Word: hunt
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...Helen Hunt woman doesn't vamp. She has no outlaw swagger. She doesn't ratchet her I.Q. down 15 or 20 points to make the boys feel better. She refuses to play the little girl or the doomed diva. Or the perfect woman either, for she knows that flourishing at the end of this millennium is an art and a craft, and not many are up to it. But she has the grit to try. She attracts men, and appeals to other women, by being her own complicated self. Determined woman, staunch friend, strong mate: the sensible siren...
...logic, Helen Hunt--even the name is defiantly sensible--should not be a major multimedia star of the '90s. No one should be, for television and film have become only distantly related media. TV appeals to the broad middle-aged, movies to the young and younger. The living room is the woman's domain, the cineplex a guys' clubhouse. TV bathes in social reassurance; movies strut toward sociopathic threat. Not many performers commute between the two with much profit or comfort. Yet Hunt has one of the 10 highest Q ratings (recognizability plus likability) of all women in entertainment...
Listen to Hunt's colleagues speak of her, and you may wonder if she is not as good as it gets but too good to be true. Nicholson: "She's a juggernaut of ability. You can lean on her. She's a great gal, as we used to say. She's a babe." Reiser: "She's a mix of two powerful things: she's deliberate, very precise, knows what she wants; and she's really game, willing to take risks. As an actress, she's really inspiring." Victor Levin, executive producer of Mad About You: "She can talk about anything...
Hearing these testimonials, a skeptical journalist is tempted to set up an 800 hot line for anyone with an unkind word to say about the actress, anonymity guaranteed. But there may be more urgent Hollywood news about Hunt. Yes, she's now a big star, winner of Emmy, Golden Globe and MTV Movie awards. But on the evidence, she is also a caring, clever person who loves her folks and her shaggy Samoyed dog Johnny, belongs to no cult, lives in the unchic San Fernando Valley, drives a boring black Volvo sedan, loves opera, listens to the dictates...
...Hunt proves that a performer can do fine work and lots of it, be respected for what she does and loved for who she is, without falling victim to the excesses of sex, drugs and lock-'er-up. Shouldn't that be worth just one tabloid headline? NORMAL WOMAN CONQUERS SHOW...