It’s Day 3 of Women’s History Month, and this next performance is one I love mostly for bragging rights.
Okay, that’s not entirely true, but I do feel a certain sense of smugness in correctly predicting which cast member of Dawson’s Creek would have the best career. Not that any of them are doing badly. James Van Der Beek is developing a reputation for having a good sense of humor about himself and making money off of it, Joshua Jackson had a critically acclaimed sci-fi series, Katie Holmes is…well, anyway, Michelle Williams is making widely-respected indie movies and has three Oscar nominations by the age of thirty-two. This girl is on fiiiiiiire.
And there’s a reason for that: she’s awesome.
Dawson’s Creek was the very first teen show that caught my interest. I was never a fan of the teen comedy Saved by the Bell or the teen soap Beverly Hills, 90210, but Dawson’s Creek quickly caught my heart and attention with its overwrought dialogue, its soundtrack, and the wounded, sad Jen Lindley. She wasn’t the character I was supposed to latch onto – I was supposed to root for Joey Potter, the brown-haired, smart, angry girl from the wrong side of the creek. Joey was fine, and I definitely rooted for her and Pacey, but Jen was my favorite. I found something irresistible about the girl from New York City who grew up too quickly, was sexualized too young, and desperately wanted a place to call home.
The clip I want to show is from the series finale of Creek, where a dying Jen records a video for her daughter to watch later on. (Don’t get me started on their decision to kill off Jen. Don’t. Get. Me. Started.) This is a perfect example of Michelle Williams’s ability to elevate the sappy, manipulative dialogue into something genuinely moving. No, I’m not crying. YOU’RE crying.
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How come there can’t be a Michelle Williams article without mentioning the Dawson’s creek cast and bashing them?
There can be. I just chose not to write it.
Non-sarcastic answer to that question: I’m not bashing Van der Beek or Jackson. Van der Beek was truly funny on Don’t Trust the B and Jackson has a respected role in a respected sci-fi series. Katie Holmes – well, yes, I was poking fun at her, but I don’t see that as the same thing as “bashing.”
Unfortunately, I think Dawson’s Creek was Katie’s best work. I can’t think of an example of a movie she was in where her acting was truly great. She was pretty good at being Joey Potter though.