Janeane Garofalo, I Love You

There are so very many celebrities in the world and there are so few I want to go out and have a drink with. Janeane Garofalo, in fact, is the only one I can think of right now. Funny, smart, and real. I wish I could listen to talk radio while working so I could listen to her on Air America Radio.

I rented The Truth About Cats and Dogs this week and found myself in the midst of my usual cognitive dissonance about Janeane Garofalo and her looks. I think she could not possibly be cuter. Cute figure, beautiful face, great hair and smile. Yet the whole movie is predicated on the idea that she thinks she is too ugly to meet a boy she clicked with on the phone. Even the boy, who adores her personality, appears to find her mediocre in person. What is that? I don't get it. Why does Janeane think she is fat? I was watching the Ben Stiller show a few weeks ago on DVD - and again - she referred to anyone attracted to her as a 'chubby chaser'. She's NOT CHUBBY! Gawd. I just want to yank her out of Los Angeles and into the real world where she is not going to be beat over the head with her lack of conformity to the Uma Thurman ideal. I loved her role in Steal This Movie because there was none of that self-deprecating chubby business in it.

I hope, I hope, that the self-loathing about the looks is in her past, that she is milking it for humor and jobs, but somehow I think it's still there. And I hate that for her. If I had one wish for Janeane Garofalo, it would be that she looks in the mirror and really sees how very cute she is, how very pretty she can be when she feels like it. I know: looking good isn't the most important thing in the world, and good looks without a personality are ultimately ephemeral and meaningless. (i.e., Uma Thurman's role in Cats & Dogs). But feeling good about your looks is really important and stupid Los Angeles is fucking with a brilliant and funny chica who deserves to be happy with herself.