One step forward, two boobs back

Five years ago, Jessica Paré was the First Lady on the critically acclaimed but short-lived Jack & Bobby. Very soon, she’ll be a nearly anonymous, naked tub toy in the upcoming Hot Tub Time Machine.

What happened?

Actually, it’s a pretty common story.

Ten years ago, Jessica was catapulted to It Girl status in Canada with the release of Stardom, an independent film that met with so-so reviews but nonetheless captured the country’s attention on account of Jessica’s nudity in the film and Jessica Rabbit-like form. A year later the boobs came out again in Lost and Delirious, a teen lesbian love story also starring Piper Perabo, Mischa Barton, and Emily VanCamp.

Jessica Paré in Stardom

Jessica Paré in En vacances

Jessica Paré in Lost & Delirious

Later, Jessica was able to parlay all this attention on her physique into more serious films like Wicker Park, Lives of the Saints, and Jack & Bobby. None of them really took, and by the close of the decade it was pretty clear that public interest in her was inversely proportional to the amount of clothes she had on.

And so, like so many actresses before her, Jessica has apparently decided to start over and go with her strengths. Both of them.

The difference between her and, say, former teen pop stars Tiffany and Debbie Gibson, is that Jessica didn’t wait until her 40s to re-jump-start her career by getting naked, when interest in her would be more out of curiosity than anything else; she’s doing it at 28.

Which is still above the median age for a flick with “Hot Tub” in the title. But as Jessica has already figured out, I’d much rather see her in a hot tub at 28 than in the Oval Office at 23.