Jennifer Garner brings physical assurance to action and a welcome seriousness to comedy. We rate her most when there is room for a character, as in Juno; a brief return in Deadpool & Wolverine gives her too little.
Fi1m perspective
In Juno (2007), Jennifer Garner’s Vanessa Loring is serious while Jason Bateman’s Mark has the easier manner. Garner does not need to match his ease to hold our attention. The difference gives both performances something to work with, and helps stop the adults feeling like a single, disapproving presence around Juno. We were moved by Garner here because she gives Vanessa’s wish for stability a weight that the surrounding clever talk cannot brush aside. The comedy needs someone who takes things this seriously.
That seriousness was already useful in Alias (2001–2006), the J.J. Abrams series that made her a lead as double agent Sydney Bristow. The physical work mattered, but so did making the person doing it emotionally accessible. Film leads followed while the programme was still running, with 13 Going on 30 (2004) giving her comic timing a romantic-comedy setting. The action films included Daredevil (2003) and the uneven Elektra (2005).
Her move towards supporting dramatic parts after 2006 put that emotional directness to different use. In Juno, director Jason Reitman gives the supporting actors weight while keeping Elliot Page at the centre. Diablo Cody’s dialogue can work too hard to impress, which makes Garner’s straightforward seriousness especially welcome. We do not need Vanessa to be the funniest person present, or the most immediately agreeable. Reitman lets her belong in the comedy without requiring her to keep up with its jokes.
The brief appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) offers little beyond recognition. There are laughs, but the stretches between them can be wearying, and Garner has too little to do to help. We would welcome another part with as much to play as Vanessa. Start with Juno, and try Alias if the physical side of her work interests you.
Biography
Jennifer Garner is an American actress. Born in Houston, Texas, in 1972 and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, she studied theatre at Denison University before beginning her career in New York theatre and early television roles.
She rose to prominence with her lead performance as CIA officer Sydney Bristow in the series Alias (2001–2006), for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama. Garner has also appeared in films such as Pearl Harbor (2001), Catch Me If You Can (2002), 13 Going on 30 (2004), Juno (2007) and Dallas Buyers Club (2013).
She first played Elektra in Daredevil (2003) and reprised the role in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
