Photography by Mark Segal. Styled by Sally Lyndley.
It is her birthday. Hers is my favorite kind of career. It is both modern – she does it all – but it is also a throwback, to the 70s, when quirky difficult messy women were the mainstream leading ladies. Gillian Jacobs is in her late 30s and has been around for decades now, she has the recognition factor, she’s not a white-hot movie star (this is good news) – and she works with a lot of freedom. I imagine the main struggle is finding projects that will actually utilize her gifts, and give her enough to do. She’s an interesting woman, famously straight and narrow. She hasn’t had one alcoholic drink in her life. She has never once smoked a cigarette. She made a decision young to never ever do any of that and she never has. Her parents were strict, she was a bit of a loner. She went to Juilliard, and years later wrote an essay about the absurdities of her time there, probably eliminating her participation in any alumnae events! Meanwhile, she’s racking up the credits. The Bear was as high profile as you could get, and although her part was relatively small – she feels legitimately a part of that world. Jacobs didn’t have a lot of TIME to establish the character and her context, but she managed it effortlessly. You never really “see” the work with Jacobs.
I’ve reviewed two somewhat under-the-radar movies where Jacobs is featured and I’d love to point towards them:
Mike Birbiglia’s Don’t Think Twice, about a close-knit improv group in Chicago, a scene I know very (very) well. It’s a wonderful ensemble film.
But, more importantly, there’s I Used to Go Here, where Jacobs plays a woman who goes back to her alma mater (speaking of which), to do a book reading. Her first novel was just published and got such terrible reviews the publisher canceled the book tour. While on campus, she regresses, hanging out with college kids, neglecting her official duties. This is Jacobs at her very best. I compare her to Jill Clayburgh in my review.
Other actresses get more feverish “buzz” than she does, and they show up in high-profile projects where they give performances described as “fearless”. Good for them. I am not saying anything against those actresses.
What I AM saying is Gillian Jacobs gives everyone a run for their money.
I saw I Used to Go Here because of your recommendation and thought it was a special movie. She could have easily taken lots of money for some dumb sitcom after Community ended, but instead chose a less famous, but more rewarding (for her and us) path.
I’m so glad you saw it!