Gilmore Girls Alumni Report…

The inspiration for this post came from this picture…



It’s Alexis Bledel as Rosie the Riveter, one of twelve photos of current starlets depicting risk-taking and ground-breaking female American Icons shot for Glamour Magazine (click here to see the rest). When I saw it, I thought… well at least she’s working.

That’s not really fair, I guess. Alexis has done pretty well for herself, thanks to those traveling pants, but I really wish her career would blast off into the stratosphere, because I think she’s great. So then I thought, I wonder how she really IS doing… does she have any movies coming out that don’t involve magical slacks? And then I started wondering about all the rest of the inhabitants of Stars Hollow, who all seem to have drifted into relative obscurity.

So here’s the 411. Alexis does have some movies coming out (no wandering trousers to speak of)… the first is a film called The Post Grad Survival Guide, staring Alexis as a recent graduate struggling to figure out what to do next (I CAN RELATE!). It also stars Carol Burnett and Michael Keaton. I found a brief snippet from an entertainment show, if you’re interested.

The Post Grad Survival Guide is due out in August. The other film is called The Good Guy, and in it, Alexis plays the boyfriend of the title character. There isn’t much about it on the interwebs at the moment, but it is scheduled to come out this year, so I’ll keep you posted. Oh, and this is wild: Anna Chlumsky plays her best friend – isn’t that a blast from the past?



Moving on to Lorelei. Lauren Graham has popped up fairly frequently since Gilmore Girls went off the air, mostly in supporting roles in less-than-successful films. Her biggest coup was playing Steve Carrell’s wife in Evan Almighty, which might have been a bigger deal if that movie was any good (note: it wasn’t). There are some rumors of new TV projects, but those take so long to pan out, who can even know? Her next movie is Arlen Faber, with Jeff Daniels.



Meanwhile, Lauren has made good waves on Broadway re-inventing the role of Adelaide of Guys and Dolls. The show had its official opening at the beginning of March and the critics are being kind. I’m happy for her and everything, but I would dearly love to see her on my TV again soon.



Other than a poorly received CW pilot (Aliens in America) and appearances in Saw IV and V (which are movies I refuse to see), Scott Patterson hasn’t had much going on. I don’t think he has been given the opportunity to shine just yet, but there has to be some curmudgeonly, yet sexy, role out there for him somewhere. Some of the internet chatter involves some behind-the-camera work on future projects, but there isn’t much to corroborate that.



Sookie St. James (I still have trouble remembering her real name, which is Melissa McCarthy – she just looks like a Sookie to me) had the best turn-around of the bunch, it seems. She landed another best friend bit on Samantha Who?, playing the sad but utterly endearing childhood friend of Christina Applegate’s title character. Melissa is great in the role and has become one of my favorite characters on the show, which returns from hiatus later this month.



Kelly Bishop, aka Emily Gilmore, went right back to where she started after Gilmore Girls was cancelled: Broadway. She continues to perform all over New York. And what of Richard Gilmore, played by Edward Herrman? He keeps busy with guest spots, voiceover work, and supporting characters in movies.



Did ya’ll realize that Keiko Agena is freaking THIRTY-FIVE years old? How did I not know that? Thank you, Wikipedia. Anyway, our dear Lane Kim can be seen in small guest spots on TV shows mostly.



Sean Gunn, who played Kirk, had a recurring role in the short-lived October Road and several other guest-roles, but he is currently known for helping create the web-comedy, PG Porn, which spoofs pornographic movies. They’re kind of funny – keep in mind the audience (SpikeTV) – but if you’re curious, here’s the one with Nathan Fillion (I’ll watch just about anything with Nathan Fillion).



Like the rest of her class, Liza Weil (Paris Gellar) is a champ when it comes to guest spots on big TV shows. But she’s also working hard to break into movies. She scored some small roles (Year of the Dog), but much of her work has found its way into the direct-to-DVD market. There are three new movies already out of production, so we’ll see.



Rory’s boys have all done well for themselves. Milo Ventimiglia went on to star in Heroes, which was good for like a minute and now royally sucks, but whatever. He has also done a couple of movies, playing such diverse roles as The Son of Rocky in Rocky Balboa, and a morally confused pathologist who should learn how to pick better friends in the movie Pathology. I rented Pathology and it’s pretty good if your stomach can handle the subject matter. The best parts, though, are the gratuitous ass shots – thanks, Milo!

Jared Padalecki, of course, plays Sam Winchester on the super-awesome show Supernatural, with which I am personally obsessed. It really is the best show that no one is watching. There were some bit parts in movies, I think, but nothing huge until he landed a leading role in the latest Friday the 13th iteration. I’ve heard he’s good in it, but I make it a point not to encourage these silly horror franchises, even if they are kind of fun to see in theatres.

And finally, Matt Czuchry, also known as The Huntzberger. He had a recurring role on Friday Night Lights and small roles in a few movies, but all in all, his career has been pretty quiet.

There are many more Stars Hollow denizens that probably deserve an update, but I think I’ve hit the high points. And don’t worry: I’m following the rumors about a possible Gilmore Girls movie very closely, so I’ll be the first to know (well… I’ll do my best anyway). At the moment, I don’t think there’s a chance in hell, but people have a way of re-evaluating when the roles aren’t pouring in, not that I wish that on any of them (too much).