For those of us who grew up watching movies in the 80s and, above all, in the 90s, Jamie Lee Curtis wore something different from the rest of the actresses. She was one of the few performers of action, films like “Aço Azul”, “Assédio Fatal” and the excellent “A Verdade da Lie” gave her a unique place in the cinema of the time. And, meanwhile, she made comedies like “A fish called Wanda”, the romantic comedy “Forever young” or the youth drama (and too sad for the target audience) “My first kiss”. There is a golden period there between 1987-1995. Since then, she has entered a phase of ups and downs. One thing was constant: “Halloween”.
John Carpenter’s original “Halloween” was his feature film debut in 1978. Laurie is an iconic movie character, not just horror movies, but all of cinema. She is the commercial movie foundation of a character archetype, and to be fair, few actresses have done it as well as Jamie Lee Curtis (Jenna Ortega walks close behind in the “Screams” revival). “Halloween” has been so constant that in the same year as “Everything and everywhere at the same time”, the film that secured her first nomination and the first Oscar of her career, she entered “Halloween – The Final”, the eighth of the series in his career. The Oscar for Best Supporting Actress was no surprise. It was meant for him.
It is not a career award. He’s not on the resurrection ship either. Jamie Lee Curtis’ career has constant ups and downs, who goes with the wind and habits that, at times, took her away from other goals: she was an alcoholic for many years and during a stage of her life she was addicted to opioids, a victim of pain medication advertising in the United States.
Ups and downs have never been a problem for Jamie Lee Curtis. There are other things to keep you entertained, like children’s books. Regularly published by HarperCollins since 1993 (last is 2018), always with illustrator Laura Cornell. He also joined the podcast trend, with the highly recommended “Letter From Camp”, which can be heard on Audible, and also recommended for the youngest.
And Oscar, why only now, as an IRS inspector playing multiple versions of herself in the “Everything Everywhere at Once” multiverse? Because the film that arrived tonight with the most nominations was looking for a cast that felt comfortable with Daniels’ roller coaster, which reinvents the “Matrix” for the age of the multiverse, smartphones and social networks.
Jamie Lee Curtis then had the opportunity to leave behind the -respectable- record of “Halloween” and, above all, a host of supporting roles over the last two decades that didn’t leave much memory. Unlike many actors who hit the nominations late in their careers, Jamie Lee Curtis wasn’t looking for a renaissance: he was always there, making good decisions and bad, keeping other careers running in parallel. He was waiting for the role that would remind him of what he did so well in the golden moments of his career, when he mixed humor with unscrupulous action. In the 1990s, a movie like “True Lie” would never make it to the Oscars, but in 2023, it might with “Everywhere at the Same Time.”
Jamie Lee Curtis has forever changed the way we watch horror movies. He faced fear when fear lived next door and taught audiences how to overcome it, even if he had to go back there seven more times. As she did so well in fiction, perhaps in real life she feared the roles that could lead her to another type of recognition. She didn’t need to accept them, just find the movie that she would recognize her.
Source: Observadora
