DAYS: September 2022 Discussion Thread ⌛

[ranger1rg]

So did I...all over the place terrible.

When Cady first took over the role, I was over the moon about her, not only because I found her real but because I've grown to dislike the real Missy Reeves so much. Since then, it's been all downhill with Cady, with scenery chewing and over-emoting and sobbing without tears. Just UGH

I never thought I'd miss Melissa Reeves as Jennifer, but here we are.

[carolineg]

Lol!  I know.  That was surprising.  I thought we'd just see Gwen lying on black pavement.

I agree about Missy playing it.  I think Cady is a fine actress, but she hits some really odd, hysterical notes that seem un-Jen like.  It seems too much, and Jen is just a more low-key character to me in general even while high.

Yes, the sobbing without tears bothers me as well.  CM is a better actress than MR (and probably a better overall person), but MR brought more authenticity to Jen.  I am sure it comes from playing the role since she was a teen, but I miss her.

[AbcNbc247]

Maybe it's the emotion that she puts into it. I actually don't even remember any scenes of Missy's Jen really breaking down and crying.

[Contessa Donatella]

Well, what do you think about Missy? If she wanted to do it, she would. Right?

[carolineg]

I don't either.  I remember Missy crying, but nothing truly hysterical.  But..I am also not the biggest Jennifer fan and can't remember everything she's done.  But I don't believe she was hysterical when she got raped, when Peter "died", when Jack died several times, etc.

@TonksadoraI am sure if Missy wanted play Jen she could.  It doesn't appear that she wants to do full time.  I don't fault Cady for taking the role, but I do think it's fair to critique her in the role.

[Contessa Donatella]

Oh, sure. It's not fair to blame her for not being Missy. But, just like any ordinary recast, which this sorta is, she's subject to people liking or disliking ... When she was on Digest podcast they were talking about how she has never originated a role, just stepped into 4 different ones. She knows what she has to do to try to fit & tries to do it.

I was really pleased with Matt today. I meant to say that. He really rocked his anger with several very authentic seeming outbursts! About damned time he has been so mealy mouthed for months. I'm about to enroll him & Curtis Ashford into a misanthrophic club.

[DynamiteKiddo]

As a huge Jennifer fan lol, I can only recall Missy really letting Jenn lose it after the bridge blew up and JT fell out of her car during May Sweeps 2001.  She was wild with grief in scenes with Matt Ashford and she & Kris Alfonso did great work when Hope absolutely railed on Jenn.

I don’t think Missy is a bad actress—I think she actually makes a lot of really purposeful choices and one of those is to keep Jenn really grounded.  I know some people think it’s a lack of interest, but I think she brings this super haunted, quiet tragic aspect to Jenn, which nicely contrasts her bubbly effervescence (which I know also bugs some people at her age).  And, ya, playing her off and on for 27 years (since she was so young and opposite all the show’s heavy hitters) has really blurred the lines between Missy and Jenn, too obviously.  But I appreciate her subtlety; daytime is filled with actors who lean heavily into histrionics, including this show’s two most acclaimed actresses, Mary Beth and Judi Evans (who I absolutely both love, esp. JE!).

I will always want Missy (despite my opinions on HER public opinions), but I want JENN… so I’d be thrilled for Cady to sign a deal if it means we’ll have Jenn full time.

[carolineg]

I really appreciate your opinion and take as a Jennifer fan.  I never thought Missy was a bad actress.  I just couldn't recall any particular highs or lows in her acting.  It was very clear MR was so much of Jennifer especially when Stephanie Cameron took over.  The spark was entirely gone with Jen and I am probably the only one that doesn't think SC was horrible.  She just wasn't Jen.

I also find your take on wanting Jennifer regardless really nice.  I don't think I would want my favorites recast at all.  I would rather have my actress and my character or not bother.  It's great as a huge fan you can still see past that because I am too petty for that lol.

Saying all that, I have never really taken to Cady in any role.  I found Dixie the most annoying, but I can appreciate her talent.  So that could completely cloud my judgement.  The bottom line is Cady as Jennifer is very low on the list with my problems on Days.  I just find her acting very uneven a lot.

[Contessa Donatella]

I would be willing to bet that Cady is determined to be there for them if they need her, as long as her schedule & theirs matches up & that's the case with everybody & the only reason any more for people to pursue contracts, it seems. I feel like I like all the parties involved & as long as they're each happy, it's not broken so why worry to fix it? I'm still on edge to find out what else is going to happen to Jennifer Rose this week!!

[DynamiteKiddo]

I just think that she’s too vital a character as one of the show’s lead Horton anchors, alongside Hope.  I also think it has a lot to do with her taking over the house after Alice died… it felt so right, after living there in high school with Tom & Alice (and considering Bill & Laura had no part in raising her).  I think she’s a necessary tent pole at this point, and I think Cady does a perfectly fine job… but the history and the connections/chemistry aren’t always there.  (I’m looking forward to how she does with SSH today.) I think I also really want this for Matt Ashford—as one of, if not the, most disrespected lead actors on this show, I want him to stay around this time on his terms (and without Jenn and now Abby & JJ, that is tenuous).  But if it weren’t for the emergency Covid recast in Cady, I may have felt the same way as you—forget it lol.  But seeing it work, I 100% prefer Cady as Jenn to no Jenn (and Jack!) at all.  But I agree that she rarely feels like Jennifer Rose, which sucks.  But I wouldn’t ever advocate for recasting, like, Hope for instance—that does feel like Kris or bust.

And I mistyped—Missy has been playing her off and on for 37, not 27, years!

As for Cady—my experience with her really began during her 2005/6(?) return to AMC, and, I’m probably the only one, I loved that iteration of Dixie.  I know her longtime fans thought it was character assassination, but I thought it was a very interesting black sheep turn for one of the show’s premiere heroines.  I can see why one would find her annoying, though.  Lol

[Michael]

I loved Cady as both Dixie and Rosanna, which were VERY different roles, and I liked her fine during her original stint as Jennifer (minus that horrendous-but-hilarious flashback episode where she played 90s Laura Horton as... Colonel Sanders?). 

She's been tougher for me this go-round. Some of it is being flung into heavy, heavy story that she has no history with; she didn't play much with Abigail, nor did she play the original pill addiction storyline, so she's coming at those from a much more generic angle than Missy might, and she's gone for melodrama in a way that (as pointed out very wisely unthread) MR rarely did. The two things throwing me the most are the hair extensions (bad) and the voice she's using, which sometimes sounds like she thinks she's playing Victoria Lord, and Jennifer is very much NOT Victoria Lord, even though the roughest sketches of her biography might hint at them being similar. 

[DynamiteKiddo]

LOL!  It is funny how different the styling is from recast to recast (Abby being the most glaring)… it shows wardrobe has very little commitment to infusing characterization in the clothes and is probably letting the actors mostly decide.  Like, I think Kayla’s mostly horrible long, baggy coats are her signature, but if the role was ever recast would we see her in form fitting power suits as University Hospital’s chief of staff?!?  Lol

[Contessa Donatella]

I thought of something that came out in the podcast that I meant to mention. It's just a statistic but it's interesting. Cady has won 3 Daytime Emmys - each for a different role, each from a different show & each from a different network. I saw her & loved her as Dixie and never saw the original. I saw her as Rosanna & also saw the original & preferred Cady to Yvonne. I saw Missy of course & Cady here & I'm very happy with Cady but I would be happy with Missy back, too. Haven't seen her Y&R character.

[Michael]

That's so true. There are very few characters who seem to dress the way they do because of the characters rather than the actors. For most of the men and for a few women (Gabi springs to mind), those two things seem to work together, but you're right -- Abigail in particular's wardrobe changed so, so much as the actresses switched back and forth. There was no continuity between the two versions of the character. MBE consistently chooses those knee-length, flared, heavy-material dresses and coats IRL, so that's definitely her. And Kate's style (which I happen to enjoy) is very Lauren Koslow. No way would Deborah Adair's Kate be dressing like that if she were still around.

Her Y&R character was... uh... best forgotten!

[carolineg]

I basically agree with everything you said.  Although I do think Jack's position on the show is stronger than usual because Gwen is such a RC favorite.  Arguably stronger than Jen's at this point. 

Cady just has a coolness about her portrayal that feels disconnected. And just a complete lack of chemistry with Matt.  Missy has a likeability and warmth when she plays Jennifer that Cady just doesn't quite have.  Again, this is strictly based on Missy as an actress not anything about her beliefs or personal life.

I didn't even notice the extensions lol.  The voice and diction I did.  Feels way too proper for the way Jennifer usually speaks.

Do you think if they ever recast Marlena I would never have to see an ugly boxy blazer/pantsuit again?