Once upon a time, Meg Ryan sat at the top of the A-list. Her nearest competitor was Julia Roberts. She was America’s Sweetheart. Now, she seems to be retired after years of direct-to-video schlock. It’s time to ask that age-old question: What the hell happened?
As the Whopper Turns
Ryan first appeared on the big screen with a small role opposite Candice Bergen in the drama Rich and Famous in 1981. The film got mixed reviews and didn’t do much at the box office, but it gave Ryan her start.
Is it just me or does young Meg Ryan look a lot like Alicia Silverstone?
Ryan first gained attention on day time soaps. From 1982-1984, she played Betsy Stewart on As the World Turns.
Apparently her story arc was a popular one. When I searched for pictures from this time period, I found Ryan in another wedding picture with a different groom. Could have been a different actor playing the same character. Or maybe Ryan played twins. I don’t get soaps. Sorry.
I also found this old Burger King commercial starring Ryan from about the same time. Ryan is so perky! Makes me want to eat a Whopper.
Most actresses have at least one horror movie on their resume. In Ryan’s case, she paid her dues in Amyityville 3-D in 1983.
Ryan played a girl who was obsessed with the Amityville Horror house. She and her friend, played by Lori Loughlin snuck into the house with a couple of boys and started playing with a Ouija board. I’m sure that ended well for them.
Amityville 3-D rode the tail end of a very brief 3-D craze that started and ended in 1983. Reviews were terrible and the movie flopped.
Into the Danger Zone
Ryan returned to the big screen with a small role in the 1986 smash, Top Gun. Ryan played the wife of the doomed fighter pilot, Goose. The minute she shows up on-screen looking all cute and with a kid in tow, you just know Anthony Edward’s Goose is cooked. (I’m not proud of that joke.)
It was a small part, but Ryan was winning in it. Everyone remembered the charismatic pixie girl from the few scenes she was in.
Later that year, Ryan appeared opposite comedy legends John Candy and Eugene Levy in Armed and Dangerous. Levy and Candy played security guards who wear unusual get-ups to supposedly comic effect. Ryan played the supervisor who pairs them up. It was a small role in a forgettable movie.
In 1987, Ryan co-starred opposite Martin Short and Dennis Quaid in Joe Dante’s sci-fi comedy, Innerspace. Ryan would go on to marry one of these guys in real life. Any guesses which one?
Quaid played a test pilot whose bad behavior has him grounded. It has also driven his girlfriend, played by Ryan, to leave him. Quaid gets a chance to redeem himself by testing a shrinking device. Through a series of comical errors, Quaid winds up inside Short. Hilarity of the Canadian variety ensues.
Despite mostly positive reviews, Innerspace did so-so at the box office.
Later that year, Ryan starred in the indie drama, Promised Land, opposite Kiefer Sutherland. Ryan plays Sutherland’s overbearing bride who goads Sutherland into holding up a convenience store to prove his manhood. It’s not exactly the America’s Sweetheart role Ryan would later become known for.
In 1988, Ryan appeared in two thrillers. In DOA, she starred opposite her Innerspace co-star and real-life boyfriend, Dennis Quaid. Quaid played a college professor who discovers he has been poisoned. Ryan played a student who helps him solve his own murder. In order to force Ryan into helping him, Quaid superglues himself to her. That’s one way to get the girl, I guess.
DOA got mixed reviews and disappointed at the box office. That’s what happens when you name your movie Dead On Arrival.
Later that year, Ryan starred opposite Sean Connery and Mark Harmon in The Presidio. Connery played an army base colonel and Ryan played his daughter. Harmon played a cop sent to the base to investigate a murder. Tensions rise when Harmon’s character starts investigating the colonel’s daughter.
Like DOA, The Presidio got mixed reviews and didn’t perform especially well at the box office. Fortunately, Ryan was about to find her niche. And it wasn’t sexy thrillers.
The Star Next Door
In 1989, Ryan starred opposite Billy Crystal in Rob Reiner’s romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally… Reiner considered a lot of actresses for the role of Sally. He originally wanted Susan Dey of The Partridge Family for the role. When she passed, Reiner considered Elizabeth Perkins and Elizabeth McGovern. He was very close to casting Molly Ringwald as Sally at one point. But ultimately, Ryan won the role.
When Harry Met Sally… was a career defining part for Ryan. Although it borrowed heavily from Woody Allen films like Annie Hall and Manhattan, it redefined the romantic comedy genre. When Harry Met Sally… established Ryan as the queen of the rom com genre and America’s Sweetheart.
Ryan received her first Golden Globe nomination.
Ryan followed up When Harry Met Sally… by teaming up with Tom Hanks for the first time. No, it wasn’t the smash hit, Sleepless in Seattle. It was the box office bomb, Joe Vs. the Volcano.
Hanks plays Joe, an average guy in a go-nowhere job. His life changes when he is diagnosed with a mysterious and fatal disease called a “brain cloud”. He is given only six months to live. An eccentric industrialist played by Lloyd Bridges then makes Joe a bizarre offer. He needs someone to jump into a volcano as a sacrifice so that he can obtain a rare material called bubaru. If terms like “brain cloud” and “bubaru” make you giggle, Joe Vs. the Volcano is for you.
With nothing left to lose, Joe quits his job and sets off on an adventure. Along the way, he encounters several characters three of whom are played by Ryan. Each character Ryan plays represents Joe at that stage in his spiritual quest.
Ryan and Hanks would go on to star in two more films which were both far more successful than Joe Vs. the Volcano. But their first collaboration was easily their best. If you take nothing else from this article, please give Joe a chance. Or a second chance if you haven’t seen it in a while.
Ryan starred opposite Kilmer in Oliver Stone’s 1991 biopic, The Doors. Kilmer played Doors frontman Jim Morrison and Ryan played his frustrated hippie girlfriend, Pamela Courson.
The Courson family held the rights to some of Morrison’s poetry which Stone wanted to include in the film. In order to obtain these rights from the Courson family, Stone had to give them approval of the way Pamela was portrayed in the film. As a result, Ryan’s role was sanitized.
This likely defeated the purpose of Ryan taking the role to begin with. Surely, she intended The Doors as a way to distance herself from the kind of roles she had played in When Harry Met Sally. But once again, she was stuck playing the manic pixie dream girl – albeit to a self-destructive drunk (Morrison, not Kilmer).
Meggis? Deg?
Around this time, Meg Ryan, “America’s Sweetheart”, married Dennis Quaid. The fact that they had been a couple since 1987 made them something of a rarity in Hollywood. While Quaid wasn’t quite on Hollywood’s power list, Quaid and Ryan were one of Hollywood’s power couples.
Ryan insisted that Quaid kick his cocaine habit before the wedding. In Hollywood, that is what qualifies as a fairy tale romance. Remember that. It’ll be important later.
In 1992, Ryan starred in Prelude to a Kiss which has one of the weirdest premises ever. Ryan plays a newlywed who switches bodies with an old man Freaky Friday-style.
Before you know it, Alec Baldwin is kissing Ryan in the old man’s body. Like I said, it’s an odd movie. But it starred two of the most beautiful people in the world. Look at them. Do you really care what the movie was about? I didn’t think so.
Reviews were mixed bordering on positive. But audiences didn’t turn out for Prelude in spite of Ryan and Baldwin’s piercing blue eyes. Maybe they did care that it was about Baldwin kissing an old man?
In 1993, Ryan re-teamed with two of her leading men. She made the Southern Gothic drama, Flesh and Bone with her husband, Dennis Quaid. And she made the cutesy Nora Ephron-directed romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle with Tom Hanks. Guess which one was more popular.
While I don’t love the movie as much as he does, it’s definitely worth a look. Especially if you’re a Meg Ryan fan. It makes you wonder about the career she could have had if she had been able to escape movies like…
Queen of the Rom-com
Sleepless in Seattle reunited Ryan with her Joe Vs. the Volcano co-star, Tom Hanks. Only this time, audiences showed up in droves for the Nora Ephron rom com.
Sleepless was conceived as a modern update on the Cary Grant melodrama, An Affair to Remember. Hanks starred as a single dad whose son calls into a radio show. When he talks about how much he misses his wife, he starts receiving letters from female listeners from around the country.
Ryan plays a listener who writes to Hanks suggesting that they meet atop the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day Affair to Remember-style. Since she is engaged to Bill Pullman (who made a career of playing the guy the lead actress was not right for), she didn’t send the letter. But her friend Rosie O’Donnell (who made a career playing friends of lead actresses before going into daytime talk shows and feuding with Donald Trump) sends the letter for her.
It’s far-fetched, but the star-crossed lovers were a hit with audiences and to a lesser extent critics. Ryan was nominated for another Golden Globe and cemented her status as the Queen of the Rom Com and America’s Sweetheart.
Unfortunately, she would have trouble duplicating the success of Sleepless without Hanks as her costar.
Ryan followed up Sleepless with a dramatic performance in When a Man Loves a Woman opposite Andy Garcia. This time, it was Ryan’s turn to play an alcoholic. Garcia played her enabling husband who eventually helps her through recovery. The role let Ryan stretch beyond the girl next door parts she usually played in her successful romantic comedies.
Although the movie felt a little like a TV Movie of the Week, reviews were generally positive. While it wasn’t nearly as successful as Ryan’s romantic comedies, When a Man Loves a Woman was a modest success.
Also in 1994, Meg Ryan appeared in IQ with Tim Robbins. IQ seems like a harmless romantic comedy. But in retrospect, I’m going to call this the beginning of the end for Ryan. The movie has what could have been a fun premise, but it never rises above mediocrity. And Ryan and Robbins have no chemistry on the screen together.
Ryan played Einstein’s niece. Robbins played a mechanic. Walter Matthau played Albert Einstein playing cupid by setting up his adorable niece with the charming mechanic.
What made Meg Ryan a star in Hollywood was her ability to reliably open romantic comedies. A movie like IQ was supposed to be a grand slam for a star of Ryan’s magnitude. But IQ opened at an embarrassing 11th place and grossed a paltry 26 million world-wide.
Hollywood will forgive an occasional speed bump like IQ as long as a star shows they can still deliver the goods. The problem is, Ryan continued to crank out mediocre low-performers like IQ.
Ryan’s next film was another romantic comedy. French Kiss with Kevin Kline actually represented a comeback for Ryan in terms of box office. The film grossed over 100 million which was very good for a romantic comedy. Especially in 1995.
Personally, I think the movie is a mess. I won’t even bother trying to summarize the convoluted plot. I’ll just note that not even the brilliant Kevin Kline could save this movie for me.
Attempting to Grow
Later that year, Ryan appeared in the period drama, Restoration, opposite Robert Downey Jr. and Sam Neill. Once again, Ryan was trying to stretch beyond romantic comedies and once again, audiences rejected the idea. Reviews were mixed, but Restoration was a flop.
In 1996, Ryan appeared in the military drama, Courage Under Fire opposite Matt Damon and Denzel Washington. Washington starred as a man assigned to investigate whether or not Ryan’s character should become the first woman to receive the Medal of Honor. As Washington interviews the eye witnesses, we see Ryan’s character through their eyes. Sometimes she is portrayed as super human. Other times she is seen as a coward.
The film did decent at the box office and got mostly positive reviews. But much like The Doors, most of the accolades went to others. Courage Under Fire helped cement Washington as an a-list star and Damon (an unknown at the time) gained attention for a small role as a gaunt wounded soldier.
In 1997, Meg Ryan returned to romantic comedies with Addicted to Love opposite Matthew Broderick. Both Ryan and Broderick were playing against their squeaky clean girl and boy next door images. They played spurned lovers who team up to get revenge on their exes. In the process of doing so, they naturally fall for each other.
The movie tries to subvert the trappings of the rom com genre. But ultimately, it falls into the same formula as most Ryan movies. And frankly, that’s when it works best. The revenge stuff mostly doesn’t work. Audiences didn’t want to see Ryan and Broderick turn to the dark side.
Ryan also did voice-over work in the animated film Anastasia. She voiced the title character as an adult. Kirsten Dunst voiced the Anastasia as a child. Her young and adult singing voices were, respectively, supplied by Lacey Chabert and Liz Callaway. So four different actresses were required to play a single character. Anastasia received mostly positive reviews and was a modest hit at the box office.
1998 was Meg Ryan’s last hoorah. She started off the year with City of Angels in which her character is essentially stalked by a creepy angel played by Nicholas Cage. Cage’s angel falls in love with Ryan and eventually gives up eternal life. It’s a romantic melodrama every bit as over-the-top as it sounds. But it connected with audiences and was a smash hit at the box office.
It also introduced America to the Goo Goo Dolls. So, thanks for that I guess.
At the time, Cage was in a weird place in his career. He was just a few years removed from his Oscar win and was flirting with a career as an action star. But he hadn’t turned into the national punchline he is today. A romantic melodrama was unexpected from him. So the success of City of Angels could be largely attributed to Ryan who owned romance at the box office in the 90s.
You’ve Got One More Hit Movie Left
Later in 1998, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan paired up again for the last time with You’ve Got Mail. If you loved Sleepless in Seattle, you probably liked the AOL commercial/romantic comedy, You’ve Got Mail.
YGM repeats the formula of SiS to lesser effect. But like Sleepless, Mail was a box office smash that should have cemented Ryan’s spot at the top of the A-list for at least a few more years to come.
Only, it didn’t work out that way…
Ryan finished out 1998 playing a stripper in the indie drama, Hurlyburly.
The 90s were kind of a golden age for arthouse/independent films. Throughout the decade, Ryan kept making little edgy dramas for studios like Miramax and Fine Line features. But her massive audience refused to follow her from the megaplexes into the arthouse.
Hurlyburly is a prime example of Ryan struggling to break free of her girl-next-door image. She plays a stripper who gets pushed out of a moving car by Chazz Palmenteri. The film (based on a stage play of the same name) features an all-star cast that included Ryan, Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright Penn, Garry Shandling and future Rogue and Sookie, Anna Paquin.
Reviews were mixed, but Hurlyburly bombed at the box office. Even with an all-star cast, it failed to recoup even its modest 6 million dollar budget.
Ryan’s next film was anther Nora Ephron production. Hanging Up cast Meg Ryan, Diane Keaton and Lisa Kudrow as sisters who bond over the death of their estranged father played by Walter Matthau. The movie hoped to repeat the success of Keaton’s The First Wives Club. But instead, it was panned by critics and ignored at the box office.
The Scandal
Then Proof of Life happened. Or more specifically, Russel Crowe happened. The movie they starred in was mostly overlooked in the media coverage of the couple’s affair.
By this point, Ryan had been married to Dennis Quaid for 10 years, an eternity in Hollywood. She was America’s sweetheart and as far as America knew, she and Quaid were living the American dream.
So when reports showed Ryan cheating on Quaid with her co-star, America basically went bat-shit crazy.
You’d have thought that Ryan was cheating on America rather than her husband. Her image as America’s sweetheart was utterly shattered.
When the couple broke up, America cheered at Ryan’s humiliation and seeming karmic retribution as word spread that Crowe dumped her. Ryan later clarified that she dumped Crowe. But by that point, no one cared. America had dumped Meg Ryan.
Warner Brothers had a tough time selling Proof of Life to audiences. They purposefully downplayed the love story between the two leads because American audiences were furious at the thought of Ryan boffing Crowe. The last thing they wanted to do was pay to see it at a movie theater.
Proof got mixed reviews and tanked at the box office. Director Taylor Hackford blamed the failure of the film on the scandal. “It had an indelible and very, very destructive effect on the release of the film in the US because the real-life story overshadowed the movie,” Hackford said.
This caused Crowe to fly off the handle. “”He said that? He’s a fucking idiot. No seriously – what a knob!” exclaimed Crowe before beating an assistant to death with a cell phone. (They were much larger then.)
In 2001, Ryan retreated back into familiar romantic comedy territory with Kate and Leopold.
Kate and Leopold co-starred, Hugh Jackman who was hot off playing Wolverine in X-Men, as a duke who traveled through time to find love with Ryan in the twentieth century. This is the sort of movie a star like Ryan is supposed to hit out of the park.
But audiences weren’t ready to see Meg Ryan as “America’s Sweetheart” again. Kate and Leopold opened Christmas weekend at a dismal 7th place. It finished behind Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone which had been in theaters for 7 weeks already. It finished behind Tom Cruise’s embarrassing flop, Vanilla Sky which had been receiving bad word of mouth for the last three weeks!
The following weekend, it dropped a staggering 52%. Kate and Leopold eventually managed to turn a profit worldwide, but it failed to make back it’s production costs at the domestic box office. Harvey Weinstein at Miramax fumed. He had been counting on Kate and Leopold to move the arty studio into the mainstream.
Ryan took a couple of years off to lick her wounds. Her next film was 2003’s erotic thriller In the Cut which co-starred Jennifer Jason Leigh and Mark Ruffalo.
In the Cut was directed by Jane Campion who was best known for The Piano. Campion had developed In the Cut with Nicole Kidman. However, when Kidman dropped out due to her divorce from Tom Cruise, Ryan took her place.
Cut was a drastic departure for Ryan in many ways. There is nothing romantic or comedic about it. It is an extremely raw film with lots of sex and gruesome violence. But at this point in her career, Ryan had nothing to lose.
The film generated some attention over Ryan’s nudity. But mostly, it was seen as another opportunity to kick Ryan while she was down. In the Cut became a punchline to the few who had heard of it.
Which is a shame, because Ryan’s performance is really impressive. It hints at what might have been had audiences embraced her attempts to break free of rom coms.
Overseas, Ryan did an interview with famed English TV personality, Sir Michael “Parky” Parkinson. Most of us here in the States, had no idea this was going on. But the interview was a train wreck. Even today, it is a legend in England.
In 2004, Ryan got what would prove to be her last chance to re-invent herself in her post-scandal career. The aptly titled Against the Ropes was a boxing movie starring Ryan as a boxing manager.
The film was largely panned for being a string of boxing movie clichés. When it bombed at the box office, Ryan and mainstream Hollywood parted ways.
Three years later, Ryan returned to the big screen in In the Land of Women.
Ryan played Kristen Stewart’s mother who discovers a lump in her breast, has a philandering husband and starts a friendship with her daughter’s boyfriend, a soft-core porn writer played by Adam Brody. Any one of those plots could have been the basis for a Lifetime movie.
Ryan’s return went mostly unnoticed. In the Land of Women got poor reviews and barely recouped its production costs.
In 2008, Ryan was banished to the career limbo that is direct-to-video movies. Ryan starred in two non-theatrical releases that year. The first was the show-biz comedy, The Deal co-starring William H. Macy.
What was Macy doing in a stinker like The Deal? He wrote it. Ryan had no such excuse.
My Mom’s New Boyfriend finally saw Ryan and Hanks working together again. Only this time, the Hanks in question was Collin Hanks, eldest son of two-time Oscar-winner, Tom Hanks.
The plot is depressing. Ryan (in a fat suit), plays Hanks’ mother. (The fat suit has become shorthand for comic desperation.) Hanks leaves home and when he returns, his mother has shed her fat suit to become a hot, sexy MILF. Or at least a former America’s Sweetheart and current plastic surgery addict.
Newly sexy Ryan starts up a relationship with “too sexy” Antonio Banderas who may or may not be an art thief. And… oh, why bother! This was another direct-to-vid disaster for Ryan and a low point in any career. Heck, it’s a low point for Collin (I’m not a Hollywood legend) Hanks!
2008 also saw Ryan make what was supposed to be her triumphant return to the big screen. But it didn’t turn out that way.
At the peak of her career, Ryan became attached to a remake of the 1939 film, The Women. The script for the remake was written in 1993 by Murphy Brown creator, Diane English. Originally, The Women was going to feature an all-star female cast including Ryan and Julia Roberts.
However, production on The Women stalled out when Ryan and Roberts both wanted the same role. After 15 years of struggles to get the film made, just about every actress in Hollywood was attached at one point.
When The Women finally got released, English directed the movie herself. Ryan was still involved, but Roberts had moved on. The Women was savaged by critics. It opened at #4 at the box office. The triumphant return went down in flames.
In 2009, Ryan took another shot at a comeback opposite Timothy Hutton in the black comedy Serious Moonlight.
Ryan plays an attorney who kidnaps her husband rather than let him leave her for Kristen Bell. Because lawyers typically respond to marital infidelity by duct taping their husbands to a toilet.
To the surprise of no one, Serious Moonlight failed to impress critics or audiences.
So, what the hell happened?
How did the queen of romantic comedies in the late 80’s and all through the 90’s wind up making direct-to-video schlock like 2008’s My Mom’s New Boyfriend?
There’s no doubt that the Proof of Life controversy had a lot to do with it. In spite of the fact that Ryan and Quaid’s marriage had all but ended by the time she hooked up with Crowe, she was branded with a scarlet letter that ruined her public image.
I don’t think such a scandal would be so devastating to another actress, but Ryan’s entire career was built on the idea that she was the wholesome girl-next-door. Once that was gone, audiences wanted nothing to do with her.
Although Ryan made several attempts to stretch beyond the romantic comedies that were her bread-and-butter, audiences never fully embraced Ryan as anything but a romantic interest. Whether or not it was an issue of range is debatable. Either way, she was unable to win over audiences in dramatic roles.
And then there’s the issue of age. Age is cruel to Hollywood starlets which is why there are so many more washed up actresses to choose from. Perhaps Ryan’s career would have dried up even without the Proof of Life controversy as audiences moved on to younger starlets like the current crop of rom com divas.
Word is Ryan is making a move behind the camera to start a career as a director. Hopefully, this will be the start of a new career for Ryan. Because her career as a movie star appears to be over.
So sad to see a great fall so hard.
In the long run, maybe it is actually reasonable to suspect that the Russell Crowe thing did in fact forever taint Meg Ryan’s career. Her PR team spent about 2 years spinning that and doing damage control. Not because of the affair, but because she couldn’t land him/get him to marry her and she pretended that wasn’t what she wanted. There was also a People magazine cover with her grinning and beaming. It was supposed to be all about her happiness and how wonderful her life was. Maybe there was a latent hostility to Meg Ryan among the public waiting… Read more »
Maybe Meg Ryan at the end of the day, really wasn’t the most ambitious person to somehow become an A-list movie star. Things just rolled her way and she took advantage of the opportunities. To give you one example, in that infamous Michael Parkinson interview, she said that she wanted to become a journalist. When Meg was pressed over exactly what kind, she was sort of wishy-washy about it in her answer. And going back to her movie character, when she was younger, Meg had the kind of charm you couldn’t fake and it was a ticket to Hollywood. But… Read more »
I recently started to wonder if Meg Ryan is at this point, considered retired from the filmmaking industry. She hasn’t acted since 2015, except for one TV pilot. I think she even said in an interview she isn’t necessarily retired but she’s not really rushing out for her next role either.
Your \’now\’ photo is in fact 8 years old. Made me not want to read the rest of your story, sorry.
Meg Ryan has three movie projects lined up with her in it as an actress and one which she will direct. She leads a happy life with her boyfriend, two kids and who knows how many dozens of millions $$ in the bank.
In other worrds: she\’s doing just fine. Not every actor wants to remain a superstar.
Regarding the photo: I work with what I have available. I’m not exactly People magazine here. There’s a more recent and less flattering picture at the end of the article. Having projects lined up and seeing them completed are two different things. I actually mentioned Ryan’s intention to move behind the camera at the end of the article. And I do wish her well. As I said at the beginning, I’ve always been a fan. As to her money, her family and her bank account, I wish her nothing but the best. I hope she’s as happy as you make… Read more »
PS, it was in fact Dennis Quaid who cheated on her for many years. But leave it up to the media to ignore that fact of coruse.
Meg Ryan simply has a bad hand in picking movies. And she lives in a country with many double standards.
Whatever Happened To: Meg Ryan? http://getafilm.blogspot.com/2008/08/whatever-happened-to-meg-ryan.html Let’s go back to my three initial inquiries. Age discrimination – If you ask me, she still has star looks at 46 years old (above in The Women), so aside from there being few parts written for 40-somethings, this doesn’t seem like it would be the major issue. It’s just that she’d have to fight Diane Lane over those few roles. Poor choice of roles – Certainly something to be said here. Following up You’ve Got Mail in 1998 with the sci-fi romantic comedy Kate and Leopold in 2001, she completely changed gears with… Read more »
Media did not ignore that. If he was in fact cheating he did not do it in a public way. She did. Being public with a relationship allows the media to say whatever they want. If you chose not to make it public, all the reporting has to preface their comments with “Allegedly”, “rumored to”, “reportedly” etc.
As far as the Russell Crowe affair goes, what got Meg in trouble (regardless of Dennis Quaid’s own transgressions) was that it was simply put, a total betrayal of what he built her public image on. Meg Ryan built her entire career playing ingenues and being the nice, down-to-earth good girl who deserved to get the guy. And then then she cheated on her husband in real life and played a slut in a movie (In the Cut). Not only that, but Russell Crowe had already revealed himself to be a hothead asshole with anger management problems, so she couldn’t… Read more »
Meg had been trying to switch to drama movies and she just wasn’t that good in them. She really was only good in comedies.
I would like to add that while In the Cut didn’t exactly immediately end her career, but it certainly contributed to its end. When it came out, Meg was coming off of four consecutive flops: Hanging Up, Proof of Life, and Kate & Leopold. Plus, Meg already in her 40s, which is way too old to be a Hollywood ingenue. After Against the Ropes got a wide release and became her fifth straight flop, she never appeared in a wide release film distributed by a major studio after that. The plastic surgery just made matters worse because it was too… Read more »
Is “Bella” a codename for Meg Ryan? Seems you’ve struck a nerve this time LeBeau! Having become a regular reader here at “le blog”, I can tell you, Bella, that LeBeau is kind-hearted and actually feels badly about these fallen stars. I’ve personally recommended a couple of these ex-stars/starlets to LeBeau to write about (Sean Young, for example), because he does it with superb grace. If I were to do it, it would be much more cruel and cutting ; ) Don’t attack the messenger please! The fact is, this particular column fascinates many people because there are times when… Read more »
Thanks for stepping up to my defense. I actually appreciate Bella’s passion. It’s always good to see that. To be such a dedicated Meg Ryan fan all these years later takes true dedication! And Bella raises some fair points. Meg Ryan did kind of get screwed over. I try to be as fair as possible with these write-ups. But also, I am having fun at the stars’ expense. Because, let’s face facts, they may not be on top of the world any more. But they can still take it. They’ve been through worse than being the subject of a snarky… Read more »
Not true! People are unempressed for 10 minutes and all they want to see is a good movie. Really that is it. A good movie with actors that have great chemistry!
Sure they do. But this is a case where a performer’s public personna was so strong that only certain types of movies were embraced when she was the star. The public scandal sheet stuff was timed terribly for her and went contrary to what was a very entrenched public perception of her and it shortened the top end of her career. If she hadn’t been the type of actress she is, maybe her troubles would’ve been different. She was spot on in the interview about the difference between an actor and a movie star. Most performers don’t get to choose… Read more »
Meg Ryan in public, always seemed to have a chip on her shoulder and not much of a sense of humor for a rom com queen. She seemed to be the polar opposite of Julia Roberts, who always bubbled it up for the media, showed the teeth, was cheerful on her junkets and quotable enough.
Hi Suzy. Thanks for reading. I always appreciate when a reader has enough passion about a subject to take the time to comment. And you commented three times! Good for you. Unfortunately, I’m having a tough time identifying your point because you are responding to scatter comments which are quite old. I’m not exactly sure what points you are objecting to. As such, I will respond in a very broad sense. First, let me state on the record that I am a Meg Ryan fan. In my youth, she was a cinematic crush. These days, not so much. But I… Read more »
It’s a pain …reading this article is killing me… I was, am, and forever will be a true blue fan of Meg. While I admit I DID NOT go to see In the Cut (2003), which was/ is a taboo to me and my friends. I guess I’ll never see this movie in my life. … I … anyway, wish her well… and just don’t act anymore… ps. would you talk about What the Hell Happened to Virginia Madsen ? (and… Cage ? … although we already knew… like I know everything you talk about Meg …) pps. yup…Kate Hudson… Read more »
I’m definitely looking into the Nicolas Cage article. What a remarkable career!
I love Meg, always have and always will. I happened to pop back here today to see if there were comments, and good lord! Thanks for the entertainment. I had no idea this was such a touchy subject. Although I get the most harsh criticism when I submit recipes so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It is amazing what fires people up.
I love that we are debating Meg Ryan’s career a decade after it imploded! Anyone who is that passionate about movies is welcome here. Although trying to set up a grudge match between Tom Hanks and Michael Keaton does make me a bit nervous…
LOL…. I’ve tried to calm him down.
And for that, we are all in your debt! 😉
i think meg ryan is a very talented and beautiful actress. i think she should do another good film. she did a good job in when harry met sally, sleepless in seattle, hanging up, and addicted to love. she is more talented than julia roberts. i hope meg ryan does another good film.
She is a real talent. It is too bad. But it’s the age thing. What have you seen Roberts in lately either? She is getting up there too. Sad. Ryan is smart- maybe writing and directing will be something she will enjoy -out of the brutal spotlight of the Sunset Boulevard cruel hot lights- close up
Hi Danielle.
I think you’re right that Meg Ryan is smart enough to re-invent herself as a writer or director, the question is does she want to?
The fact that she dropped out of a role in the film “Long Time Gone” would seem to indicate that she’s given up on her acting career and even though she’s signed up to direct her first film “Into The Beautiful”, we’ll have to wait and see if that project ever comes to fruition.
Welcome to leBlog, I’ve enjoyed your comments and I hope you’ll become a regular contributor.
Paul, I’m about 1/2 way through Flesh and Bone. Thanks for the recommendation! I can’t wait to finish it and write it up.
HI- It’s not letting me respond to your post – how odd- I have no idea what Meg or Jessica Lange, for instance want to do – so few parts for the older women -hate seeing them all go to Meryl Streep-would love to see more Helen Mirren and Lange- as for Meg- I hope she can enjoy just being smart and having had a great life -it’s harder to age than I ever thought it would be- I can only imagine how having earned your living with your looks and losing that power must feel like- interesting to see… Read more »
I’ve really enjoyed the comments on this article this week, especially Danielle’s, she’s obviously on the same wavelength as me when it comes to Meg Ryan.
Lebeau you really made my day when I read that you’d started to watch Flesh And Bone. You’ll be one of a very small group of people I’ve come across who’ve actually watched that film and certainly the first to watch it on my recommendation.
I’m going away for a few days tomorrow, but I’ll be looking forward to reading your thoughts on F&B when I get back.
Have a great week everyone!
I just posted my review. I have to admit, I’m very torn on the movie. I hope I don’t come across overly harsh in my review. I definitely think it is a movie more people should see for themselves. Both Quaid and Ryan are great in it. It reminded me why I was a Meg Ryan fan to begin with. Thanks for your recommendation! Now I need to check out Addicted to Love.
Have a great trip. Look forward to hearing from you when you get back!
Hey Paul, Thanks for the compliment- I think age is a freight train that almost everyone underestimates- star or not- I like seeing how Charlize Theron has never counted on it to be her only meal ticket- she went right for the big stuff- not that Meg did shlock- I haven’t been able to post and I have no idea why so I am going to put all my comments that were previously responded to by you and Lbeau here- as for my feeling about Streep- yes I agree she is certainly a great actress- to call her the ‘greatest… Read more »
I adore Joe Vs. The Volcano! I remember going to see that at the theater when I was a kid. I think that Meg has it in her to make a great comeback. I actually really like most every movie she has been in. I guess I am a loyalist. I like an actor or actress and I stick with them. City of Angels is my all time favorite for her though. She and Cage had great chemistry and the whole “what is it all about” and “what would you do for real love” themes of the movie were really… Read more »
Anyone who appreciates Joe vs. the Volcano is always welcome at Le Blog. We are a rare breed! I really need to go back and watch again to see if I enjoy it as much today as I did in my college years. I think Meg Ryan has potential to come back some day and do some character bits. Think Carrie Fisher kind of parts. And maybe, like Fisher, you can start up a career behind the camera. That is clearly her intent. I do feel like to some extent, Meg Ryan got a bad deal from American audiences. But… Read more »
I hope you don’t mind me commenting on your post almost two months after the event, I only happened across it today but as a die hard Meg Ryan fan it was a pleasure to read such a well written and researched article on my favourite actress. I agree with you that the cooling off of Meg’s career was inevitable, mainly because most of her fan base would only watch her in certain romantic comedy roles and didn’t like or ignored the other work she did. Flesh And Bone is my favourite of all her films but I’ve struggled to… Read more »
These comments sections are on-going conversations. And I plan to go back and update some of these articles as new info comes in. So, they are living works. Welcome to the party! You’re right on the money with Meg’s career. No surprise since you are clearly a fan. I have to admit, I lost track of Meg’s career after Proof of Life and never got around to seeing In the Cut. But I do recall she was ridiculed for it. No doubt she got some bad press that was unfair. And most of her fanbase wouldn’t embrace her when she… Read more »
I love Meg is dramatic roles- she is such a smart actress and so good in them- would love to have seen her in Good as it Gets- or Somethings Gotta Give or It’s Complicated- all gone to actresses ( older ) that i don’t think are nearly as good as Meg at comedy – or Lange either
I never liked Meg Ryan as an actress, and I absolutely have a visceral dislike for romantic comedies that borders on hatred. All who follow films understand the double-standards in male/female career longevity and eventually Ryan would’ve found herself unemployed, with or without the Crowe fiasco. Just as other romantic comedies-only actresses such as Kate Hudson and Jennifer Anniston will.
But WOW!!!! Better to age gracefully rather than look like the troll that Ryan now looks like.
I will give Ryan credit for trying to break out of the romantic comedy mold. Around the time of When a Man Loves a Woman, I really thought she was going to do it. But audiences never really accepted her except when she was being adorable. I definitely agree her career had an expiration date on it. Audiences don’t want to see older women in romantic comedies. And since she couldn’t cross over, she was doomed no matter what. The main impact I see of the Crowe debacle is that it sped up the ticking clock. Audiences turned on her… Read more »
There appears (gasp in a way ) a new and revived market for Boomer romance- “It’s Complicated”- “Something’s Gotta Give”- it seems that only three women have survived into the Granny Rom – Com Genre- Sarandon, Streep and Keaton. If I am required to watch a naked Evan Handler on Californication – then we can survive watching some aging women in these roles. Evidently, there is a call for these sorts of movies -and perhaps people with a bit more depth than Nancy Myers will start doing them. Interesting to watch.
Nancy Myers. Sigh.
Streep’s career is simply amazing. I am in awe of her. Is there nothing this woman can’t do? I fully intend to write about her some day. He late career surge fascinates me.
Glenn Close has said that actresses 40 and over find refuge on TV these days. I can’t argue with her. That’s where the best roles for women (especially mature women) seem to be. Case in point: Did you ever think people would be buzzing about Jessica Lange again pre-American Horror Story?
Lange sure was great in Grey Gardens- while I found Drew hard to take – ( but I always have found her hard to take- always the same ) – TV is the new career for older women however- their is now a need for good scripts for older people buzzing around the Biz- so hopefully we will see them- Boomers are a big audience and they want real stuff it seems- hope to see many fine older actresses get a shot- and I wouldn’t mention a limited talent, plain looking mass marketed Jennifer A in the same breadth for… Read more »
How come no mention of her turn as a tawdry, sex pal in the film adaptation of Hurly Burly, alongside Kevin Spacey and Sean Penn. Certainly an attempt to recreate her image, alongside to bona fide hollywood heavyweights that went terribly awry.
P.S. I understand this well after this article was posted, but I just thought it warranted a mention.
I frequently go back and update these articles. I’ll have to add Hurly Burly. Thanks for the suggestion!
I love meg ryan
will be two films
Lives of the Saints
Long Time Gone
Will also director of the movie “Into The Beautiful”
Joe versus the Volcano is one of the most underrated comedies of the last 30 years.
It really is. It does not deserve the ridicule many (including Hanks) heaped on it.
The scenes with Joe’s boss (“I know he can get the job, but can he DO the job?!?”), Lloyd Bridges, and the luggage salesman are themselves worth watching it for.
Could not agree more. I used to quote Dan Hedaya’s “I know he can get the job” monologue. But most people had no idea what I was doing and looked at me like I was crazy. Can I just say that Hedaya’s delivery in that scene is nothing less than brilliant?
LeBeau, not sure if I’ve already suggested him (he probably doesn’t qualify), but I think it’s time to find out What the Hell Happened to Christian Slater.
I think he fits the criteria just enough. I’ll have to add him to the list.
I’m about 2/3 done with my latest magnum opus. It’s slow going partially because it’s a long one. But also, this is just a time of year when I don’t have as much time to write. My work picks up for end-of-year through tax season really. Add in the holidays, and I get kind of swamped. But fear not, it is slowly progressing.
I just discovered your blog. . . and I was around Hollywood and saw first hand what you talk about, You are right on in your observations of what you point out.
In closing, you are a very talented writer. Thank you for such an enjoyable read (you made me LOL several times with your wit :). You are right on in your observations of what you point out. Do you write about other things as well?
Quit! You’re making me blush! I’m glad you’re enjoying the articles.
It’s kind of a hodge podge around here. Most of what I write about relates to movies or TV. But I’m also interested/obsessed with theme parks. So, you’ll see a lot of that too. Then there are odds and ends usually involving pictures of my kids.
That last pic looks EXACTLY like Jack Nicholson as the Joker in Batman………
Meg – I would NEVER have thought she’d have left herself in that shape post op.
I’d freakin’ MURDER that butcher plastic surgeon.
One movie I LOVED that you didn’t seem to was French Kiss….
Kline was AWESOME, so was Ryan – and the ending was superb! 😉
As to one person’s last response re: not every actress wants to remain a superstar, I agree.
And it’s a good dam thing she doesn’t ……
I really enjoyed this read, LeBeau – even now! Thx.
Cheers!
Glad you enjoyed the article. I have a rolling list of movies I plan to revisit someday and French Kiss is on it. Thanks to my pal Paul over at the Meg Ryan/Michelle Pfeiffer blog, I’ve got a pretty big backlog of Meg Ryan movies to get through. At his recommendation, Flesh and Bone is high on my list (and waiting on my DVR). I’m also a big Kevin Kline fan. Expect to see a Kline article later or sooner. (Probably later at the rate I’m going). I remember thinking that Kline was great in French Kiss. But much like… Read more »
Ha really enjoyed your article, so much more powerful & condemnatory when it comes from a position of love. Or one time love. Suppose it won’t matter much to Americans but she destroyed any goodwill British people had toward with just a single appearance on UK TVs Parkinson Show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blpq-Iwu25s
seems to be a strange negative symbiosis of irked interviewer with over sensitive interviewee. Guess Parky didn’t want to do the bullshit and fawn over the big US celeb.
Will read the rest of your articles, they’re super.
Glad you enjoyed the article!
When I was researching, I actually watched the Parkinson interview. It was painful! I really couldn’t decide who I felt more sorry for. As you indicated, they both seemed to rub each other the wrong way. I can understand why Ryan was defensive. At that point in her career, she was on the ropes. But I can see why her attitude would be abrasive as well.
After watching this segment, I can’t believe more people aren’t calling Parkinson an ass.
And I’m not a Meg Ryan fan. LOL
His questions were all reasonable, but if you know that your subject is uncomfortable with interviews why go out of your way to accent that? You should either have a more chummy conversation about it or just not book the interview.
What she should have shared is that most of us dislike parts of our jobs, but put up with those things so we can do the parts we love.
I do, don’t you?
You know what? That really is stupid. Just who is it that says that?? It certainly is NOT the fans!!!
says what? What is the question you’re asking?
The only paragraph that actually explains her demise is the last paragraph, she got old, plain and simple. If she was still young and cute she could make enough crappy movies to to fill an entire video store and it would not matter, eventually one would be another French Kiss or Inner Space and she would be back on top. Once a female star gets old, unless she is one of the very very few who manage to age well enough to maintain some sex appeal into their 40’s and 50’s, they are going to drop of the map. The… Read more »
Emilio Estevez over. Good one. Obviously, age can be a career killer in Hollywood. Especially for actresses. And it played a big part in Ryan’s career ending when it did. However, I think in Meg Ryan’s case. you are over simplifying. True, Ryan was no longer in the prime of her rom com years. But she still had a few good years left had she not gone from America’s Sweetheart to “the bitch who dumped Dennis Quaid” in the court of public opinion. I will give Ryan credit. She struggled her entire career to try and break away from rom… Read more »
That’s true, but I think it is more coincidence than anything. She was at a low point, which she would have rebounded from had age not struck. She can’t make a comeback if she is not offered roles, and if you are old and female, you won’t be offered any. On a side note, I do feel bad for her getting the blame in the divorce fiasco. Quaid was quite an unfaithful party boy for many years word has it. She must have been raging pretty hard to have been getting cheated on for all those years, then the one… Read more »
Ryan’s career followed a pattern. Big rom com, something edgier, fall back to rom com. Those romantic comedies were her bread and butter. They allowed her to go out and do other things. But when audiences rejected her as the girl next store, that was the nail in the coffin of her career. I think if Ryan hadn’t gotten so much bad (and unfairly so) press over the affair with Russel Crowe, audiences would have accepted her in romantic comedy roles for a few more years. The question in my mind is, if Ryan had a few more years to… Read more »
I have just found your blog and have spent the last hour reading each one of the posts- it’s a great concept, factual, fair and extremely well written with empathy, brutal truth and humor. Not easy. I would love to see you turn your talent into another sector that I love to call the “Lucky Hall of Fame” – or “How Did This Happen”- lending an understand as to why so many that seem so unworthy are so popular. Not told from a nasty place so much as one to stop the “I have no idea why that person is… Read more »
Thanks for dropping in and commenting. Glad you’ve enjoyed the series so far. Thanks for the kind words. Too kind, really. But I’ll take it. I have considered writing articles like what you have described and I probably will someday. Fact of the matter is, it’s easier to identify someone who hit the top and walked away than someone who became more successful than they deserve to be. It’s so subjective! Also, Hollywood has a way of weeding these people out before they get too far. For example, look at Megan Fox. She was a pretty face. But somehow it… Read more »
Le Beau- I cannot figure out how to click on your comments to my posts – there is no REPLY option on your posts or mine- so I am frustrated- I am ecstatic to see Lange doing anything – love her-now there is a woman who hasn’t lied about plastic surgery – along with Mirren- as for Streep – I have hugely mixed feelings- having always been a huge fan-I find myself not so much of late- not even sure why except that giant domineering egos have always bothered me- there is a greed to her and an arrogance that… Read more »
Sometimes the comments section can be frustrating. I have had times where it behaved very strangely and then just corrected itself. When I look at the comments, mine looks different from yours as admin of the site. So maybe another reader can offer some advice on replying if this doesn’t work. I believe that if you hover your cursor over the bar next to my avatar (the guy in the mask screaming – it makes more sense at the other site I write for) you should see the “reply” button there. Hope that helps! I have to admit, I haven’t… Read more »
Danielle, not sure if this helps, but try replying to the top comment in the string. Not to the first overall comment to the article or to the comment you are responding directly to. It will look for all the world like your comment will end up placed right below that top comment, but it won’t. It will appear at the bottom of the string, below the most recent comment, usually the one you are responding to. Hope that works. I’m not sure what you mean about Streep’s arrogance. I felt like she was flustered and a bit embarrassed when… Read more »