Why You Don't See Gwyneth Paltrow On-Screen Much Anymore

https://www.looper.com/381906/why-you-dont-see-gwyneth-paltrow-on-screen-much-anymore/

Gwyneth Paltrow might have been afflicted by an "Oscar curse"

After winning big for Shakespeare in Love, Gwyneth Paltrow's career floundered, and a string of critically panned and commercially unsuccessful films followed her famous turn as Viola. Part of that may have been backlash over the Oscar win; after all, Shakespeare in Love triumphed over Steven Spielberg's war epic Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture that year (thanks in no small part to the machinations of disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein), and even years after the fact, some of Paltrow's peers don't think she deserved the trophy. In 2020, Glenn Close discussed the win, saying, "I remember the year Gwyneth Paltrow won over that incredible actress who was in Central Station [Fernanda Montenegro] and I thought, 'What?' It doesn't make sense."

Paltrow herself has cast doubt on the win, saying it led to some bad choices. "I think part of the downside about being so successful and winning the Oscar at the age of 26 is that I sort of became insouciant about the things that I chose," Paltrow admitted, as reported by Reuters. "I thought 'Oh, I'll just try this, it'll be fun or I'll do that for the money'. Things like that now I would absolutely never do." Obviously, curses don't actually exist, but it seems that the win may have gone to Paltrow's head... and negatively affected her career.

Gwyneth Paltrow's post-Oscar career definitely had some duds

Aside from 2001's The Royal Tenenbaums, which is still one of Wes Anderson's most beloved films, Gwyneth Paltrow's post-Oscar film choices were definitely a bit suspect. That same year, she appeared alongside Jack Black in Shallow Hal, a romantic comedy where a simple man named Hal (Black) can see people's "inner beauty." As such, while Paltrow's character, Rosie, is actually overweight, Hal sees her as Hollywood A-list thin. Though the movie performed well at the box office, its premise was offensive even by 2001's standards when it comes to body-shaming and inclusivity, and it definitely hasn't aged well as the years have gone on. Paltrow later even called it a "disaster."

After that, Paltrow appeared in the 2003 flight attendant romantic comedy View from the Top — which Paltrow herself later called "the worst movie ever" — and followed that with 2004's Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow after her Talented Mr. Ripley co-star Jude Law enlisted her for a role. The film did perform well critically, but ultimately barely earned its budget back, adding to Paltrow's list of early 2000s flops.