While Oscar nominations won’t be out for months, Anne Hathaway is already a lock for her performance in Rachel Getting Married, with many already ready to hand her the trophy itself. But what about Raffaello Follieri, you ask? Won’t her four-year relationship with an international con artist weird out voters? Not after her high-profile publicity campaign for the movie, which has found her mocking the traumatic experience on Letterman, Good Morning America and SNL (“I broke up with my Italian boyfriend and two weeks later he was sent to prison for fraud. I mean, we’ve all been there. Am I right, ladies?”). The aplomb with which she’s acknowledging the drama is both admirable (nobody’s gonna hold her down!) and a little disconnected (would you enjoy giving comedy monologues about a long-term boyfriend you may have turned state’s witness on before dumping?). For better or worse, she’s chosen to stare down “the elephant in the room” (as she’s called it), rather than ignore it. And it looks like it’s working!
Hathaway wouldn’t be the first actress to spin negative publicity to her advantage. Elizabeth Taylor’s reputation was ruined after she stole husband Eddie Albert from former friend Debbie Reynolds, but a near-death brush with illness got Taylor what even she called a “sympathy Oscar” for Butterfield 8. Hollywood loves a good recovery story, and it doesn’t hurt that people actually enjoy Hathaway’s performance in Rachel Getting Married. Or that she was great on SNL. Or that she’s got that whole Julia Roberts deafening smile thing going on. It’s hard to hold anything against a smile like that.
