In Support of Amy Adams

I've heard a lot of confusion since the casting of Amy Adams as Lois Lane. At first I was a bit shocked, too, but I've come to decide that this is actually a brilliant move. Amy Adams seems like an odd fit, to many, for Zack Snyder's Superman: Man of Steel, because she's generally seen as sweet, bubbly, and cute. Her early claims to fame being Junebug (where she's a naive, young, pregnant wife) and Enchanted, certainly explain where this perception comes from.

I'm here to let you know that Amy Adams can be tough like Lois and to explain why her cute nature may actually help the character.

Now, Henry Cavill (drool) as Kal El is perhaps the best casting I could have hoped for. I was rooting for him in the 2006 Singer Superman Returns, when he was too young for the role. Thank God he didn't get it then, as that movie turned out to be a major disappointment. 

When you cast a character who is solely a love interest, chemistry is one of the most important factors. I'm sure that part of this decision was making sure that whoever was cast as Lois has chemistry with Cavill.

My next point of reference is The Fighter. If you've seen it, you'll know what I mean. If you haven't seen it, it's streaming on Netflix. Stop waiting and go watch it! Amy Adams plays Charlene, a tough Lowell girl, a bartender, a college dropout, and someone not afraid to speak up. Not only does she beat the snot out of one of Mickey Ward's sisters in a hair-pulling, punch-throwing brawl. She shoots whiskey and she talks back with sharp wit.

Alice: I've heard a lot about you.
Charlene: Really? I've heard a lot about you too.
Alice: What's that supposed to mean?
Charlene: Same thing you meant.

The World has seen Amy Adams be tough. It was believable. She was nominated for an Oscar for it! (Best Supporting Actress).

My final argument is that she shouldn't look and sound tough. Why? Johnny Depp was so much better in the first Pirates movie than the second because Jack was written as a hero and played as a freak. In Pirates 2 he was written as a freak, played as a freak and it was just too much. If Lois is written as a sexy, tough cookie who takes crap from no one, cast as a sharp-featured woman and cast with a cold, sharp voice, her character will be 100% bitch.

Amy Adams will be able to take tough, sarcastic, often snappy lines and deliver them with a sweet face and voice so that she's delightful and fun. It's called playing opposites. Face it, Lois Lane is the toughest superhero love interest to make likable.  She's not very warm, she's not a nurturer, and it would be a betrayal of her character to make her show more than subtle hints of vulnerability over the course of the film. Amy Adams is a talented actress who can play that vulnerability so that the script doesn't have to hit us over the head with it. Her presence will soften her hard edges naturally.

Lois will still be a strong, formidable woman, but Amy Adams will make us understand why Clark loves her, too.