The Rachel McAdams Opus

Rachel McAdams seems to have appeared out of nowhere. Born in Canada, she had to be persuaded to major in drama. Seems she found her niche.

In 2004, she appeared with the guy who would later become her real-life boyfriend in The Notebook. The tear-jerker, based on the Nicolas Sparks book, casts Rachel as the younger version of the woman who later suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Ms. McAdams dazzles as the smitten young thing who, although committed to another fella, just can't keep her hands off the seductive Ryan Gosling. They do lots of smooching and more, of course. As the relationship evolves, we viewers become quite smitten with Rachel and her fine acting.

Then she shows up in Mean Girls. Quite a switch...from angel to bitch. (rhyme intended) As one of the cliquish girls, Rachel is devilishly mean. Poor Lindsay Lohan really suffers because of Rachel and her nasty little cohort. Ms McAdams is certainly the prettiest of the little snots, but it's more than her face that does the trick. She acts the bitch perfectly.

Soon we find Ms McAdams on a plane next to Cillian Murphy in Redeye. As she chats with her seatmate, she has no idea that he is going to kidnap and blackmail her. She plays the role of the innocent victim with perfect ease, convincing us to root for her no matter what. When Cillian gets his at the end, we want to jump out of our seats to congratulate Rachel. Wow!

Uh, oh. Next stop: The Time Traveler's Wife. Although the book was a smash hit back in 2003, the film with Eric Bana did not quite work. I think Eric was miscast. And poor Rachel, ever in love through all the time sequences, does not get to exhibit all her fine and subtle acting skills. Can't fault her, however. The script was tough to bring to life.

Rachel found her perfect stride in The Lucky Ones. As one of three misfit army vets on leave from the Iraq War, Ms McAdams steals the show from the very talented Michael Pena and Tim Robbins. She is charming as the army brat, the kid who has a big mouth and a big, generous heart. She is simply perfect when she stands up in church and declares to strangers her heartfelt concerns for her two fellow soldiers. What a fantastic piece of work! I'd put her up for an Oscar for Best Supporting actress for this role.

So Rachel is a solid star. We'll be seeing a lot more good things from her, no doubt.