Who says there are no interesting roles for women anymore?
The nominees for this year's MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance acted in movies of all genres, from comedy to fantasy to drama to horror/thriller. They performed magic spells, sprouted feathers, lied about their sexual and romantic lives, fell in love with vampires.
And they didn't just hold their own against the boys -- some of them carried the movies entirely on their shoulders. Chicks rule! Check out the lovely and talented nominees for Best Female Performance.
Emma Stone, 'Easy A'
Olive, the protagonist of "Easy A" -- while explaining how she only pretended to be the school slut -- laments that they don't make teen movies like John Hughes did anymore. We thought so, too... until "Easy A" came along. In one of last year's most refreshing surprises, Emma Stone is captivating and hilarious, barreling through the film like the great screen comediennes of old. She's charmed us before in movies like "Zombieland" and "The House Bunny," but this is Stone's star-making role, and she shines in it. Our grade for her? Oh, that's easy...
Emma Watson, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1'
When we first met Hermione Granger, she was an impertinent know-it-all who got by on "books and cleverness." But over the years she's matured into a beautiful young woman, one of Harry Potter's best friends and the person who sticks by him when their search for the Horcruxes seems darkest. All credit to Watson for imbuing Hermione with not just strength and smarts, but grace. (Also, for never having gone through an awkward phase. We're jealous.) Suggestion: When the series is over, how about giving Hermione her own spinoff? Hmm?
Jennifer Aniston, 'Just Go With It'
At 42, Aniston is the elder stateswoman of this bunch. But baby, she's still got it. She plays Adam Sandler's office manager, who poses as his estranged wife so that he can win over a younger woman -- and not only does she cheerfully go up against a model-gorgeous 24-year-old, but (spoiler alert) she wins. Good choice, Adam. She may have made some clunkers, but no matter what, we're suckers for anything starring the woman the "New Yorker" admiringly describes as "a genre unto herself."
Kristen Stewart, 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'
Lucky Kristen Stewart. In "Eclipse," she gets to make out with both Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. Rough life, huh? But that's not why she's nominated for a Best Female Performance award. Love Bella or hate her, she's watchable because she's real, with human reactions to the strange things going on around her. "Eclipse" gives us a Bella who knows increasingly what she wants (Edward + being a vampire), and as played by the gifted Stewart, she's someone we can envy, sympathize with and relate to all at once.
Natalie Portman, 'Black Swan'
Remember when Natalie Portman was just a tough-but-cute kid in "The Professional" and "Beautiful Girls"? She's all grown up now, and how -- coming on to the ballet director, taking drugs, making out with Mila Kunis... oh wait, that was her character. But Portman's performance is a thing of beauty. She's timid and shy one minute, wild and ferocious the next; and the role justifiably earned Portman an Academy Award. Frankly, whether or not she did her own dancing in the movie is beside the point. As an actress, this little duckling has transformed into a swan.
