How Sexy is Jennifer Lawrence?

Taking aim. (Photo “courtesy” of The Nervous Breakdown)

The title is not meant to be crude or lewd. It’s not meant to be “smutty” or “gossipy.” It’s intended to simply and concisely capture the feeling that the world revolving around Hollywood and Tinseltown has been trapped in for the past few weeks, and that question is: “How sexy is Jennifer Lawrence?”

The star of The Hunger Games was blowing up even before the movie was released last Thursday at midnight, or before she died her hair brown and practiced her archery.

After her performance in Winter’s Bone – which nobody saw – and her appearance in a red dress at the 2011 Oscars – which everybody saw – Lawrence then pulled together an indie role in Like Crazy before her turn as the world’s biggest heroine since Darby Shaw.

In Like Crazy, she was vulnerable and she was doomed to fail. It’s almost the exact opposite of her role as Katniss Everdeen. And yet, it’s hard to decifer the two. That’s an actress.

In The Hunger Games, she’s intoxicating, and the world has finally noticed. Oh, have they ever. Apparently, even Brad Pitt has noticed. Lawrence is now the world’s hottest – in every way – actress, and her character is a beacon for a film industry that was pining for a new hero.

Atticus Finch. Forrest Gump. Katniss.

You see, while we worry that Hollywood is losing its creativity by repackaging every great series of novels written for young adults into an undeniably profitable but uncreative film franchise, the real truth of this matter is that Katniss was made for the movies.

Forget Kristin Wig and the “brave” performance by Melissa McCarthy. 

Everdeen makes the Bridesmaids‘ desperate call for attention seem like nothing more than a second-quarter touchdown in a 34-7 loss.

It’s not Lawrence’s look that is so incredible. It’s not that she’s just so drop dead gorgeous that it makes you forget when you ate for breakfast that morning. I mean, she’s gorgeous, sure. But, that’s not it. She’s not a painting. She’s an iPad.

Penelope Cruz makes you move to Spain. Marion Cotillard will haunt your dreams. Jessica Simpson in 2005 made you wish you played quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.

But, with Jennifer Lawrence, you’re almost too impressed to feel anything other than love. Pure, deep love. And, that’s real love, isn’t it? 

You have to feel for her fighting partner in The Hunger Games, Peeta Mellark. I mean, the dude has to face that reality every day, and he has to know that she might kill him. Like, really kill him, not just that heartbreak crap.

So, did Jennifer Lawrence create this version of Katniss, or has the character created her?

All I know is, Angie doesn’t hold a candle to her. While Jolie was scoring roles as lame-ass shoot’em up characters Lara Croft and Jane Smith, Jennifer Lawrence was only a few years away from wielding a bow and saving a post-apocalyptic United States.

Without Angie’s conscious knowledge, Jolie’s half-baked femme fatale characters created the world that Katniss Everdeen now dominates, and the world that Emma Watson and Hermoine Granger all but built and never took hold of. Kristin Stewart’s Bella Swan is the outsider who smokes by the dumpster, and Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane is middle-aged, with a minivan and kids. Uma Thurman’s Beatrix Kiddo is married to Quentin Tarantino’s brain, and he’s not letting go.

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I don’t care about Lawrence’s looks, as jaw-dropping as they may sometimes be. Those are the shallow things. After all, I care about the juice and the tequila, not the pulp or the sugar-dipped rim. But, as we can all tell, this is the beginning of a truly great career.