Meg Ryan

You ever wondered what happened to Meg Ryan?

 I was just thinking about her the other day. She busted out onto the screen in a small role as a fresh faced cute girl in “Top Gun.” Then blew up as a mega-star in “When Harry Met Sally…” Had a few string of decent movies like “Sleepless In Seattle.” Tried her hand at darker material later on. Then, she just vanished.

The short answer is…WE happened to Meg Ryan. We pigeon-holed her into a person she probably wasn’t inside. Maybe she was a serious actress (at the time latched to Dennis Quaid). We’ll never get to know.

I think there is a perfect (or non-perfect depending on perspective) of when actors were just viewed a specific way. Nowadays, actors do more. They aren’t judged for taking a horror film, or a sci-fi thing. Meg took darker roles to shed that cutesy girl. She was THE girl after “Harry…” She cornered the market on that type of girl. That movie launched her so far, she was unable to come back from that. So, all we wanted to see was that cutesy girl. She tried everything. Mystical love stories to maybe cushion the transition…that movie with Hugh Jackman ("Kate & Leopold"). Then she was fed up and showed her tits in “The Doors.” Which was awkward (director Oliver Stone admitted on commentary she was mis-casted as a free spirit considering she was so uncomfortable showing her tits). She did action “Proof Of Life” which fizzled. Then, an art house movie which she really showed her tits "In The Cut", which was grim. Then…it seemed she hit the tabloids and became a running gag for botched plastic surgery. Which is when she vanished. Why wouldn’t she? Quasi-modo did.

And I am NOT comparing her to her to that in terms of looks, but that you understand the public perception of you. You want as little to do with the public as possible. And, she is the one who has to live with aging. Whilst the tabloids (pre-internet, mind you) at the time were unnecessarily cruel. On my best days I wouldn’t want that responsibility. I think the Kardashians are going to regret it (if they ever snap out of their own fog of celebrity…aging will do this to you). I think people just plain forgot about Meg. Which seems to be okay with her

Maybe Meg will return to the screen as a low-key character one day. I think she will emerge from middle age okay with being…middle aged. That people don’t whisper the comparisons to her as a peppy Sally. Maybe she’ll direct. I hope for the best. The dark theory is that she is holed up somewhere watching her movies from the past and taking Xanax to numb the repercussions of fame. It’s such a cycle that has a never ending well of people desperately trying to achieve it.

And I know a few of you aren’t boo-hoo’ing for her. She got fame and money and she wants to be respected. Ladee-dah. That’s a perspective of people wanting to work in the industry from outside looking in. It seems to me, Meg preferred to trade it to get a piece of her dignity back.