After Gilmore Girls ended, Bledel popped out a disposable sequel to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and then, for some incomprehensible reason, made two back-to-back indies in which she played a 20-something being romanced by a Friday Night Lights cast member: Post Grad and The Good Guy. And while The Good Guy certainly looks to be the better of the two (Post Grad sits atop an impressively low 8% fresh rating over at RT), it's not exactly being embraced by critics, either, and it's not going to run on many screens. It might not be as terrible a movie, but it was a pretty redundant career choice that isn't going to help her any. And what's on the horizon is shaky as well -- she's got a part in the new Robert Redford-directed film The Conspirator (yay!), but she's also attached to a low-rent horror sequel to Sleepaway Camp (aak!). If she's averse to returning to television, that's fine. But we'd rather see her make these kinds of movies instead:

The Next Overstuffed Rom-Com
Ordinarily we don't like to see actors we actually care about in these awful things, but if Alexis is going to get back on track, she's going to have to pay her dues first. Movies like Valentine's Day and He's Just Not That Into You keep you famous, are easy money, allow you to network if you keep your inner bitch in check (just look at new besties Jennifer Garner and Jessica Biel -- they might make a Laverne & Shirley movie no one wants! Together!) and only require a couple days of largely unchallenging work. Plus, it would give Anne Hathaway a damn break.

A Genuinely Funny Hipster-Leaning Mainstream Comedy
While Bledel should try to avoid being typecast as "the girlfriend" all the time, breaking into a movie like I Love You Man, The Hangover or Role Models and doing a good job in it would present her in a favorable light to a large audience of people who might not have been exposed to Gilmore Girls, while still satisfying a good chunk of her original fan base and, above all, avoiding an Aniston career-path trap. Elizabeth Banks rode in on the hipster comedy horse and eventually got to play Laura Bush in an Oliver Stone movie. It's not a bad trajectory.

Something Geeky That Isn't an Action Movie
The idea of Rory Gilmore blowing shit up and karate chopping fools in a Marvel adaptation is pretty laughable, but there's no more ubiquitous project slate on earth right now than those that cater to the nerd pool. If it were still the '90s, I'd recommend a Kevin Smith flick, and if it were 2007, I'd suggest a Star Wars-quoting pothead role in the next Apatow romp, but it's neither. Hell, she's just as qualified as fricking Scarlett Johansson is to play Black Widow (which is to say, not at all). So we'll say it first: Rory Gilmore is Supergirl! (Or Mary Marvel if you want to harp on the blonde thing.)

A Romantic Comedy with Some Cred
What's Zooey Deschanel got that Alexis Bledel hasn't? I mean, other than an entirely vintage wardrobe and the cool-kid appeal of making records with M. Ward? I'm serious, actually. 500 Days of Summer wouldn't have had as much hipster cache with Alexis in Zooey's role, but the actual quality of the movie wouldn't have been hurt in the slightest.

Get an Endearingly Awesome Cameo That Goes Against Type
You know when I knew that I loved Brandon Routh? His gay porn star cameo in Zack and Miri Make a Porno. You know why I forgave Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for The Tooth Fairy? Because his two minutes in the Reno 911 movie were some of the funniest minutes of the entire film. When did the whole world realize Neil Patrick Harris was the man? Harold and Kumar. Crap like that goes a long way.

But, honestly, she should just come back to TV. The small screen ain't considered slumming anymore, Alexis, we swear. And if Lauren Graham can suck it up, so can you.