![](\"https:\/\/cdn01.cdn.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/zellweger-santabf\/renee-zellweger-gets-honored-with-american-riviera-award-at-santa-barbara-film-fest-10.jpg\")
<\/p>\nReviewed by Kimberli Wong, Santa Barbara International Film Fesitval 2020<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It feels strange to write a review about any person, but especially, in my opinion, about Renee Zellweger.<\/span><\/p>\n In fact, how does one write a review about an interview at all? \u00a0In some ways, I imagine this is what it would be like to be a journalist, to take a question and answer session, a candid conversation, then to digest it, and most importantly, represent it in an entertaining way, say, to the public. \u00a0There is a lot of room for interpretation in that delicate translation\u2014and a lot of responsibility, if one takes their job seriously, as they should.<\/span><\/p>\n Which brings me to the evening of the American Riviera Award honoring Renee Zellweger. \u00a0Renee was so earnest, so genuine, so sincere, with the clear intention of speaking to everyone in the audience as normal, fellow human beings, that it seems counterintuitive to write anything about it. \u00a0She had a conversation with us, and that conversation was for two hours, and perhaps it should be left at that.<\/p>\n To do so would to keep private the enormous wisdom and reflection she imparted, which I found inspiring, refreshing, and moving. \u00a0Here is a woman who has repeatedly turned in some of the best performances of our time\u2014in Jerry Maguire, Cold Mountain, Chicago, Bridget Jones\u2019 Diary\u2014and now, in Judy, for which she has won every award for and is most likely guaranteed the Oscar on Sunday. \u00a0And here is also a woman whose personal journey alongside that professional one was a bit rockier, a bit more up and down, a bit more painful. \u00a0Renee was honest about that, not as someone wanting to explain, but as someone who seemed not afraid to open up and share, as one does with a friend, or family member. \u00a0To see her do that with a crowd of hundreds left me enraptured.<\/p>\n It was fun to hear her reminisce about her early days in Austin, doing films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and avoiding carpooling to auditions with another soon to be star, Matthew McConaughay. \u00a0It seemed eerily serendipitous that she would meet her agent\u2014who is still her agent today\u2014shortly after moving to L.A. and who happened to be her neighbor across the street. \u00a0And it was really refreshing to hear her talk so humbly about her Jerry Maguire experience (\u201cI\u2019m going to have lunch with Tom Cruise,\u201d \u00a0\u201cTom Cruise is waiting for me, how ridiculous is that?!\u201d) and to hear her laugh. \u00a0Because for Renee, it was never about the celebrity, it was never about the recognition. \u00a0As she so powerfully and simply put, she \u201cwas never trying to get somewhere.\u201d \u00a0Renee loved being on set, she loved the creative process and the collaboration with the crew, it was her \u201cbliss.\u201d \u00a0When Jerry Maguire did so well, she skipped the press tour and disappeared for two years doing a small show in New York, because she didn\u2019t want her life to change. \u00a0It was about the work.<\/p>\n Her life did change, though, and in the end, work became the problem. \u00a0As Renee admitted, she doesn\u2019t really remember her 30s, most of which were a blur traveling all over the world from set to set. \u00a0When one is granted \u201conce in a lifetime opportunities\u201d over and over again, how does one say no? \u00a0She realized it was taking a toll on her, mentally and physically, when she stopped feeling grateful, perhaps even resentful, of the work. \u00a0Then it was time to take a break.<\/p>\n Many are seeing Judy as a comeback performance of sorts, but as I see it, Renee never lost anything. \u00a0She has always been an actress, and an artist, more than anything, and you don\u2019t lose what is inside of you. \u00a0Blockbusters come and go, celebrity comes and goes, fame is fleeting, but for those that are truly great, it is about the work. \u00a0And, as Renee seemed to express, while I won\u2019t presume to surmise her lessons for her, it is also about the life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Reviewed by Kimberli Wong, Santa Barbara International Film Fesitval 2020 It feels strange to write a review about any person, but especially, in my opinion, about Renee Zellweger. In fact, how does one write a review about an interview at all? \u00a0In some ways, I imagine this is what it would be like to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":226246,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[404,82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-santa-barbara-film-festival-2020","category-tributes-and-qas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/226246"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46706"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46969,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46706\/revisions\/46969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}