14 DAY TRIAL // Fresh off her massive success at the Golden Globes 2011 and another handful of movie awards, Natalie Portman is releasing a new movie this weekend in the US, the rom-com “No Strings Attached,” also starring Ashton Kutcher.
Though Portman promised in a recent interview that hers is a romantic comedy that stands out from the crowd, critics disagree, calling it bland at best and a complete waste of time, money and talent, at worst.
In fact, rumblings online have already considered what such a poor critical reception could do for Portman’s Oscar chances, since she’s favorite to win this year for her harrowing portrayal of a ballerina in “Black Swan.”
E! Online reports that, while “No Strings Attached” and co-star Kutcher, who seems to be locked in a never-ending cycle of bad rom-coms, could definitely harm Natalie’s Oscar odds, she still has her solid reputation to fall back on.
In other words, even if the film gets the worst reception upon release possible, Natalie would still bounce back because she’s already proved she’s a solid actress and this would be just a misstep, not the mistake that will make her fall from grace.
“Natalie Portman is known as a good actor, despite Star Wars and the crappy dialogue she had to say,” Ron W. Roecker, who has engineered many awards campaigns, explains for E!.
“She’s not had to really carry any movies on her own shoulders, so there hasn’t been that pressure, nor have there been failures because of her,” Roecker adds.
“She also hasn’t played the same role over and over and over again, and then all of a sudden decided on this life-altering choice to become a serious actress!” he points out.
Still, to minimize the damage – and there will be some damage, since “No Strings Attached” is now rated at 43 percent with top critics at Rotten Tomatoes and it hasn’t opened yet – Portman would best promote the rom-com by tying it closely to “Black Swan,” the same insider explains.