6. Jennifer Lopez
This one has the potential to be a little controversial, as most people dont even know Jennifers best work as an actress. To the majority of the world, shes just Jenny From the Block, the pop-star-turned-American-Idol-judge who keeps trying to make the worlds next great dance hit. Of course, I cant deny the pleasures of Waiting for Tonight, but as a whole, her music hasnt left a mark on the world comparable to her contemporaries. Her acting, on the other hand, had the potential to fill that void. In her early years, she seemed marked for greatness between her roles in Out of Sight and Selena. Even Anaconda, not exactly an actors movie, has become somewhat of a creature feature classic. After her music took off, she still had a few mainstream hits in The Wedding Planner, Maid in Manhattan, and one of my personal guilty pleasures, Enough. But it all came to an infamous crashing halt with Gigli, a movie that has truly become synonymous with the word bad. Unlike Ben Affleck, who managed to turn things around and make a nice career for himself, J. Lo has fumbled the recovery indefinitely, starring in such non-events as Shall We Dance, Monster-in-Law and 2010s blink-and-youll-miss-it The Back-Up Plan.
Is there hope for her yet?: The future isnt looking too bright, but there are small glimmers of hope. Lets get the negative out of the way first: her only upcoming project on IMDb is Parker, a Jason Jason Statham heist movie (yes, it really has become its own genre). I cant envision a world in which Jenny receives much acclaim from that one. On the plus side: she recently exited American Idol for a number of reasons, one of which was focusing on her acting career. Now, we have heard countless attempted crossover starlets say that, but few really follow through. However, lets not forget that Jennifer started as an actress not the other way around. Maybe she can finally rediscover what helped her break through to begin with. In addition, unlike her colleague Cameron Diaz, Jennifer was really one of the few good things about What To Expect When You're Expecting. Again, not a great movie, but when you have critics singling you out as an elevating factor, its never a bad thing. Lastly, she is attached to produce a live-action adaptation of Carmen Sandiego, but hasnt committed to starring yet. I sort of hope she doesnt I cant imagine that turning out well for her.
My suggestion: PLEASE, Jennifer, stop focusing your energy on the dance clubs, and start focusing it on the movie theatres. If you really want to focus on your acting career, back it up by making good choices. Steven Soderbergh seems game for anything these days... maybe you can convince him to go for Round Two?