· Image Search

As we stretch our legs and rub our eyes and look around the twenty-first century in which we've only recently arrived, we notice that not many screen stereotypes have made the journey with us. We're not saying that's a bad thing; obviously it's not. Anyone who's watched, say, Breakfast at Tiffany's lately should be proud and happy that we live in an era in which a Mickey Rooney would not be hired to play a bucktoothed Asian neighbour. This is not to say, of course, that there are no screen stereotypes in contemporary cinema, since that is simply not the case, as a viewing of any five minutes of Scary Movie will demonstrate. It is the case, though, that some stereotypes -- generally those directed at rich people, white people, or any other class of people who tend to be at a cultural advantage -- are considered to be acceptable. We're not saying it's right. We're not saying we approve. We're just saying that when it comes to portrayals of the stereotypical rich, white, hot-to-trot matron, Jennifer Coolidge and her apparently pneumatic lips have cornered the market.

Mind you, Jennifer Coolidge didn't always make her living playing nothing but Versace-clad aging bimbos. She first came to our attention on Seinfeld, playing Jody, a masseuse who was dating Jerry but refused to massage him, and who was doing a poor job of hiding the fact that she disliked George. Swathed in earth tones, wearing virtually no makeup and a simple, not at all teased hairstyle, Jody's look was so sensible, you'd never guess that deep inside Coolidge lived a bleached-blonde skank itching to get out. We also understand she (along with future Best in Show co-star Linda Kash) was a cast member of She TV, the short-lived 1994 sketch comedy series touted as the feminist alternative to Saturday Night Live; any of the nine people who watched that program may email us to confirm that, if it's true.

Appearing in American Pie as Stifler's Mom -- a sexed-up caricature of an older woman who seduces one of the friends of her high-school-aged son -- seems to have tripped some kind of switch in Coolidge; she apparently loved that role so much that she keeps playing it over and over again. In Best in Show, she's the sexed-up caricature of a gold-digging trophy wife, with the slight variation that she turns out to be a lesbian who falls in love with her dog trainer. In Down to Earth, she's the sexed-up caricature of a gold-digging trophy wife, with the slight variation that she's trying to murder her husband. In Legally Blonde, she...well, we haven't seen it yet. But judging by the trailer, she looks to be the sexed-up caricature of a gold-digging trophy wife who appears (to us) to be but apparently isn't the mother of Reese Witherspoon's Elle Woods. And in American Pie 2, she brings it full circle by playing Stifler's Mom again.

Will her return to the rich and nuanced character of Stifler's Mom allow Jennifer Coolidge to close the circle of nymphomaniac socialites and return to playing roles like...uh..."Hottie Cop" (from A Night at the Roxbury) and "Woman at Football Game" (from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me)? Since there will inevitably be an American Pie 3 before any of the "teenagers" in its cast can lose too much more hair, we're guessing the answer is no.