Fame where fame is due

Gabrielle Union
Call it the “She's All That” effect. A major pitfall for a beautiful young actress? To tumble into the sizable pool of background talent in Hollywood's seemingly endless run of assembly-line teen comedies.

It's doubly true if you're African-American; there's steady (but limited) teen-comedy work for outspoken sidekicks who can be relied on to add color to the otherwise lily-white, generic upper-middle-class worlds that producers devise.

Paramount Pictures Among Gabrielle Union's mainstream roles: Alice Kramden in Paramount Pictures' 2005 remake of "The Honeymooners." Don't let that smile fool you: Union is a powerhouse on screen.

I adore Gabrielle Union not only because she mixes attitude with a lot of class, but also because she has taken the teen-comedy curse and turned it on its head. “10 Things I Hate About You” didn't quite escape the genre, but it effectively carried Shakespeare into the schoolyard.

And of course there's “Bring It On,” the “Citizen Kane” of cheerleader movies. Not only couldn't you take your eyes off Union as her Isis stormed and danced across the screen, you felt a certain glee when she put Kirsten Dunst in her perky, blonde place. Isis ran the superior team, and Union made damn sure we knew it.

True, she has to account for "Bad Boys II," but rather than fall prey to the wiles of the urban-comedy genre, Union found roles in smart films like “The Brothers” and “Deliver Us From Eva.” As blunt, castigating Eva, she provided depth to what could have been a one-note role.

Even in her TV turns on “Saved by the Bell” and “Friends,” Gabrielle has shown that she's wise to Hollywood's silly views about race — and she can effortlessly jump between the mainstream roles and what we'll call “genre” roles. Why?  Probably because she's just that talented: a physical actor who moves gracefully while working with a palpable emotional depth. And, frankly, she's pretty hot. (As she's married to ex-NFL running back Chris Howard, I'd like to point out I mean that respectfully.)

In short, Union's just plain fun to watch on screen. I'm not going chime in with yet another Halle Berry comparison, but I'm confident Union can maintain her mix of roles and firmly take grasp of the A-list reins. Meantime, she's got a big cheering section.

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