Actresses hope to heat up cooled-down movie careers
Kim Basinger Lara Flynn Boyle
Goldie Hawn
Sanaa Lathan
Jennifer Lopez
Christina Ricci
Although only 22, Ricci seems to have been around forever.
She began as a child star and scored solid hits with “Mermaids” (1990), “The Addams Family” (1991), “Casper” (1995), “Now and Then” (1995) and “The Ice Storm” (1997). Her adult career began with “Buffalo ’66” (1998), an offbeat tale about a recently paroled man (model-turned-actor Vincent Gallo) who kidnaps a young woman so that he can introduce her to his indifferent parents as his girlfriend.
With her laid-back charm and moody attitude, Ricci enjoyed modest success in films such as John Waters’ “Pecker” (1998) and Tim Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow” (1999), but she stumbled in “Bless the Child” (2000) and “The Man Who Cried” (2000). She produced and starred in “Prozac Nation,” based on Elizabeth Wurtzel’s novel about young people hooked on anti-depressants during the 1980s.
Although completed, the film version of “Prozac Nation” is now in limbo due to Wurtzel, who made some negative comments about America after the 9/11 tragedy. The distributor decided to pull it from the release schedule before too much controversy swirled around Wurtzel’s negative words. The film may never play in theaters.
Despite that setback, there’s still a major bright spot for Ricci this summer.
On July 19, she will star in the dark comedy “Pumpkin,” a story about a college student who agrees to work with a mentally challenged discus-thrower (newcomer Hank Harris) in order to impress some sorority sisters. The callous coed, of course, soon sees the inner beauty and sensitive nature of the man and – to the shock of her college friends and parents – embarks on a relationship with him.
The edgy material sounds perfect for Ricci, who could become a romantic leading lady if “Pumpkin” enjoys broad success.