We’re six weeks into our Aniston investigation and it turns out there’s a lot of the nineties still to get through. With that in mind, we delve into what might be deemed half an Aniston, where our favourite Friend doesn’t get the screen time she deserves.
FILM: She’s the One
DIRECTOR: Edward Burns
YEAR: 1996
CHARACTER NAME AND PROFESSION: Renee, seemingly of no profession.
PLOT SUMMARY: Brothers Mickey (Edward Burns) and Francis (Michael McGlone) each have romantic ‘dilemmas’. Mickey recently returned from a three year trip he took to recover from breaking up with his fiancée Heather (Cameron Diaz), works as a cabbie and one day decides to marry a beautiful fare, named appropriately – Hope (Maxine Bahns) – when she asks him to drive her all the way to someone else’s wedding. Francis is a wall-street broker, married to Renee (Aniston), but having an affair with Heather. He berates Mickey constantly for not having financial success, despite being a miserable, cheating bastard. They take advice from their father, played by John Mahoney. So far, so nineties.
CHARACTER TRAITS: Renee is sharp, witty, kind and loyal to her husband.
NOTES ON PERFORMANCE: Aniston is on pretty good form here, her comedic skills are used well in the scenes with Francis which expose his conservative views, consistently giving her the upper hand, though there’s little here to distinguish her from Rachel Green. She works hard to convince us that she’s still in love with Francis but doesn’t totally convince, mainly due to McGlone’s repetitive performance.
NOTES ON FILM: Diaz and Aniston are the only highlights here. They’re both confident, kind, assertive women, whose actions expose the asshole that is Francis. Which makes you wonder – why is this film about him? Also, Mickey isn’t that much better, yes he doesn’t cheat on anyone, but he has almost no presence, making his double act with McGlone one of absence and overbearing, the result of which is one frustrating film. Interestingly (or is it?) Burns seems to have directed another film before this also co-starring Bahns and McGlone, called The Brothers McMullen (1995), about three Irish-Catholic brothers. There’s also The Fitzgerald Family Christmas (2012), directed by Burns, also co-starring McGlone about a family and their problems. I would never have thought after seeing She’s the One, that I’d be dying for another TWO films from Burns about angsty brothers.
CONCLUSION: Aniston all but disappears from the film in the last act, which is a major disappointment. More Aniston! Less Burns!
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