The Forgotten Romantic Comedy That Ruined Sarah Michelle Gellar's Career

[TMC]

https://www.looper.com/592990/the-fo...ellars-career/

Sarah Michelle Gellar has had quite a career in both the TV and film realm since breaking through the Hollywood scene in the early '90s. To this day, her claim to fame is playing the titular role in the long-running "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" TV series. Gellar's roles in movies and TV, including "Cruel Intentions," the "Scooby-Doo" live-action movies, and her stint on daytime soap opera "All My Children," prove she has range. Also, a majority of her acting career has been spent in the horror and thriller realms, with roles in films like "I Know What You Did Last Summer," "The Grudge," and "Scream 2" putting her on the map.

After a series of star-making turns, Gellar stopped getting roles in big projects, thus falling out of mainstream popularity. This fall from the spotlight is thanks to one movie released in the late '90s. In fact, when looking at her filmography (via IMDb), you can pinpoint how this exact film caused Gellar's career to go downhill.

Simply Irresistible flopped so hard it ruined Gellar's career for more than a decade

In 1999, Gellar starred opposite Sean Patrick Flanery in the supernatural romcom "Simply Irresistible." The film relied on old-fashioned and overplayed romcom tropes to tell the story of Amanda Shelton (Gellar), a young chef who inherits her mother's restaurant but not her cooking skills. Flanery's Tom Bartlett, a high-ranking executive, has little in common with Amanda but soon becomes a love interest when a magical crab brings them together. In the end, "Simply Irresistible" was a predictable love story with a weak supernatural plot.

Following its release, "Simply Irresistible" was a complete failure both critically and commercially. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a measly 16% rating from reviewers. Even worse, the movie, which had a $6 million budget, earned a mere $4 million domestic gross, according to Box Office Mojo. The movie's reception is all the more shocking considering it was released the same year as "Cruel Intentions." Even so, "Simply Irresistible" marked the beginning of the end of Gellar's status as a mainstream star. Throughout the early '00s, Gellar worked on a mixed bag of little-seen projects, including "Harvard Man," "Southland Tales," and "Suburban Girl" (via IMDb). She was also stuck in the horror realm, unable to rise above the poor reception of movies like "The Return" and "Veronika Decides to Die."

Despite her ventures into other genres, it's taken a long time for Gellar to return to the level of fame she had in the '90s. Only in the last decade has Gellar started appearing in more high-profile projects, including Netflix's "Masters of the Universe: Revelation" animated series.

Read More: https://www.looper.com/592990/the-fo..._campaign=clip

[principehomura]

That's completely preposterous.
It is well known tha after her marriage she purposely decided to focus on her family, and let tv and cinema if not for a few roles she selected when she wanted to, mostly based on: "Is the set near home and will I see my family enough?"
Hollywood did want her; she didn't have any interest.

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by principehomura

Hollywood did want her; she didn't have any interest.

This is true. I know Supernatural wanted her to guest star in the early years but she was a new mom and wanted to be at home. She also turned down movies like Stardust that wanted her for a specific role. Sarah is still a most wanted actress. Look at the last episode of The Big Bang Theory. She did a cameo because they wanted her due to the character's obsession with Buffy.

However, I do remember when Simply Irresistible came out. I was so excited to go see that in theaters and so disappointed when I first saw it. It was a huge stink bomb. She should have pulled out after reading the script unless they edited the movie so badly and that's why it stunk. Emma's movie, Darkness Falls, has a lot of deleted scenes that needed to be in the final cut to make it flow better. This could be the case with Simply Irresistible.

[principehomura]

I also remember that her husband got a lot of hate on boards in half 2000s because of this...

[RetroGuy2000]

I don't think any project "ruined" SMG's career. She clearly still has a career, still does major projects, and won a People's Choice Award in 2014.

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by principehomura

I also remember that her husband got a lot of hate on boards in half 2000s because of this...

Yep. I remember a lot of Buffy fans on IMDb back in 2003 blamed Freddie for Buffy's cancelation. They thought he wanted her to quit acting and be a stay at home wife. I don't think he had anything to do with it though. Sarah was already voicing her dislike of how Buffy was going in its sixth season so I believe it was her decision solely on canceling Buffy.

[principehomura]

I disliked so much season 6 and 7 that I would personally thanks whomever is to 'blame'

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by principehomura

I disliked so much season 6 and 7 that I would personally thanks whomever is to 'blame'

Sarah does as well. Back in 2002, she said she wanted Buffy to die in the finale when she quit the show. That's how bad she hated the UPN years because she didn't want to return after her contract ended. Today, she says her kids can watch the early years of Buffy but not the UPN years. I don't dislike season 6. It used to be my favorite many years ago. Now though it's just so realistic and depressing. I'm over shows like that. I love what Joss did bringing reality into the series but it was way too much and all at once.