Demi Moore as Gloria Steinem: Can she pull it off?

In a far cry from her memorable — if not exactly well-received — role in Striptease, Demi Moore has been cast as pioneering feminist and anti-pornography critic Gloria Steinem in the upcoming Lovelace, a biopic about Linda Lovelace who headlined one of the most successful porn movies ever, Deep Throat. Steinem famously wrote a 1980 expose in Ms. magazine titled "The Real Linda Lovelace," detailing the abuse and sexual exploitation Lovelace suffered at the hands of her husband Chuck Traynor (Peter Sarsgaard). Does Moore have the chops to pull off this supporting role?

This is stunt casting at its worst: Sure, "I can kind of see a resemblance" between Moore and Steinem, says Jen Yamato at Movieline. But along with the plan for James Franco to cameo as Hugh Hefner — plus Sharon Stone and Hank Azaria in supporting roles — this is turning Lovelace into a "bizarrely distracting hit parade-sideshow of stars." It would be a shame to see Lovelace's "compelling life story...lost in a cast almost entirely [composed] of actors unable to disappear into roles."

"Demi Moore as Gloria Steinem, the latest distracting casting move for Lovelace"

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Actually, Demi will be terrific: The negative reaction to Moore's casting is unfair, says Aly Semigran at Entertainment Weekly. Plenty of actresses have made similar stretches — Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo in Frida, or Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf in The Hours, for example. Moore can arguably nail this. Remember A Few Good Men and Ghost? "Moore's strengths have always lain in drama." With the raves she's receiving in the Wall Street drama Margin Call, and her upcoming turn as Steinem, Demi is poised for a major comeback.

"Demi Moore heads back to the big screen post-Ashton Kutcher split: All the right moves?"

At least she's not the film's worst-cast actor: Moore's casting as Steinem may be making all the headlines, says Kevin Jagernauth at Indie Wire. But "the most eyebrow-raising bit of casting" is Adam Brody as Harry Reems, Lovelace's co-star in Deep Throat. Fans of teen soap operas from the early 2000s may remember Brody as The O.C.'s awkward Seth Cohen, a fidgety comedic role in which Brody gave no indication that he could pull off playing a mustachioed porn star being prosecuted by the FBI on charges of obscenity.

"Demi Moore to cameo as Gloria Steinem in Lovelace, Adam Brody takes role of Harry Reems"