November Yankette of the Month, 27 year old New Jersey (the nice part) native Kirsten Dunst, has been around so long (She was ELEVEN when she received a Golden Globe nod for Best Supporting Actress in Interview with a Vampire) it seems she must be older (think 27 year old Landon Donovan, but you know, a really attractive and accomplished actress instead of accomplished footballer). Like Lando—Dunst has had her share of ups and downs—think Donovan’s failed ventures in Europe and his poor World Cup in 2006. There’s a bit of distinction, of course, as while Donovan heads into 2010 coming off perhaps the finest year of his tremendous career, Dunst is coming off a two-year span where she entered rehab for clinical depression and took a great deal of time away from acting. Nonetheless, both 27 year olds probably look forward to 2010 with more zeal than most folks their age, as Donovan gets to exorcise the demons of Germany 2006 and Dunst prepares to appear in two blockbuster films.
Dunst returns as Mary Jane Watson in 2011’s Spiderman Four , which is set to begin production right around the time the Yanks head off to South Africa for the World Cup, and early reports are that she is confident the new storyline will return the comic-book film series to its rightful place among the great comic-to-film adventures in the history of Hollywood. One doubts that after the disappointment that was Spiderman 3, she would have taken another role if the script wasn’t right.
What’s more exciting and seems likely to cement her status as Hollywood’s early frontrunner for 2010 Comeback Actress of the Year is her leading lady role in All Good Things, a 1970’s-80’s New York City murder-mystery film about a real estate heir whose wife disappears, directed by acclaimed Sundance Film darling Andrew Zarecki (Capturing the Friedmans). We’ve always known that All-American girl next door looking Dunst, who remains single and would certainly get more of my attention if I didn’t pine for Anne Hathaway, could be a leading lady, but like Landon’s quest to become the leading American star we always hoped he would be—Dunst’s early flashes of brilliance made us a bit impatient. Here’s hoping that November’s Yankette of the Month has as sensational 2010 as our boys hope to have in South Africa next summer. A comeback and a World Cup are always a challenge—but I’m sure Donovan and Dunst say—“Bring it On.”