Anne Hathaway, James Franco Struggle in First Post-Oscar Night Projects

After the Oscars ended, co-hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco became punching bags for critics. Franco got the worst of it, but both him and Hathaway undoubtedly had a career setback with their Oscar stints. Still, because they were still young, and had a few big movies of their own on the horizon, it seemed like they still had a chance to bounce back quickly.

However, Franco and Hathaway's attempts to bounce back from the Oscars aren't off to a good start. In fact, they have each faced another setback this August, albeit to different degrees.

At the least, Franco has a box office hit to brag about with "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." Yet pretty much everyone agrees that "Rise" is a hit in spite of him, not because of him. Given the achievements of WETA's motion capture work and Andy Serkis, that might have been the case even if Franco was adequate as the human lead. But while everyone praised Serkis for bringing Caesar the ape to life, Franco seemed to be barely alive as Caesar's human caretaker.

This is a common problem for Franco, who seems to be almost lifeless when he doesn't have the right role or has little to do- just like at the Oscars. After the Oscars went so badly for him, his failures have become more amplified now- as he himself conceded in an interview with Playboy.

As for Hathaway, it might be easier for her to overcome the backlash, since she didn't get the worst of it and has a much less eccentric reputation. It certainly helps that she is at work as the new Catwoman in "The Dark Knight Rises" which is bound to be a lot bigger than the Oscars. Yet in the meantime, Hathaway also met with trouble in her first post-Oscar movie this month.

"One Day" gave Hathaway the chance to be in an adaptation of a hit book, age 20 years, and take on a British accent. However, the reviews were mostly poor for both the movie and Hathaway's accent. In mediocre or disappointing movies, she is usually credited for being better than the material, although the accent complaints made it harder for her to get that credit.

What's more, she even received mixed reviews for her first official photo as Catwoman, since her much anticipated suit didn't look enticing enough. Given the history of sexy Catwoman suits, and all the time "Dark Knight" fans have had to imagine Hathaway in one, expectations might have been overly inflated- much like for "The Dark Knight Rises" itself. But there is still a year left before Hathaway is fully seen in action- and director Christopher Nolan does usually keep his best material under wraps until the end.

If Hathaway can't live up to expectations, and if Franco never fully gets his reputation back, their Oscar gigs won't be to blame. The backlash from that night clearly isn't affecting what roles and projects they take afterwards, since they've been much more independent than that throughout their careers. However, it would do them good to get themselves in a solid project again- and to be a key part of its success, which Franco couldn't do in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes."

In the long run, Hathaway and Franco's infamous Oscar night should be a mere blip in their otherwise successful careers. But in the short run, it is still hanging over them a bit, and their return to the big screen this month hasn't helped them erase that quite yet.