inexplicable leading men - Page 11

Blarg · #**101** 07-19-2007, 09:52 PM

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Jeff Goldblum - no there's a weird lead

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Offbeat for sure, but a capable lead. A big shame is actually how much this guy has been wasted on crap like the Jurassic Park roles, where he babbles garbage that makes him stand out as a cartoon even in a movie that's a cartoon.

xxThe_Lebowskixx · #**102** 07-19-2007, 09:59 PM

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What about Jeff Daniels?

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Definitely. I meant to have him on my list.

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He was sick in The Squid and the Whale.

katyseagull · #**103** 07-19-2007, 10:09 PM

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What about Jeff Daniels?

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Definitely. I meant to have him on my list.

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He was sick in The Squid and the Whale.

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I agree, he was great in Squid and the Whale. Jeff Daniels is cool. He can do comedy or drama, no problem.

mrbaseball · #**104** 07-20-2007, 06:40 AM

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And is anyone really more inexplicable than Woody Allen, for that role?

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Allen is perfect as the character he writes for himself. He's not gonna get a lead in anything else nor should he. But if you replaced him in any random Allen movie with any random leading man (ie Cruise, Depp, Pitt, Clooney etc.) that movie isn't gonna work. I consider Woody Allen movies a specific genre all to themselves.

DrewDevil · #**105** 07-20-2007, 11:43 AM

In honor of today's movie releases, I add two more names to this thread:

Adam Sandler and Kevin James.

Wynton · #**106** 07-20-2007, 12:22 PM

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And is anyone really more inexplicable than Woody Allen, for that role?

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Allen is perfect as the character he writes for himself. He's not gonna get a lead in anything else nor should he. But if you replaced him in any random Allen movie with any random leading man (ie Cruise, Depp, Pitt, Clooney etc.) that movie isn't gonna work. I consider Woody Allen movies a specific genre all to themselves.

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This is a bit of an overstatement. A number of actors have played the "Woody Allen" type role in his later movies, once he realized that he was too old to pull even those roles off. Kenneth Branaugh, Ed Norton and John Cusack come to mind as having played similar roles in his movies.

katyseagull · #**107** 07-20-2007, 01:10 PM

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Allen is perfect as the character he writes for himself. He's not gonna get a lead in anything else nor should he. But if you replaced him in any random Allen movie with any random leading man (ie Cruise, Depp, Pitt, Clooney etc.) that movie isn't gonna work. I consider Woody Allen movies a specific genre all to themselves.

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I recast the movie Crimes & Misdemeanors. (Granted Woody Allen isn't the leading man...more a side character). Here's who I came up with for Allen's character (Cliff, the disappointed filmmaker):
Adam Sandler or Matthew Broderick

what do you guys think?

katyseagull · #**108** 07-20-2007, 04:57 PM

Does he count as a leading man? I've never understood why he gets so many movies offered to him.

Blarg · #**109** 07-20-2007, 05:19 PM

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Does he count as a leading man? I've never understood why he gets so many movies offered to him.

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Good picture of him. His whole act is mugging, and his whole persona is an act.

I like him much better as a dramatic actor than a comic one. The first drama I ever saw him in was on PBS in a version of Saul Bellow's novel, "Seize the Day." He was very good and I would love to see that again. Sort of a poor man's Death of a Salesman.

Dominic · #**110** 07-20-2007, 05:41 PM

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Does he count as a leading man? I've never understood why he gets so many movies offered to him.

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Good picture of him. His whole act is mugging, and his whole persona is an act.

I like him much better as a dramatic actor than a comic one. The first drama I ever saw him in was on PBS in a version of Saul Bellow's novel, "Seize the Day." He was very good and I would love to see that again. Sort of a poor man's Death of a Salesman.

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I agree with you this time, Blarg - he's a fantastic "serious" actor: The World According to Garp, Moscow on the Hudson, Seize the Day, Good Will Hunting...he was especially great in Awakenings. Deniro got all the accolades and an Oscar nom for that one, but it was Williams' quiet performance that carried the whole film. Great, great performance.