Jennifer Coolidge names the one movie that makes her cry
Thanks to the success of The White Lotus, Jennifer Coolidge has recently received a resurgence in popularity, nabbing a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe for her role as Tanya in the dark comedy drama. The actor is best known for her distinctive voice and character work, lending herself to Hollywood successes such as American Pie in 1999 and Legally Blonde in 2001. Her performance as Stifler’s mother in the former movie acted as her big break, a role that she reprised in its subsequent sequels to much success.
However, when Coolidge attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, she dreamed of becoming a dramatic actor, taking inspiration from Meryl Streep. Yet she quickly shifted towards character acting, demonstrating a natural talent for embodying roles far removed from herself. The actor’s first on-screen performance was in Seinfeld, playing Jodi, Jerry’s masseuse girlfriend who is reluctant to give him a massage.
Despite her frequent appearances in successful media over the past two decades, from teen comedy A Cinderella Story to CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls, Coolidge has only recently garnered much overdue critical acclaim. Starring alongside actors such as F. Murray Abraham, Meghann Fahy and Aubrey Plaza, Coolidge’s role in The White Lotus as an eccentric multi-millionaire has been widely praised and loved by critics and fans alike.
The time it has taken for Jennifer Coolidge’s talents to be appreciated is indicative of Hollywood’s gender biases. Whereas comedic male actors have been widely praised over the years, it has taken two decades for Coolidge, who plays her ultra-feminine, often ‘ditzy’ characters with incredible nuance and depth, to receive the recognition she so rightly deserves.
Nonetheless, this newfound acclaim has led to a wealth of interviews with the star, whose infectious personality has garnered even more fans. In an interview with 20 Questions on Deadline, Coolidge revealed the movie that most makes her cry. Firstly, she stated: “I can’t handle any movie with something sad that happens to an animal,” agreeing with the interviewer that films such as Lassie are instant tearjerkers.
“There’s some movies that are just overwhelmingly devastating; you just can’t recover from them,” she said. “I think Cinema Paradiso, I remember crying so hard at the end of that movie. I do like sad music, but sad movies are really hard to handle sometimes”. Cinema Paradiso, directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, was released in 1988 and centres around a young boy and his relationship with an ageing cinema projectionist.
The movie won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the coveted Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix, alongside countless other accolades, such as five BATFAs. Cinema Paradiso is notable for its devastatingly upsetting ending, which is aided by Ennio Morricone’s utterly moving score.
