Gina Vivinetto’s Greatest Hits

Which actresses can do accents (and which ones suck?)

September 3, 2008 · 12 Comments

I posted about the subject here, but I’d love to know your picks right now on this blog. To reiterate:

The Good:
* New Yorker Kyra Sedgwick doing a Southern accent in The Closer
* New Yorker Rue McClanahan going Southern for The Golden Girls
* Meryl Streep doing a New Zealand/ Aussie accent (Cry In the Dark), a Pole (Sophie’s Choice) and Danish person (Out of Africa)
* Aussie Cate Blanchett doing a Russian accent in The Man Who Cried, American in Babel, mimicking Katherine Hepburn’s crazy Connecticut clip (The Aviator) and Bob Dylan (I’m Not There)
* Brit Kate Winslet faking an American accent in anything
* Aussie Toni Collette, ditto
* Catherine Zeta-Jones, too. She’s Welsh?!
* Aussie Nicole Kidman puts on a perfect American accent all the time, a believable Southern accent (Cold Mountain), not a half bad Russian (Birthday Girl) and a passable New England accent (Margot at the Wedding)
* Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones’ Diary: not a bad British accent for a Texan
* Gwyneth Paltrow’s British accent is decent even though I hate her

The Bad:
* Winona Ryder’s bizarre British accent in Dracula
* Natalie Portman’s totally unbelievable British accent in V For Vendetta
* Anne Hathaway’s bad British accent in Becoming Jane

Oh, but there are so many more. We can open it up to actors, too, if you want. Let me hear your votes.

Categories: Film
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12 responses so far ↓

  • Michael Hussey // September 3, 2008 at 8:00 pm | Reply

    Sarah Michelle Geller does a horible British accent.

    How about guys: Ben Affleck’s horrible Southern accent in Pearl Harbor and Italian accent in Gigli. What the hell was the strange accent he used in the movie about George Reeves murder. Everything Affleck does sounds Boston. Even his British accent in Shakespeare In Love.

  • ginavivinetto // September 3, 2008 at 8:12 pm | Reply

    What exactly is Ben Affleck’s talent? Knowing Matt Damon well enough to share credit for “Good Will Hunting”?

  • Cafe Des Artistes // September 3, 2008 at 8:22 pm | Reply

    Pardon me, madam, but I am shocked and horrified that JUDY DAVIS is missing from your list of absolutely 100% fabulous accent fakers! Judy Davis!

  • ginavivinetto // September 3, 2008 at 8:26 pm | Reply

    Oh yes, fabulous Judy Davis. One of the finest ever American accents from an Aussie. That’s quite an oversight.

  • Vincent // September 3, 2008 at 9:07 pm | Reply

    Umm…Can we please talk about Madonna’s new “refined” semi-English accent? So freaking lame.

    And isn’t Toni Colette Aussie?

  • Deborah Frost // September 4, 2008 at 3:58 am | Reply

    The cute blonde–what the fuck is her name (maybe the fact that I can’t remember it has something to do with why she never became the bigger star I thought she oughta be, given the tremendous promise inherent here) in High Art– Radha Mitchell! Woody Allen found her a few years later– maybe she went back to Australia, or wherever she’s from, or doesn’t have the right agent or screw the right people… but I thought she was wonderful here-unless it was just one of the best tank top performances before “Shane” was invented…

  • Gary // September 4, 2008 at 10:09 pm | Reply

    I love Minnie Driver’s American accent… it is believable in Grosse Pointe Blank… but I guess it should have been Detroit… and I also like Claire Forlani’s American accent in Boys And Girls or Mallrats.

    Ben Affleck.. ugh… even with the Kevin Smith movies… I have a hard time stomaching anything that he was in… I just appreciated the “I F*cked Ben Affleck” Jimmy Kimmel video…

  • Robert // September 4, 2008 at 10:57 pm | Reply

    Over looked worst accent: Kevin Costner’s English accent in Robin Hood: Prince of Theives, absolutely the worst.

  • emmettqaf // September 4, 2008 at 11:51 pm | Reply

    I vote for Minnie Driver in the “Riches”–southern accent is great.
    “TONY SOPRANO”….best Jersey accent. :-)

  • William // September 12, 2008 at 2:31 am | Reply

    Although Rue McClanahan did break into acting on the stages of New York City, she was born, raised, and went to college in Oklahoma.

  • James // November 9, 2008 at 1:28 am | Reply

    Kyra Sedgwick’s Southern accent is HORRIBLE.

    The WORST ever. By far. Not even close.

    HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE.

    It’s as if she trained for the role by watching three straight weeks of Hee Haw.

  • Kevin Costner in ‘JFK’: WTF? « Gina Vivinetto’s Greatest Hits // November 23, 2008 at 12:18 pm | Reply

    [...] He’s a member of the Faux Twang Clan. [...]

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