sex jokes. However, with Keener playing a major role, she makes said comedy to be like a sappy romantic comedy. While Andy’s (Steve Carell) friends are talking about nothing besides sex, Keener’s Trish starts a simple, casual rapport with him and becomes his girlfriend as the movie progresses. I’d say it’s a step up from the indie movies she’s been doing at the time. I mean this as a joke, but because of what her character stands for (sweet and sentimental as opposed to raunchy and reckless), she could have been worthy of an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress…OK, it’s kind of a half joke, but it’s still a really good role, and I’m glad she played it.
Please Give, 2010
This was another indie movie directed by Nicole Holofcener. She and Oliver Platt play a married couple who own a furniture store, but they also own an apartment with an old lady who are waiting for her to die. This was another mom role because they have a teenage daughter essential to the role. It’s a good performance, but not a movie I’d say I love, but I do wish that it would have been a bigger one.
Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding, 2012
Now this is another one I love. Keener plays Diane, an uppity woman from New York who goes to visit her hippie mother (played by Jane Fonda) who still acts like she’s living in the ’60s after Diane’s husband suggests divorce. The movie has a few storylines to it, but Diane stands strong throughout it no matter how much her mother judges her and introduces her to other men. It’s yet another indie movie, which I’d categorize as a dramedy. It’s a serious movie with moments back up by light-hearted moments. Had the movie been wife enough when released, she could’ve been nominated for Best Supporting Actress. This time I mean that seriously. I said the same thing for The 40-Year-Old Virgin, but that was my way of saying how good she was. This movie is meant to be a lot more serious than that, so an Oscar nomination would’ve actually been worth it.
Enough Said, 2013
Keener’s role in this is interesting. Some of the other ones I mentioned were ones where she was essential to the plots, but only part of the main story. Lovely & Amazing and Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding centered around family, with each member going through their own overlapping storylines. In this case, the story centered around Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini’s characters, but she was the famous twist in their relationship that makes the whole movie what it is. And no surprise, but it was directed by Nicole Holofecener. Keener may not be the main star, but she most definitely makes the movie what it is. It’s one of the reasons I love this movie.
Catherine Keener is certainly talented, I’ll give her that. But I feel bad for her because she doesn’t get much credit as an actress. She has so much potential, and was worthy of a few Oscar nominations. But most people I know aren’t really familiar with her unless I name a movie of hers. Hopefully, she’ll eventually play a big role in a wide-released movie. But when will that be?
The Film Guy 