Jennifer Aniston pays homage to Barbra Streisand in Harper’s Bazaar

Oh. My. BABS! Jennifer Aniston chose to do an homage to Barbra Streisand and Funny Girl for the September issue of Harper’s Bazaar, and these photos… oh my God. On one side, I feel like Aniston is raping the best Streisand movie ever, and that Aniston needs to seriously cool it. On the other side, I kind of see it, the comparison, the homage, the parallels. Maybe if Aniston had kept her original nose? The full Bazaar piece is here, and it is just… I don’t know. I tend to think Aniston just wishes. Barbra, for all of her faults as a person, is one of the most talented women to ever work in Hollywood. She’s a wonderful actress, an amazing singer, a gifted director (hello, Prince of Tides!). Babs is also an Oscar-winner two times over. Aniston… just isn’t. Here are some highlights:

On wanting Streisand‘s voice: “Someone said to me, ‘If I had Barbra’s voice for just one day,’ and I said, ‘Nah, I don’t want to be greedy. If I had her voice for just one shower — just a shower’s worth — I would be happy.'” If so, perhaps it’s worth forgetting modesty and selling tickets. “Hmm, no,” she laughs. “Well, actually, if it was her voice …”

On being a funny girl: “People laugh at me. Sometimes I know why, and sometimes I don’t. But I can pretty much find humor in anything. That is a necessary part of life. I don’t want to say laughter is healing, because it sounds corny, but it’s a release.”

On what she’s learned from Barbra Streisand: “You don’t have to stop at one thing. You can do it all if you want to.”

On being in the spotlight: “[Barbra and I] are people who have been put in the spotlight, for better or for worse, and you just keep riding, and you keep overcoming.”

On looking up to Streisand: “Barbra inspires me because there isn’t anything she hasn’t done that she wanted to do, especially as a female in the time when her generation was prime. She’s a true renais­sance woman. . . I had a long conversation with Barbra about directing because I directed a short a couple years ago, and if I don’t do it again soon, I’m going to burst out of my skin. And we also love interior design.”

More comparisons: “Also, we are people who have been put in the spotlight, for better or for worse, and you just keep riding, and you keep overcoming, and you just stay true to what you love to do.”

On people laughing at her: “People laugh at me. Sometimes I know why, and sometimes I don’t. But I can pretty much find humor in anything. That is a necessary part of life. I don’t want to say laughter is healing, because it sounds corny, but it’s a release.”

[From Harper’s Bazaar]

I get the fangirling on Babs, I really do. I would fangirl too, that’s not it. My problem is that in the entire interview, Aniston really seems to push the comparisons hard, and I just feel like she’s not worthy. There is no comparing yourself to Babs, unless you’re Bette or Cher or someone like that. Babs made the industry fit her – Aniston (and all of the current rom-com girls) try to fit into the industry. Babs embraced her “ethnic” looks – Aniston is a Greek girl trying to remake herself as a California blonde clone. I could go on, but what’s the point?

Photos courtesy of Bazaar.