# What's the big deal with Renee Zellweger? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 18, 2001, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491 "2001-03-18T19:50:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/1 "2001-03-18T19:50:19Z")
I don’t get it. She is so totally ordinary looking. Why are guys getting so excited over RZ? She is not someone I would give a second glance at if I passed her on the street. What has she got going for her except being blonde? And what is the big deal about blondes anyway? Brunettes are much cooler. I have just two words to say to you: **Sophia Loren**. That says it all. Then there’s Elizabeth Hurley. Salma Hayek. _ **Penélope** _ fuckin’ _ **Cruz** _. Oh mama. Let me pause typing while my heartbeat slows down. There. I often don’t agree with Camille Paglia, but she was right about one thing: these days Hollywood is too much obsessed with insipid blondes at the expense of really talented non-blondes. I will never forgive Helen Hunt for taking the Oscar away from **Kate Winslet** who really deserved it. (I am a total Kate Winslet devotee). I’m not against Renee Zellweger, I’m not saying she’s ugly, she’s just ordinary and nothing great. America could do much better. ---
**Author:** ![magdalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/2 "2001-03-18T19:53:17Z")
::ticking off the seconds till **andros** releases Jim-Jim and Precious from their cages:: Jomo Mojo, you’ll LIKE Jim-Jim and Precious… Signed, A cute brunette ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/3 "2001-03-18T20:15:15Z")
Renee who? ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/4 "2001-03-18T20:20:31Z")
Now, I have to say, blondes are OK, but brunettes certainly are just fine as well, not to mention red-heads! I don’t even object to your characterization of how any particular actress looks. But on the Oscar thing, \ . . . . long pause . . . Kate Winslet? Acting. You know, thespian arts? It’s a talent thing. You could shave Helen Hunt bald and it wouldn’t help Kate in the comparison. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/5 "2001-03-18T20:26:40Z")
Renee was the love interest in _Jerry McGuire_ and _Me, Myself and Irene_ to name two. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/6 "2001-03-18T21:01:02Z")
Uh, Helen Hunt cannot act. (Neither can Kate Winslet) As far as I can tell, it came down to whoever turned the most tricks got the Oscar. Hell, that’s probably what their whole careers are based on. Do you have a more plausible explanation? Because Helen Hunt has exactly one character (Jamie Buchman) that she plays over and over and over. Dying your hair a horrid shade of white does not mean you are “acting”. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/7 "2001-03-18T21:06:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pepperlandgirl \* > \*\*Uh, Helen Hunt cannot act. (Neither can Kate Winslet) > As far as I can tell, it came down to whoever turned the most tricks got the Oscar. Hell, that’s probably what their whole careers are based on. Do you have a more plausible explanation? Because Helen Hunt has exactly one character (Jamie Buchman) that she plays over and over and over. Dying your hair a horrid shade of white does not mean you are “acting”. > \*\* Nonsense. Ever see [The Waterdance](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0105789)? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/8 "2001-03-18T21:13:33Z")
Not to mention that acting does not mean you have to put on a fake accent, gain weight, and have a physical affliction. In fact, doing that often makes it Acting, and I prefer acting, myself. Helen Hunt may not be a master of dialects with a wide variety of different twitches, but when she plays an emotion, I believe it utterly. THAT is acting, and she’s damn good at it. Especially in As Good As it Gets. I BELIEVED that woman and her feelings for her son. (Of course, the ones who can do it all are the very top tier. And that would be…Meryl Streep.) stoid ---
**Author:** ![Falcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/49beb7/32.png) [@Falcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falcon)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/9 "2001-03-18T22:05:47Z")
Glad to see you’re still “not doing the Pit,” Stoid. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/10 "2001-03-18T22:11:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by wring \* > \*\*Renee was the love interest in _Jerry McGuire_ and _Me, Myself and Irene_ to name two. \*\* Renee is also a love interest in _Tripler - A Memoir of a Moron_ Tripler Like, WOW, what a fox! Ha cha chahh! ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/11 "2001-03-18T22:25:46Z")
Stoid, when Helen Hunt “acts” she is doing the same thing Keanu Reeves does, which is nothing. Her characters are _flat_ because they don’t have a sense of “identity”. Here character is _As Good As it Gets_ is the same character in “Mad About You.” Can she demonstrate emotion? Of course she can. And I can cry at the drop of a hat, that doesn’t mean I’m an actress. All she does is present lines and words, properly inflicted with emotion. She doesn’t present an _identity_ for the character that is supposedly saying those lines. As a result, her movies and her performance fall flat every time. It’s her job to make me believe I’m watching a mother of a dying son, not Helen Hunt saying the words that a mother might say. Oh and Stoid? Welcome back to the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/12 "2001-03-18T22:28:51Z")
I think Zellweger’s okay…of course, I’ve only seen her in one movie (“Jerry McGuire”). I’d take her anyday over Demi Moore, who is the most overrated actress (and I use that term loosely) in Hollywood. I adore Kate Winslet despite her stint in “Titanic.” I would consider becoming a lesbian if Elizabeth Hurley would agree to be my lover she’s so drop-dead beautiful; however [whisper] she can’t act [/whisper]. ---
**Author:** ![Bboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@Bboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bboy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/13 "2001-03-18T22:35:01Z")
> [@](#): > > **Jomo Mojo** said: > I don’t get it. She is so totally ordinary looking. Maybe its because does a _whole lot_ with ‘ordinary looking’. She seems a bit more real than the Goddess types too. What I want to know is, what’s the big deal with Julia Roberts? Give me a girl with squinty eyes, stringy hair, a big, hooked, broken-looking schnozz, a crooked smile, and a bad case of asymmetry any day. That’s right…Ellen Barkin. _she’s HOT !_ On the other hand…Linda Hamilton!, and I don’t mind if she _can_ kick my butt. As far as color goes, I don’t prefer blondes, I like 'em all. I just thank God for variety. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/14 "2001-03-18T23:15:23Z")
> [@](#): > > As far as color goes, I don’t prefer blondes, I like 'em all. I just thank God for variety. Hear! Hear! I love variety!! But, c’mon man! Julia Roberts is _HOT_!! ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/15 "2001-03-19T00:00:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Falcon \* > \*\*Glad to see you’re still “not doing the Pit,” Stoid. :rolleyes: \*\* Now, now…I think what Stoid said was: > [@](#): > > Cuz I don’t “do” the pit **when it’s about me any more.** > > I’m here to enjoy myself, not be publicly eviscerated for the fun of it by my fellow dopers. Strangely enough, I don’t find that fun. > > So I don’t know what you wanted to say, and if the only place you are capable of saying it is in the Pit, I really don’t care. What you think of me is none of my business, just as what I think of you and the rest of the pit flaming crew is none of yours, and I plan to keep it that way. So…I don’t think she is acting contrary to what she said. However, I do think you are correct in the other thread, Falcon, in that one should respond in some meaningful form to flames in the Pit, even if one thinks they are merely public eviceration. ---
**Author:** ![Skwerl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Skwerl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skwerl)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/16 "2001-03-19T00:35:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \* > \*\*And what is the big deal about blondes anyway? Brunettes are much cooler. I have just two words to say to you: **Sophia Loren**. That says it all. \*\* Okay, that’s one thing I just cannot understand. Sophia Loren may be good looking for her age, ie young looking, but she just isn’t that attractive, IMO. I just don’t see where she’s good looking, besides her youthfulness. Maybe I’ll see it when I’m older. But otherwise you’re right on about brunettes! ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/17 "2001-03-19T01:04:09Z")
I meant Sophia Loren back during the Kennedy Administration. When Bob Dylan sang in praise of her in “I Shall Be Free”: > [@](#): > > Well, my telephone rang it would not stop > It’s President Kennedy callin’ me up > He said, “My friend Bob, what do we need to make the country grow?” > I said, “My friend John, Brigitte Bardot, Anita Ekberg, Sophia Loren.” Sophia Loren was the ultimate in glamour. The ultimate in elegance. The _ne plus ultra_. She was in a class all by herself. And she was _hot_, too! Nobody was ever hotter. Oh, she could act also. She was the greatest goddess of our times. And she’s brunette. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/18 "2001-03-19T01:07:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Uh, Helen Hunt cannot act. (Neither can Kate Winslet) And just how many Oscars have you won, Pepper? ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/19 "2001-03-19T01:11:55Z")
Well, you see SPOOFE the difference between me and them is, I never claimed to be an actress. So how many Oscars I’ve won is completely irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491/20 "2001-03-19T01:25:55Z")
Kate Winslet can INDEED act. Look at her in Sense and Sensibility, or Heavenly Creatures. Although, I really have to say, the Oscar Helen Hunt got shouldn’t have gone to Kate either, stellar actress though she is. It should have gone to Judi Dench for Mrs. Brown. She WAS Queen Victoria. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-renee-zellweger/58491.md?page=2)