14 Awesome Performances In Otherwise Awful 2015 Movies

6. Olivia Wilde - Love The Coopers

The Movie: If slightly less awful than the very worst mainstream holiday flicks, Love the Coopers is a meandering and trite film about the "true meaning of Christmas" that spins its wheels for far too long, offering up only one at all interesting subplot, while wasting an incredible cast in the process, including Diane Keaton, John Goodman, Alan Arkin, Amanda Seyfried and Marisa Tomei. As a comedy and as a drama, it's not particularly effective, and more tediously safe than anything. The Performance: Olivia Wilde plays Eleanor, the quirky, cynical member of the titular family, who is pretty much the only character in the entire movie with any charm or likability: everyone else is either annoying, whiny or a total a**hole. Sure, she's easy on the eyes, but she also delivers a genuinely enjoyable performance, which considering the material she's working with is pretty much a Christmas miracle in of itself. If a great actor is measured by what they can do with sub-par writing, then Wilde cements herself as an all-timer here. But seriously, she provides temporary relief any time she's on screen with her considerable charisma and attention-grabbing qualities. Again, not an awards winner, but she's highly entertaining all the same, riffing on contemporary relationships, right-wing politics and everything in-between.