Sandra Bullock is one of Hollywood’s most reliable actresses. She has been nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award twice (Gravity & The Blind Side), winning once. She has been an action heroine, a hilarious comic lead, and a fully serious dramatic actress. Few women have the ability to excel in so many Hollywood genres like Sandra Bullock can. She has the same level of stardom and likability as George Clooney. So, it makes perfect sense that she starred in the George Clooney-role in 2018’s Ocean’s 8. That film was an all-female version of the Clooney-Pitt-Damon franchise. Bullock, as Debbie Ocean, is essentially Bullock. Just as Clooney as Danny Ocean was essentially Clooney. However, she can dive into many different kinds of roles. On December 21st, she is starring in Bird Box for Netflix. It is a high-concept dystopia drama where a mother and her children must flee a terror event blindfolded. By all accounts, Bullock is her usual amazing self. Here are Sandra Bullock’s 10 best performances throughout her career.
Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side (2009)
Sandra Bullock walked away with the Best Actress Oscar in 2011 for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side. The film tells the true story of Michael Oher, an NFL star who spent his youth homeless and oppressed in the South. Michael, a touching Quinton Aaron, doesn’t know who his father is and his mother is a severe drug addict. The town finds Michael an opposing figure, but no one ever really gave him a chance to excel. That is until Bullock’s Leigh steps up. John Lee Hancock’s film is a bit sterile and full of white-guilt drama. However, Bullock plays Leigh as such a force to be reckoned with that it props the movie up into near greatness. The audience totally believes her empathy toward Michael when she sees him walking in the rain. When that empathy starts to slip into pity, she decides that if she has to scorch the Earth to give Michael a chance to excel she will do it.
Gracie Hart in Miss Congeniality (2000)
2000’s Miss Congeniality is a hilarious juxtaposition about the quality of character and the superficiality of looks. Sandra Bullock plays Gracie Hart, a hard-nosed FBI agent that is more concerned with her job then with relationships or her femininity. After a disastrous miscalculation with a previous case, she is overlooked when it comes to the case involving the terrorist, The Citizen. When Gracie realizes that the next target is the Miss United States Beauty Pageant, her superiors send her in undercover. It is essentially Gracie’s worst nightmare. It has been mentioned several times that Bullock is a gorgeous woman. Yet Bullock handles the character of Gracie with such care and respect that Miss Congeniality never slips into exploitation. Gracie and her experiences undercover are hilarious, and Bullock cleaned up with a lot of awards for her role.
Harper Lee in Infamous (2006)
When Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s Capote was released in 2005, it took the world by storm. Hoffman won nearly every award known to man that year for his portrayal of the titular character. However, few people know that there is an equally fantastic film about Truman Capote that was released a year later. Toby Jones starred in Infamous, which is a bit more colorful and jovial version of the story told in Capote. A major character in the Truman Capote story is Harper Lee. Catherine Keener portrayed her in the 2005 version, but Sandra Bullock tackled the role in the 2006 version, and she is wonderful. Toby Jones’ performance as Capote made him a bit more childish, naive, and therefore vulnerable. The relationship with Perry Smith and the writing of In Cold Blood begin to weigh heavy on Truman’s psyche. His dear friend Harper Lee becomes integral to the plot. Keeping him grounded, comfortable, and relaxed. Bullock emotes such pleasantness and friendliness that comes across so much more than Catherine Keener did in her portrayal.
Margaret Tate in The Proposal (2009)
Sandra Bullock has never been a stronger, more self-assured lead actress than in her near-perfect romantic comedy, The Proposal. She plays Margaret Tate, a powerful editor at a publishing company who is quite ruthless. She is known as a boss from hell, and her assistant, Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) is essentially terrified of her. Then the INS comes knocking and informs her that she is going to be deported back to Canada. So, Margaret insists her lapdog assistant marries her. What follows is a comedy of errors between to people who detest each other. There is a lot of sweetness, slapstick, and gorgeous vistas from Alaska. However, Bullock never slips Margaret into a damsel and it is refreshing. Margaret is a woman that does everything herself and HATES that she needs a man’s assistance to fix her immigration status. It is a wonderfully unique dynamic in a romantic comedy.
Diane Farrow in Love Potion #9 (1992)
Before Sandra Bullock was Sandra Bullock, she starred in a quaint little 90s movie called Love Potion #9. It is a wholly absurd fantasy about a couple of lab mates who stumble upon a love potion from a Romani woman. It is based on the famous song about “Madame Ruth”, and that role is hilariously played by Anne Bancroft. However, the film follows Paul and Diane as they attempt to test and understand the magical potion. The male/female dynamic works very well in the film. Obviously, we all know where the story is going to head. However, to see how different Paul’s experience is in contrast to Diane’s. Paul’s is all about sexual escapades. Diane’s is all about having sway over powerful men. For such a superficial story on the surface, Love Potion #9 has a couple of neat things to say about different sexual dynamics.
Debbie Ocean in Ocean’s 8 (2018)
Ocean’s 8 had its problems. It is another entry in the slew of movies that are inexplicably trying to reboot successful franchises. But no other movie so perfectly exhibits how famous, how respected, and how liked Sandra Bullock is. It was touched upon at the beginning of this feature, but Sandra Bullock is the female version of George Clooney. She has reached a level of stardom that just her presence is near enough to make a movie successful and enjoyable. Her particular character of Debbie has all the swagger, charisma, and gravitas that her cinematic brother did in Ocean’s 11.
Mary Horowitz in All About Steve (2009)
Don’t click away. It is obvious that All About Steve is a disaster of a film and Bullock is awful as the nut-job crossword-puzzle creator. However, possibly more than any other role in her career, this role has an amazing quality to it that is things legends are born of. 2009 was a big one for Sandra Bullock. She won the Best Actress Oscar for The Blind Side. Also, she had a Golden Globe nomination for her box-office hit The Proposal. Then there was All About Steve, for which she won a Razzie. However, Bullock wasn’t going to let that dishonor from slowing her down. Sandra Bullock actually showed up to the Golden Raspberry Awards to accept her trophy. She also brought 300 screeners of All About Steve for the audience members. She asked that they all watched or rewatched the film and decide if she truly is the worst of the year. If they decided she was, she’d buy them all drinks at the following year’s ceremony.
Lenina Huxley in Demolition Man (1993)
Demolition Man is one of the best action comedies of the 1990s. Sylvester Stallone has never been funnier while bringing all of the patented action stardom he is legendary for. The film takes place in 2032 San Angeles, California. Detective John Spartan (Stallone) has been thawed out of his cryo-prison to re-capture Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes). Detective Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock) is the beautiful, naive, child-of-the-90s cop tasked with showing Spartan the ropes. Bullock is simply adorable and hilarious in this film. The modern society is one of non-violence and milquetoast personalities. Huxley aches for the high-octane action of yesteryear. With the arrival of John Spartan, she gets exactly what she wants. She didn’t quite know how to handle the adrenaline, but it is a good thing she watched all those Jackie Chan movies. Demolition Man realizes one of the greatest comic dystopias, and Bullock really let her stardom shine through all the glossy beauty.
Ryan Stone in Gravity (2013)
The real star of 2013’s Gravity is director Alfonso Cuaron. The film is a technical masterpiece. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney actually look to be in outer space. However, the movie could not have been as wonderful as it was if Sandra Bullock didn’t have the ability to carry the human aspects of the narrative. She stars as Dr. Ryan Stone, a medical engineer on her first shuttle mission. When things go south, her fear, desperation, and panic is absolutely believable, and therefore terrifying. If all we got out of Gravity was the visual and technical acumen of Cuaron, it would still have been one of the best films of the year. But with Bullock to root for, care for, and sympathize with, the movie truly becomes a riveting experience.
Annie in Speed (1993)
Speed took the world by storm in 1994. This was the time before Keanu Reeves was a seasoned action star. Also, Sandra Bullock had yet to become a household name. However, director Jan de Bont stripped the action genre down to its barest bones. The result is a high-octane classic. Dennis Hopper has rigged a city bus to blow up if it slows to under 50mph. Period. The end. Reeves is the star of the show as Jack Traven, an LAPD bomb squad officer. However, Bullock’s performance as Annie is crucial. She is the face of the victims. Annie is the representative of every person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, she is also the resident badass that jumps into the driver’s seat when she has to. Reeves’ job is to handle the bomber and the logistics. Bullock is there to handle a multi-ton drivable bomb.
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