Reese Witherspoon: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

"I€™ve done some movies that aren€™t challenging at all,€ a newly reinvigorated Reese Witherspoon confessed in an interview with Vulture a few months back. That's most certainly true, although recently the actress has dug in deep for a set of unquestionably challenging projects. In addition to a starring role in the Lost Boys of Sudan drama The Good Lie, Witherspoon produced David Fincher€™s stellar missing-wife thriller Gone Girl and pops up in Paul Thomas Anderson€™s Inherent Vice. She also took on her guttiest role in years with Wild, which is based on the best-selling memoir by Cheryl Strayed and casts Witherspoon as a soul-searching woman embarking on a thousand-mile hike. Breaking into Hollywood at age 14 with the 1991 coming-of-age drama, The Man In The Moon, Witherspoon originally made her name with a double dose of dark teen drama: Cruel Intentions and the wry Election in 1999. With 2001€s Legally Blonde, Witherspoon ascended to the A-list, masterfully portraying a ditzy blonde sorority girl-turned legal star to much applause. Subsequently, those kinds of characters - buoyant, sharp, tough, and not to be underestimated - became Witherspoon€™s movie star brand, up to and including her Oscar-winning role of June Carter Cash in 2005€™s Walk The Line. Then, just as her career was at its peak, everything seemed to go wrong: a divorce, box-office bombs galore, and an unfortunate run-in with the police. However, the actress seems to be back on track now, and to celebrate her return to greatness, here are five awesome performances by Ms. Witherspoon... and five that sucked.