Jennifer Aniston : 'Jen's Friends Need To Help Her More'

Poor Jennifer Aniston is going to need the help of some of our friends when seeing how badly her new movie, 'The Switch,' performed at this weekend's boxoffice . Her romantic comedy  with Jason Bateman debuted at number 8, making less than $8.1 million - that's behind 'Piranha 3D' and 'Nancy McPhee Returns,' folks . And it's left many in Hollywood asking : If we love Jen, why don't we care about her movies ?

"I think Jen's problems are two fold," Joe Neumaier , respected film critic for the New york daily News, says. "One, Jen's associated with [the character ] Rachel from  'Friends' that her fans - and maybe Hollywood - just don't want her to give up. It's tough  for an actress , who has just hit her forties . To quote the theme song, its as if they insist she be there for them, just like she's been their before." 

"But  the othe issues is choice , Aniston may have a limited range, but in edgier  movies like 'Office Space,' The Good Girl' and 'Friends  with Money,' she flourished by leaving her comfort zone. Jen needs to get the hell out of the romantic comedy world  of 'Love Happens,'   'He's Just Not Into You,'  'The Bounty Hunter' and 'The switch.'

Jennifer certainly has been making films that reflect her life off screen for some time. However , this formula is no longer working . It's time to take risks in both her career and personal life if our favorite friend is ever going  to move forward . But don't get to concerned just yet.

"I think Jen's safe in terms of being cast , at least for a few years," Neumarier says. "She can still take some credit for 'Marley amd Me's success, but you can only co-star with dogs  so many times. And you can make 'dogs'  [poorly-performing  films ] even less often.

Paul  Dergarabedian from Hollywood.com confides, "Jennifer Aniston is a paradox in that after achieving such huge success on TV, she has failed to ignite any kind of interest on the big screen. If Angelina Jolie is hot sauce  and Sandra Bullock is apple pie , perhaps the problem is that Jennifer Aniston is Wonder Bread. Jen's days as an actress are not over, but as a movie star, the jury is definitely out - way out !"

Mel Robbins, life coach and host of "The Mel Robbins Show' adds, "We don't actually love Jen, we feel sorry for her. I think once  'Friends' ended and her marriage to Brad Pitt was over, her stardom died too. We only care about her because she's an underdog. We wont to see her have a baby, get married and fall in love. But she doesn't do it. She's guarded in appearances and interviews , so we don't feel connected with her. Honestly, I don't know who she is or what she stands for - that's why I don't care," says Mel Robbins.

Aniston's next film is a comedy that will have some romantic elements, but could be a crowd pleaser, as she partners with Adam Sandler and his longtime directing partner  Dennis Dugan  in 'Just Go With It."

My spin : We hope you're listening .  Jen, we like you, we really do !