Drew Barrymore comes from a long line of actors, most notably John Barrymore, her grandfather. And, in keeping with the actor’s replete-with-emotion psyche, the Barrymore line–John in particular–has always had a predilection for the drink. Cut to Drew in the mid-80s riding high on the child star success cultivated from her appearances in E.T. and Irreconcilable Differences. And who doesn’t like to celebrate their prosperity with a little alcohol (and cocaine) now and again?
Along to help her in that celebration was Barrymore’s mother, Jaid, who began taking nine-year-old Drew to nightclubs five nights a week in the wake of her divorce from Drew’s dad, John Drew Barrymore (also an alcoholic). Soon, Drew was a self-declared party girl, and oh, how she lived up to the reputation, eventually ending up in a mental institution at the age of thirteen before getting emancipated from both parents at fourteen.
But somehow, it all seemed to be preparation for one of her greatest roles: Ivy in Poison Ivy. While argued to be among her worst films–at least based on lack of box office numbers–Drew blazed the trail for the “trashy 90s” genre. It only further enhanced her delivery that she was seventeen at the time of filming her troubled teen performance (which Alicia Silverstone clearly took inspiration from for The Crush).
Barrymore, in spite of “cleaning up,” continued to show her edge with public appearances like the infamous one on The David Letterman Show in 1995 and bold film choices such as her now immortal one in 1996’s Scream. But somewhere along the line, presumably traceable to as late as 2004’s 50 First Dates, Drew took a turn for the wholesome, and now, that wholesomeness has reached a crescendo with her Crocs ad campaign. As a brand that prides itself on comfort and, frankly, hideousness, this move couldn’t be further from the reckless Drew of the 80s and 90s.
But hey, at least Santa Clarita Diet has a bit of grit to it to offset this increasingly likely shift toward Barrymore peddling resort wear or something.
