I’m doing a project on Jennifer Garner for my drama class. I have to write a report on her and I’m supposed to ask other people for their opinions on her to see how she’s seen in the general public. Personally, I think Jennifer Garner is a very versatile actress, going from ass-kicking Sydney Bristow to 13-year-old Jenna Rinks. I thought she would be way too serious to play a 13-year-old girl like that, but she pulled it off really well in 13 Going On 30. So, tell me what you think of Jennifer Garner (on her acting ability, not her looks). Thanks. 
I imagine she’s a good actress, but she should pick some more demanding projects than 13 Going On 30 or Elektra if she wants more people to know it.
Exactly. It’s kind of hard to tell how good an actress she is with such bad scripts. Give her a few more years and see what develops, is my opinion. Of course, I’ve never seen Alias (shut up! It’s on my list.), so take that however you like.
Also, I just have to ask: What was the assignment, exactly? Was it something like “Pick an actor/actress you like/admire and write a report on her”? If so (if you picked her, I mean), why would you pick Jennifer Garner, who in a lot of ways is still basically untested as an actress? She didn’t start acting until ten years ago (and most of that was on TV), so what about her led you to pick her?
If you didn’t pick her, then my apologies. Although the synergy between her and your screen name is a leetle to close for coincidences…
I think she has a very expressive face. A lot of the dialogue on the show is technical, so it’s hard to respond to it, but when it comes to personal stuff she seems to show some deep emotion. I haven’t seen the movies, though.
Well, yes, I admit it: my screen name comes from the movie, back when I was obsessed with it. Anyways, the assignment was to pick any actor/actress and I chose Jennifer Garner because I think she’s an interesting and versatile actress. She’s one of the few who can go from different genres easily. At least, from what I’ve seen of her.
Well, OK, but at the risk of sounding like a movie snob (all together now: TOO LATE!), what about:
Meryl Streep
Glenn Close
Katharine Hepburn
Jodie Foster
Holly Hunter
Ingrid Bergman
Grace Kelly
Sigourney Weaver
I know, I know, you’ve already picked her and started the assignment. And, though I realize it sounds like I’m being impossibly snobby and snarky, I really don’t mean it.
But there are better, more versatile actresses out there.
Oh, I know there are a lot more better actresses than Jen Garner out there. But, she seems like a very promising actress. I don’t know, but I’m just very drawn to her. And you didn’t sound snarky/snobby at all, IMHO. 
Oh, good. And you’re right; she seems like she could have promise. You know, unlike someone like Britney Spears.
Well, I hope your report goes well!
Thanks. I’m still working on it, of course. I can’t believe I used to like Britney Spears. She had promise when she first started out, but now, she’s just a big flop with even bigger breasts. :rolleyes:
I think it’s more her look that allows her to move from genre to genre. There’s nothing I’ve seen in her career thus far that would have me categorize her in the great actress category. Everything she’s done just seemed tolerable.
She’s decent. I’m not sure the best way to explain myself. I guess the best way to explain it is that someone like Meryl Streep has a much higher sampling frequency. She’s much more capable of capturing all of the little subtleties. Does that make any sense to anyone?
Jennifer Garner is a ways away from greatness.
And here I was, ready to begin my dissertation on the genius of Britney Spears the triple threat: Singer, Actor, and Semiconductor Physics expert! Damn you, Lindy.
As for Jen Garner: You really can’t completely ignore the sex appeal. It’s part of the roles she has had as an actress so far. This season of Alias is definitely ramped up sexually (Mmm, her on the train keeping the scientist busy in a white babydoll nightie…), “And I’ve got these great boobs to fill it out!” in 13 Going On 30, all the tight leather in Daredevil and Elektra. It’s there. As far as acting chops go, she’s good but not great. Not yet, anyway. There is definite pathos in Alias, and her contribution is undeniable. She definitely went up in my estimation seeing her do comedy in 13 Going On 30, too. Whether she lasts past the time where she is a vixen, we’ll see.
Not to sound like I’m picking on dare_devil but she’s still in her mid-teens and I assume you’re probably a bit older judging by your own list.
As for Garner, I have no opinion of her other than on her looks, which I consider only average – many women in everyday life are just as attractive, if not much moreso – and while I liked DareDevil (that makes two of us), it was due more to Clark Duncan, Farrell, and Affleck. Garner pretty much just faded into the background to me.
I’ve not seen *Alias *though, and I think I have 13 Going on 30 in my Netflix queue but if I do, it’s probably somewhere around 200.
I think she shows potential. Alias and Daredevil/Elektra are simple action fare with poor scripts, but 13 going on 30 showed some promise. She can do funny and sweet well. I haven’t seen her do anything really smashing, and type casting may keep her from anything even close. She does have potential though.
I think she’s as talented (and as pretty) as thousands of women in Hollywood right now, just luckier. But then I always thought Julia Roberts couldn’t act and she has an Oscar. I don’t think Tom Cruise is a great actor and he has several nominations. But she does have really great charisma.
I watched a few seasons of Alias and generally liked it, but I didn’t really like the way Sydney behaved. I don’t know whether it was the way her character was written or Jennifer Garner’s acting ability, but she always seemed a bit over-dramatic and sappy to me. I guess I was personally expecting a more calm and collected agent (someone like Jack Bristow). But like I said, I don’t know whether Jennifer made her that way or whether Sydney was intentionally made to be that way (she was pulled straight out of college, after all).
Maybe 13 Going on 30 was kinda similar… in both roles, she seemed somewhat little-girl-ish to me. But that’s just me.
She is a nice actress for the roles she gets. She might need to get some different roles as she ages. If she ages gracefully within the ‘art’, then that will speak to her abilities as an actress.
If Garner is such a “bad” choice, doesn’t that make her perfect? Believe me, I’m sure the professor has seen enough reports on Hepburn. Teachers get bored by tedium, too.
Besides, what’s this untested nonsense? She’s the lead actress on a hit television show and several major flicks. I once saw a film critic talking about the alledged lack of acting material in Lethal Weapon. He compared Gibson’s suicide scene to Shakespear and Gibson came out favorably.
Considering how unbelievably stupid the writing in Alias is, the fact that Garner can even say some of her lines with a straight face speaks wonders to her acting ability.
I think she has potential but is really untested.
I would like to see her in a non-kick-ass drama. where she plays the bad girl, but that will probably never happen.
I never thought Hilary Swank would end up a two-time Academy Award-winning actress after seeing her in The Next Karate Kid and Beverly Hills, 90210, but here we are. Perhaps the same might happen to Jennifer Garner.