Jennifer Garner participated in a women’s networking conference led by Marie Claire. Their story about it reveals that Garner’s baby food company, Once Upon a Child, just secured $20 million in funding, which seems high right? I must not understand business because $20 million seems like too much to sink into baby food, even one with a famous face. Garner did a panel interview where she discussed her new role on HBO’s Camping and how it plays against type for her. (Incidentally that show is getting very bad reviews with critics saying that it’s mediocre and the characters are unlikable.) She also talked about #MeToo. Remember her initial take on that? She said that “We can’t assume every man is guilty. Due process is important.” That was after her brother-in-law was sued for sexual harassment and after a video came out of Ben sexually harassing Hilarie Burton. Well she tells Marie Claire that she is trying to work with other women as much as possible but that she’s afraid of “not toeing the #metoo line.” Honestly I was going to make that the title of this post but I figured it would be too controversial. It speaks to how she plays both sides. Anyway she had some interesting thoughts.
On her character in Camping being unlikable
“Do you think I can just do Miracles from Heaven forever?” [Garner] started out talking about her new show, Camping, and the fact that she’s playing a character some people might consider “unlikeable” for the first time. People had a visceral reaction to her turn as Katherine, an obsessively organized and aggressively controlling woman planning her husband’s 45th birthday camping trip. To those people, Garner wants to question the status quo that lead people to think she can only be “the nice girl:” “It’s a little bit sexist that you only want me to be the nice girl. I can be the bitch, too.“I was drawn to what a jerk Katherine is, everyone’s pain comes from somewhere and sometimes you have to look a little deeper to find where that pain comes from.”
On #MeToo and how she’s trying to keep up
The Alias star touched upon the culture in Hollywood in the post-#metoo era, too.”Women are walking on eggshells. You want to take it for everything it’s worth and just surround yourself with the best possible women and make sure that you are fighting for and creating the most equality you can in every possible way you can. I feel very afraid of screwing up and not toeing the #metoo line.” But she’s not talking about coming from a place of fear. She’s talking about amending your behaviors to hold yourself accountable. “Any time there’s revolution and you feel like you’re being held to a new standard, you want to make sure you’re meeting the standard. I don’t want to let my sisters down.”On how Once Upon a Farm is personal to her
“As I was going through the process, I kept feeling like, ‘who is helping the kids like the kids I grew up with, like the ones in West Virginia, who’s helping the kids like my mom who grew up poor in Oklahoma, who’s helping rural America?’ And it crystalized for me over time and over having all of these meetings that I ultimately didn’t sign onto, and it made me realize that I’ve got to go with what I can speak about truly from the heart, which is poor rural America.”
We don’t always expect her to play the good girl, it’s like she is conveniently forgetting about Alias and then Peppermint. Still, it’s not like many people saw Peppermint. No one dragged her for signing on to that film despite its themes or for the fact that it tanked. Also, is it sexist that we see her a certain way, when she’s cultivated that image for years? It’s good of her to make sure her business highlights childhood poverty and that’s clearly an issue that she cares about deeply. She’s said in the past that her goal is to “have the first organic W.I.C. option for babies” in low income families.
Garner’s parked car was damaged yesterday, but it doesn’t sound that serious. Paparazzi agency Backgrid had this caption with the photo below. “Jennifer Garner is the first on the scene when her parked car gets hit by another car. The White Nissan that hit Jen’s Lexus was involved in an accident with another vehicle, and despite a narrow escape from being hit herself, a concerned Jen talks to the other people involved to make sure everyone is ok, before leaving her car and getting a ride home from a friend.”
photos credit: WENN, Backgrid and Avalon.red
I really hate when someone has worked hard to try and cultivate a certain image but then tries to make out the public or media has made her out to be that way. She 100% plays into that good Christian mother that the mini van majority love role. Does she want us to remember that she’s a known cheater? Scott Foley and Michael Vartan sure remember.
I can’t believe she let Michael Vartan get away. I mean, sure, I don’t know him, he could have all kinds of issues. From my disconnected eye, that guy sure is/was hot and I loved him and his character on Alias.
+1 — still love Michael Vartan!
She upgraded in terms of money and fame. Here’s the thing people always say Katie Holmes knew what she was doing marrying Tom Cruise (I disagree I was a huge fan of hers before TC and knew how naive she was, she even said it herself numerous times) but Jennifer Garner knew Ben had addiction issues and fieldlity issues. Michael Vartan however good looking and nice (I’ve heard he’s very nice) couldn’t offer the same in terms of visibility and money.
Count me as a Vartan fan. If he prefers a low-key life, then maybe it worked out better for him. I don’t think pap strolls and non-stop publicity would go with his more private life.
He was super hot on Alias.
I think she had a crush on Ben, and when he paid her some attention, that was it.
What Lucy said. Ben Affleck was to Jennifer Garner what Ryan Reynolds was to Blake Lively. He was always the goal. She was just biding her time until he became available.
I realize she has a reputation for being great mother, wife and entrepreneur and what not. But (just in my opinion) she is such a bad, bad actress. Like, really bad. In that respect she reminds me of Jessica Alba. Her acting skills (or merely the lack thereof) are best suited for action flicks where she can learn a choreography and stick to it.
She won and was nominated for all kinds of acting awards for Alias, which I think was her best work to date. I adored that character and think she was so well rounded and well shaped that I think of her as more real than this “Jennifer Garner” person. I miss Sydney Bristow and she would have loads of better things to say about women’s rights and the current state of events.
I think she’s good in those supporting drama roles one forgets that she did, like the adoptive mother in Juno or the medic from Dallas Buyers Club. But she’s not a leading actress, no matter what movie genre it is.
I did like her in Juno, and she was great on Alias, but beyond that, she’s not really an actress I seek out. I’m kind of happy to see her getting a career resurgence after being second fiddle to Ben for so long, but I won’t watch anything Lena Dunham is involved with.
@ Tanguerita
You know, I’ve been hearing this Jessica Alba is a horrible actress riff for decades – and much like the comments on Keanu Reeves’ acting, I’m realky tired of hearing it; I don’t see that she’s any worse than anyone else, in fact I think she’s improved. What performance of hers sticks out exactly, and how many have you seen?
*sits and states are Garner’s quotes*
Who’s gonna tell her?
Her character in Camping is still basically a type of ‘good girl’, just in a hideously Type A, grating kind of way. She’s what Tracy Flick would be if life hadn’t gone to plan and she’d ended up putting all that energy into a boring suburban life. But with crappy writing.
Any anyway, there’s been no criticism of her playing against type (though again I’d argue that she isn’t really). It’s just a bad show. Her character in particular is unbearable, and not in any way that’s even mildly interesting or entertaining. Just a horrible chore to watch.
I tried to watch Camping. The writing is god awful.
She can be cringe-worthy in her quotes on feminism/sexism. Like she knows she doesn’t really try to get it because she’s an apologist for too many guys in her life she should be calling out. Toe the line…really? Ugh.
I really like her IG, though. I think she’s at her best there.
Yes, writing makes all the difference. And the performances of the actors, too, of course. For example, Mad Men was full of deeply unlikeable characters but they were compelling to watch because you did want to know more about how they got that way and where their lives were headed.
I’ve only seen the trailer for Camping but Garner’s performance doesn’t seem to demonstrate anywhere Mad Men levels of nuance and subtlety.
I have only seen the promo trailer, which looks boring. Usually a trailer is filled with enough good parts to entice viewers. I assumed that was a bad sign.
I have enough pet peeves to fill a zoo. I hate when a 45 year old woman calls herself a girl. Now, if you say honey, I’m going out with the girls, that’s ok. Referring to your boobs as your girls goes into my zoo as well. That’s all for that. She should be happy she has any acting gig, all of these HW woman do nothing but whine 🤷♀️
Why isn’t “boobs” in your zoo as well?
Good question. To say breasts seems so clinical, but is the most appropriate. I guess I could throw boobs in there. Men have sexualized every term for our mammary glands, but we won’t even go there. The list is too long.
I can deal with it in this context because the concept of “nice girl” is an archetype built around the idea of infantilizing women and stripping them of adult emotions and feelings beyond submissive pleasantry. When the former UN Secretary uses it to describe herself, that’s when I get irritated.
I’m guilty of telling my 39 year old husband to go hang out with the boys for awhile. Idk, I don’t like women referring to themselves as girls….i.e. Julia Roberts, circa 1999, made her about 33 or thereabouts. In some Rom Com: I am just a girl standing in front of a boy asking him to love her. I’m way past my nausea stage of pregnancy, but that line could very well bring it back!!
Maybe if she had a reputation like Angelina Jolie did in the ’90s people would see her differently? This whole “suburban supermom” schtick has been her thing for years now. She’s not the kind of woman I’d expect to run into a protest.
I’ve always found Jennifer Garner to be rather… eyeroll-inducing, but I’ve grown to respect her a lot. I get exhausted just by reading articles about Ben Affleck, so I can’t imagine being in her position and taking everything with responsibility and grace.
I think it doesn’t help that her personal life has been so public. You have to be a really strong actor to transcend your public persona these days, it seems.
Okay perhaps this is on me but WHAT THE F*&% is she saying about #metoo and walking on eggshells and…HUH? I’m genuinely confused.
Thanks, I was wondering as well. There is no #metoo line to “toe,” is there? I mean, other than supporting women’s rights to live and work free of harassment and assault? It almost sounds as if she’s equating the vocal imperative to protect and support other women as being some kind of bullying.
I think it has to do with Ben. When it came out that he sexually assaulted 2 two women maybe more. Jen made a statement dayimg something about she’s teaching her daughter’s not to judge a man outright on sexual assault charges and about due process. Yet wants to be about of the #metoo movement.
I have always liked her since Alias, but much like Julia Roberts, I think she benefited greatly by having her Vartan to Affleck jump happen before internet gossip really too off. She was able to maintain/create her good girl image.
In regards to the baby food, my 1yo daughter likes it but it is expensive/finicky (refrigerated) compared to other pouch babyfood. If she’s trying to bring it mainstream the price point would need to drop.
When talking about organic food (particularly a celebrity -endorsed brand), I assumed the price point was higher. If her goal is to be WIC-approved, then how will it make sense for a mother to purchase a jar of her brand if they can purchase two of another, lower-cost option?
Exactly, and honestly it isn’t super special apart from it being cold pressed, in terms of flavor options or amount in the package.
There are a multitude of organic options that are shelf stable and cheaper even without being on sale.
Organic is not healthier.
Doesn’t it depend on the food and its relative permeability in terms of toxic pesticide residue? I mean, an apple is an apple, but it’s the stuff on the outside that carries some potential for harm, right? So either effectively wash it off or have it grown without. Also, are organic farms using better-quality soil? Honest question, I don’t know. I know “organic” isn’t automatically better – for example, with bananas. We peel off the thick skin.
Somewhere I read that tomatoes, ketchup, strawberries, a few other items give the highest “health value” for the money, if you’re looking to shop organic. What about leafy greens?
Eh…not so much. Toxic residue from pesticides is only a real problem for lower income countries. Nations like the United States and Europe have tighter regulations on what can be used and to what extent, and there are better controls on making sure it’s properly prepared before heading to grocery stores. Even from a “green” perspective, organic farming isn’t all that more sustainable because it has lower yields per acre compared to enhanced agriculture. And “good” soil is a difficult measure because nearly all growth runs the risk of leeching vital nutrients from the soil, particularly nitrogen, which is why farmers have to “switch off” on their fields and grow nitrogen-restoring plants in certain areas if they don’t want to use artificial methods like manure or fertilizer to replace it. Organic is a nice idea that doesn’t have the most practical application in contemporary industry unless it improves for wide scale use.
Organic fruits and vegetables are grown without chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. The effects of pesticide residues on human health are widely known as they could cause cancers and other health problems. People with non-developed immune system such as babies and children, or people with poor immune system such as patients with cancer or autoimmune diseases are sensible to chemicals and is better to use organic food.
She’s so tiresome.
She sure is. She works it hard.
Completely overexposed, and probably wonders why her current endeavors are flopping.
I told you guys she was mad Batdad got to be the action hero and she got stuck raising kids
1.) This is the image she has cultivated for herself, intentionally.
2.) Maybe that comment is a reaction to Peppermint bombing. (Did it bomb? I’m assuming it bombed.) She thinks it’s because “no one want to see her” in that role, but in reality, no one wanted to see that movie, period.
Well she has spent the past 10 plus years creating image of a good wholesome church-going wife and mother with the perfect family and marriage. She still poting that image now as her new brand so why complain.
Then again she probably only complaining because her racist movie bomb and her new show is getting poor reviews. It couldn’t possibly be that both her movie and show are racist and/or boring.
She not picking good roles and I don’t think that she’s getting many offers. Since her marriage to Ben she hasn’t been creating a name for herself in Hollywood other than being Ben Affleck’s wife and tge mother if his kids that’s what she’s been promoting so it’s not surprising that offers aren’t coming in.
I’m fed up.
She had a nice enough career with Alias and has her other endorsements, but Hollywood doesn’t care how much of a ‘good girl’ you are. Hollywood only cares if you produce hit movies and can handle the stamina of the industry. I think Garner is kind of like Marilyn Monroe in some areas.
Marilyn relied heavily on her sexpot image, while Gerner relies heavily on her ‘good girl image’ and neither resulted in either woman being taken seriously as an actress in that industry. Jen cultivated a name brand, not a reputation as a great actress and there is a difference. Jen hasn’t done quality projects and she isn’t getting offers because she is too overexposed and it is clear that she hasn’t been putting in hours with an acting coach.
Jen’s personal life has overshadowed any work that she might do and she also made the mistake of stupidly thinking that she would be able to just be a wife/mother and possibly just jump back into work after a certain period, ignoring the fact that at her age, trying to jump back into work would prove difficult. Age discrimination is rampant and second, age discrimination in Hollywood is a rite of passage.
She’s 45 years old and instead of working, she chose to quit and also ignore reality and cultivate the image of a supermom, for reasons I do not know. My parents religiously preached to me the vital importance of working my own way through life and I daresay that it ended up doing more for me than any boyfriend could. Jen made a huge mistake in first, cultivating an image that would be very limiting for her and she made the second mistake in thinking that having her entire persona be an ideal suburban mother would ever come to any good.
Instead of offering her roles, serious roles, Jen has been bypassed in favor of actresses who are younger (predictably at her age the younger ones start getting all the positive attention) and have hard to first actually be able to act and then also those who aren’t busy cultivating a public persona that would overshadow the publicity that the movie itself needs to get attention and sales. No film will want to hire Jen if in fact her personal life overshadows the movie itself. It interferes with the marketing that the studio does to promote the film.
Now she is complaining that her image is preventing her from getting work, but she should have thought of that before she decided to cultivate that image.
Her pap strolls for the public’s consumption and promotion of that image and her choice to be Martyr of the Century via her marriage has not helped her at all and that was her big mistake. So no sympathy from me. She might have had a good stable average career, but she threw it away to be a wife/mother and aspiring America’s Sweetheart; now that she isn’t America’s new Sweetheart she’s upset and whimpering that it’s not fair that she isn’t being taken seriously as a serious, well respected actress.
No one ever owed her a prestigious career and she could have easily done more like becoming a fixture with Hallmark and Lifetime movies and frankly she keeps trying to get what she has not shown herself willing to earn by taking hard roads via hard choices. She clearly wants it easy and wants prestige/respect, but she does not want to take that risk.
Garner should have went the route of character actor and stayed with TV, but she wanted her career to be Afflecks wife. I really don’t think Garner thought the marriage would end. I honestly believe she was shocked that it didn’t work out.
I think she fancied that Ben would take her to a new level, but mistakenly thought that since her new marital status didn’t make it happen, that being his wife would be her career and predictably, she ended up losing her best working years and also foolishly thought that she would be immune from divorce.
She should read that book by Leslie Bennett called “The Feminine Mistake.” It is a book that condemns stay at home moms and points out the perils of quitting one’s career/work to be a stay at home wife/mother.
“I really don’t think Garner thought the marriage would end. I honestly believe she was shocked that it didn’t work out. ”
Few women bet on the marriage ending; thankfully for her she will have millions to live off of for the rest of her life.
Awww peppermint tanked?
After reading what all it was about, I’m not surprised….and she took that script? Ugh!
Perhaps since she claims she is not a “good girl” she will take the route of Charlize, Nicole Kidman, and Jodie to do some grittier type films? Cut that hair off and give her some dirty blonde hair, she needs to revamp her midwestern Mom look. What about a black bob?
She doesn’t have Charlize, Nicole Kidman, and Jodie careers so thats not going to work plus she doesn’t have their level of talent. She took 10 of her Prime acting years off to promote herself as mrs. Affleck. She
also still promoting that so no hair style is going to change her image.
Not to mention she still wants the image of a goodgirl. She just saying this now as an excuse to why her projects haven’t got the response she had hope for.
“www peppermint tanked?
After reading what all it was about, I’m not surprised….and she took that script? Ugh!”
I don’t think she was getting other offers and I do think she mistakenly thought that she would revive her career via a bloody action film. Instead she has looked foolish and clearly isn’t aware that just maybe a career in the big bucks film industry is for her.
The reason she’s so outspoken lately is that she’s got a big fat dose of self confidence from the fac that Ben has made promises to her. The marriage isn’t really over. They will be getting back together.
Oh, I don’t think her role in Camping is playing against type at all. That never even crossed my mind. In fact, I think it’s playing TO type. For the most part, she plays one of two characters in any work that she does – the sweet girlfriend/wife/mom or the uptight, controlling, type A girlfriend/wife/mom (see: BUTTER.) Both of these “character types” are pretty consistent with how I imagine her actual personality to be as well.
I think she has prepared herself if her acting career fizzles. She just secured $20 million in funding for her Once Upon A Farm baby food. IMO, i look for her to get into other things as well… i think Jen will be doing just fine…
She been trying to get into other thing for years. She tried for a talk show, but there were no bite because the studios didn’t think anybody would watch her. She tried for kids art kits at Joann Fabrics but that didn’t last a year.
Just because she got funding doesn’t mean her Once Upon A Farm baby food it’s going to take off. Look at Gwen P she got funding for Goop and she hadn’t made a profit the first five years it was acting losing money. Them her money partner left and she tried to get a money from China and her company still didn’t take off.
Baby food is a hard Market to get into, nowadays there are tons of organic baby foods not to mention many people are making their own homemade ones. Despite her gaining fans with her Instagram she still doesn’t have the fandom that will go out and just automatically purchase her products just because she made them.
Only one episode so far, but I like Camping! She does play an utter, nerdy control freak, and I found it interesting. Her character planned a 4 day weekend camping w/family & friends for her husband’s (David Tennant)
45th bday. Jennifer wears a fanny pack, carries a huge binder around with their schedule micromanaged to the minute – she’s funny (that crazy walk she does) & an awfully annoying character. Jenn is killing it & I can’t wait to watch it Sunday. I don’t have to like all the characters- they just have to be interesting & flawed. She’s so consumed with being perfect – THAT’S her character’s flaw. Also, she is a bitch. Treats her sister like $hit; also she steals everyone’s mattresses before they arrive because SHE needs the all “to help with her pelvic floor pain.”