The truth about Janeane Garofalo.


Janeane, Janeane, where did our love go?

We're not really sure when Janeane -- formerly number one with a bullet in Fametracker's heart -- went from being the wry, acerbic "voice of her generation" to "strident, annoying, and slightly irrelevant annoying B-list celebrity," but we've made several efforts to date the exact moment. In no particular order, we can pinpoint these three events as critical in her downward slide:

1. The "I think Adam Sandler's comedy is childish"/ "why is everyone at SNL being so mean to me?!" event. Granted, Sandler will never be up there with Nichols/May or even Farley/Spade, but this seemed like a spectacular case of Terminal Naïveté. Why on earth would you slam a potential colleague's work and then be surprised when it backfires? Last time we checked, "stupid" wasn't a synonym for "outspoken."

2. The "I lost weight to try to get a part, and now I totally feel like a sellout, I admit it," non-media non-blitz, way back when she was auditioning for Jerry Maguire. We know that Hollywood is terribly sexist, and that it perpetuates incredibly unrealistic and restrictive images for women. But is there nothing more pathetic than someone who tried to get in the game and, having failed, lambastes it as being unfair? Might it not even seem a touch...whiny?

3. The Mad TV parody. Alex Borstein as Janeane whined, "I'm losing parts to twits like Britney Spears. Do you know I barely made a million dollars last year?" Fametracker had to wince in recognition. Ouch! Forsooth, madam, a deadly wound upon our hearts!

All in all, it's been a bizarre journey for Ms. Garofalo. She's gone from the good (The Ben Stiller Show; The Larry Sanders Show) to the bad (The Matchmaker), and then, ultimately, the whiny (Feel This Book).