TMS Muse of the Week: Juliette Lewis
(Hughes Entertainment / Warner Bros)
During the 30th anniversary reunion and Q&A for Jeremiah S. Chechik’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures; veteran character actress Diane Ladd complimented her former co-star, Juliette Lewis, as “one of the great young actors in this country.” Which is a little funny since, by 2019, Juliette would have been 46 years old. Amusing phrasing aside, Diane is correct that Juliette is one of the most interesting stars of her generation. Born and raised in Hollywood by her father, actor Geoffrey Lewis, and mother, graphic designer Glenis Duggan, Juliette started acting at an early age, and admittedly took a while to get her foot in the door despite her parents’ connections. Beginning with a supporting role in a flop sitcom, ABC’s “I Married Dora” (1987-88) and appearing in a silly sci-fi comedy, Richard Benjamin’s My Stepmother is an Alien (1988); Juliette was supposedly also up for Gertie in Steven Spielberg’s E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Lydia in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice (1988) before Drew Barrymore and Winona Ryder were famously cast in the roles. Things really didn’t start moving for Juliette until she was actually hired as the third iteration of Audrey Griswold in Christmas Vacation. Reuniting screenwriter John Hughes with co-stars Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo as Griswold parents Clark and Ellen from the first two Vacation movies; Juliette and Johnny Galecki are typically considered the fan favorites for the Griswold kids besides Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron from Harold Ramis’ original 1983 classic. Physicality aside, it’s easy to see why Juliette and Johnny’s interpretations live on more than the teen actors’ from Amy Heckerling’s European Vacation (1985) and Stephen Kessler’s Vegas Vacation (1997) [which is more on the writing than the performers in both of those cases, to be fair].
Rather than portray Audrey as outgoing and precocious, Juliette opted for a more sardonic, lethargic approach to the teenage daughter, representing the moodiness of adolescence instead of the naivety. This led to critics noticing her potential and uniqueness, which is usually attributed to a quirky unfiltered quality. Juliette’s career then officially took off co-starring in well received independent and mid-budget films like Martin Scorsese’s remake of Cape Fear (1991)—where she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress—Woody Allen’s Husbands and Wives (1992), Lasse Halström’s What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Dominic Sena’s Kalifornia (1993), Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days (1995), Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers (1994), and Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) [the latter two featuring scripts by Quentin Tarantino].
(Jeff Kravitz)
After a misjudgment choosing to play a mentally handicapped woman in Garry Marshall’s poorly received The Other Sister (1999), Juliette fortunately bounced back with roles in studio hits including Todd Phillips’ Old School (2003) and Starsky & Hutch (2004), Drew Barrymore’s Whip It! (2009), John Wells’ August: Osage County (2013); and received Emmy nominations for her work in Mira Nair’s Hysterical Blindness (2002) and on Hulu’s “Welcome to Chippendales” (2022-23). These days, Juliette is most recognized as a prominent character on the popular Showtime thriller series “Yellowjackets.” (2021-23). In the 2000s, she also had a side gig as an alternative rock musician with her band Juliette & the Licks, with two albums and an EP from 2004 to 2007, as well as two solo records in 2009 and 2017.
Amazingly, Juliette’s career has barely been affected by scandal even after a brief wild child period during her youth. Dropping out of high school and emancipating from her divorced parents at 15, Juliette was once arrested for drinking at a bar underaged and pulled over twice for driving a car she supposedly owned before bothering to get her license. She also dated former co-star Brad Pitt from 1989 to 1993 when she would have been 16-20 years old, and the male movie star was a decade older. The most controversy related to the actress was openly defending her family’s association with Scientology back in the ‘90s and ‘00s, before quietly distancing herself from the group around 2020. When I think of Juliette, what usually comes to mind is Audrey bemoaning about having to share a room with her brother in Christmas Vacation. Or Juliette being hilarious as one of the commentators on VH1’s old “I Love the…” retro-doc series from 2002 to 2005. Everyone was reminded of her endearing kookiness in 2018 when she randomly posted an Instagram video of herself shouting, “Save us, Britney Spears!” while blaring Brit’s song ‘Work’ on her car stereo. She’s done comedy and drama, indie and mainstream. She’s irreverent and talented in her own way, and that’s why movie fans like Juliette.
