My Top Five: Character Actors

Really good character actors don't often get much love. Many times that's because the performance is so good we don't recognize the craftsmanship that goes into the role.

We simply don't realize the actor is acting!

There are some fine character actors working today. Actors--both male and female--who use their skills to make wonderful works of art.

Here's my Top 5 Character Actors:

Steve Buscemi: I first noticed Buscemi as Mr. Pink in Reservoir Dogs. It wasn't his quirky nature that caught my attention, but the way he debated with his co-conspirators-- as they sat in a diner-- about his strong-held beliefs on tipping waiters. Buscemi immediately improves any film he is in. He's a fine director as well, having directed several episodes of the HBO hit The Sopranos.

John C. Reilly: Reilly's character Reed Rothchild was the reason I loved Boogie Nights. His best-friend turn to lead Mark Whalberg was simply brilliant, and a turning point in the career of a guy who can do it all: musicals, drama, comedy.

Reilly is brilliant. The one movie in which he had a lead--Criminal--was watchable only because of Reilly's skill.

Chris Cooper: Matewan was the first movie about West Virginia of which I can recall feeling proud. Much of that feeling had to do with how Cooper portrayed Joe Kenehan, a union organizer. Cooper brings a subdued emotion to the characters he portrays, and consistently turns out terrific performances.


Eugene Levy: Look, don't dismiss this guy as an actor because of his SCTV days, and because some of his best work came in Chris Guest mockumentaries. Levy made the first American Pie flick a hit, and his role as Gerry Fleck in Best In Show should have earned him an Academy Award nod.


Although, I'd like to forget The Man...

Phillip Seymour Hoffman: Sure, you're gonna complain I jumped the shark with Hoffman as a character actor. Just because of Capote. I'm telling you that Capote was an anomaly. Not the brilliant performance, just the lead actor role. Hoffman's role in Capote was a character one, even though it was the lead. And it was--just as all his roles are--nothing short of incredible.

As good as it was, I liked Hoffman better in Magnolia.

Go figure.


OK, that's my list. What's yours look like?

I Ain't Tellin' You No Lies

Uh...

This about John Popper, from today's USA Today:

By Douglas Mason, AP
"Inside the black Mercedes SUV, officers found a cache of weapons and a small amount of marijuana. A police dog searched the vehicle, finding numerous hidden compartments containing four rifles, nine handguns and a switchblade knife, a Taser and night vision goggles. The vehicle also had flashing emergency headlights, a siren and a public address system," according to the story.

He was a passenger in the vehicle, which was doing 111 mph!

"Popper, who lives in Snohomish, Wash., is the owner of the vehicle, which was being driven by Brian Gourgeois, 34, of Austin, Texas. "

The article does not report how many--if any--harmonicas were discovered in the SUV.

Invincible

I was ready to dismiss Invincible. Without even seeing the flick, I had this post already written:

"I loved Invincible! In fact, I loved it so much, I couldn't help cheering aloud as I watched: 'Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!"

Or:

"We Are...Invincible!"

And:

"Marky Mark and his Phunky Bunch of Philadelphia Eagles."

(Admittedly, that one wasn't really very good...)

But, my pre-judgement about the sports flick was wrong. I ended up being pretty impressed with the Disney production, and particularly with Wahlberg's performance.

Invincible is inspired by the true story of Vince Papale, a Philadelphia bartender who tried out to make the Eagles team. When new Coach Dick Vermeil (played pretty true-to-life by Greg Kinnear) arrived in 1975, the Eagles were the dregs of the NFL. To add spirit and new life to the team and the city, Vermeil announced open tryouts; hundreds of regular guys showed up, but only Papale makes the team. Against overwhelming odds--he was 30 years old, and played only one year of high school football-- Papale not only made the team, but made significant contributions. He was named Captain of Special Teams near the end of his three year professional career.

More importantly, Papale renewed enthusiasm among fans and within a city that had lost a lot of it's swagger: work in the blue-collar city was hard to come by, a recession was hitting hard and the Eagles football team--the one thing that united the citizens of the city, and gave them some measure of hope--was a perpetual loser.

That's what I liked most about Invincible. As much as it's about an individual achieving a dream against nearly impossible odds, it's also about how communities need to dream as well. How the success of a friend, family member or even a stranger with whom we identify can inspire hope in us as well.

It's wrong to dismiss Invincible as simply another sports flick. It's a story of accomplishment, and of dramatic achievement. And it's worth seeing.

Ain't She Sweet

Mrs. Film Geek surprised me tonight with this e-card. Apparently, Be Glad You Didn't Run Away And Join The Circus Day is gaining popularity as a national holiday.

I always thought I'd enjoy the carny lifestyle. But ultimately, it's probably best I didn't join the traveling side-show with my high school classmate, Steve Copenhaver.

Those clowns can be pretty damn creepy.

The Answer: Six

The Question: How many hot dogs could the Huntington Mayor eat, if the Huntington Mayor did eat hot dogs?

I love his Man Of The People shtick, but there is something simply funny about the Mayor of Huntington holding court at Hillbilly Hotdogs.

Maybe Hotdog blog could send a staff person over to cover the event, determine what "everything" is to Hiz Honor, and talk the guy into fixing some potholes.

Half Nelson

My list of Actors I Will Watch In Any Movie:

1. Edward Norton
2. Phillip Seymour Hoffman
3. Dustin Hoffman
4. Billy Bob Thornton

and new to the 5th spot:

5. Ryan Gosling

Gosling is magnificent in his role as an inner-city public school teacher and basketball coach, who connects so easily with kids, but so poorly with adults. His Dan Dunn is a drug addict who can't shake his addiction, and his life--even without the crack pipe--is a disaster.

He smart and sensitive, but extremely flawed.


Watching a guy slowly self destruct with drug use doesn't do much to endear a character to an audience. But Gosling plays Dunn as a tragic figure, a sort of man-child who uses to numb himself from emotional turmoil. That allows the audience to feel some empathy for Dunn, and helps make the movie really work.

Shareeka Epps, a newcomer to movies, shows tremendous range in her portrayal of Drey, a student of Dunn's who is fighting the lure of the drug culture. By accident, Drey discovers Dunn's secret addiction, and serves as sort of surrogate little sister for Dunn. She gives him a focus he wouldn't have, otherwise.

Half Nelson is a dark and tragic film, but the experience is worth it to see Gosling and Epps work. Both performances are just that good.

Stranger Than Fiction

I understand Harold Crick, the lead chatacter in Stranger Than Fiction.

Look, I'm not saying I'm a lot like the guy, or that (if he were real) we would be friends.

I'm just saying I understand him.

Crick, an IRS taxman, leads a hum-drum lifestyle routinized by quirky rituals and to-the-second time management. Will Ferrell plays Crick as a good guy who happens to live a boring, meaningless existence. A guy who's afraid to peek into tomorrow because it might go wrong, and afraid to connect with people because he might get hurt.

I understand Harold Crick.


Sure, I've been there. Like Crick, I used to carve out lifestyle routines that were comforting. So comforting, in fact, that they numbed me. Kept me from feeling, from experiencing. The comfort was nice for a short while, even intoxicating. And then it just became sad.

For me and for Harold Crick.

Crick's moment of awareness began on a Wednesday when he was brushing his teeth. He realized someone--besides him--was narrating his life. While searching for the narrator, Crick meets and falls in love with Ana (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a free spirit who helps Crick experience life outside his protective bubble. And through that experience, Crick begins to understand that life is wasted without meaning.

And, that a short life with meaning is more rewarding than a long life without it.

Once Crick recognizes this, he is no longer afraid to look past today into tomorrow. He's not afraid to connect with people any longer. He recognizes that he can be the author of his own life.

Thanks to Ana--the love of his life, and the one person he cares more about than himself--Crick becomes whole.

Like I said, I understand.

Double Dipping With The Departed

Back in October of two-thousand-double-oh-six I saw The Departed, with my friend Bob. We didn't care for it.

Since it won the Oscar for best picture last week, I decided to take a second look at it. Seeing a movie twice breaks some personal codes I hold dear, but I just had to. As I said in October, maybe it's a classic I just didn't get. So, Mrs. Film Geek and I settled in for the mob flick.



She loved it.

I still thought it sucked.

Go figure.

Open Water 2: Adrift

I really liked Open Water, the 2003 independent film about a married couple who surface from scuba diving, miles off shore, to discover they've been abandoned by their tour boat. It was a risky movie to make: after all, nearly all the film was shot with two actors neck-deep in water, dog-paddling for their lives in shark infested waters.

Based on a true story, Open Water was original, intense and tragic.

I loved it!

Open Water 2: Adrift never made it to theaters, going instead straight to DVD. That doesn't dissuade me, really. After all, I watched a Morgan Freeman/Kevin Spacey straight-to-Blockbuster-flick a few months ago.

Of course, it was awful and I hated it. I'm just saying...

I was eager to see Adrift because of how much I enjoyed the first Open Water. I knew it had nothing to do with the original, but the idea of being alone and helpless at sea is scarier to me than movies about zombies or werewolves.

Because it's possible.

Adrift centered on five former high school friends who reunite to celebrate a birthday. Four of the five are now couples--two are married with a small child, and two others are dating--while one of the thirty something still lives like a nineteen-year-old. Impulsive, and moment-to-moment. The impulsive one, played by Eric Dane, gathers the group on a yacht and heads out into the blue. After some drinking, the adults hop into the ocean for a quick swim. Everyone is having a grand ol' time until someone realizes:

They forgot to put down the freaking ladder!

The yacht--it's not a boat, as Dane's character likes to remind his friends--is impossible to climb. For hours the group tries to get back on board, fighting anxiety, distress and each other. Some fall victim to tragedy, others overcome severe fear to brave through the dilemma.

Adrift isn't a great movie, but it's enjoyable if you like almost-bloodless thrillers. The ending is predictable, and the acting is average. But midway through, I realized I was holding my breath.

That's not a bad indicator that a movie works.

Whatever Happened To...Mr. Moose

Mr. Moose could tell some funny knock-knock jokes. From 1955 through 1984, on CBS, The Mooster told thousands of them.

Regardless of the punch line, the knock-knocks and riddles always ended up the same damn way. The joke was delivered, there was a brief pause, then...

WHAM!

Dozens of ping pong balls were dropped on the head of Captain Kangaroo.


The Captain was a bit of a diva. Everyone at the studio knew it, but no one would talk about it publicly. The Captain hated the ping pong bit, because it made him look like a goof. A stooge.

For a few minutes every day, The Captain was pwned by the The Mooster.


And slowly, it began to drive him mad.

Oh, he talked to CBS suits about it. But Mr. Moose had a lot of clout at the studio. Rumor had it The Mooster had Polaroids--the kind no one wanted leaked--of the studio big-wigs.

Just in case.

Mr. Green Jeans sensed trouble was brewing, and tried to intervene. For his efforts, the sidekick was reassigned to an even smaller supporting role on the show.

Remember the New Old Folk Singer?

Exactly.

One Wednesday in early 1984 the final show was taped. Staff and crew still speak in hushed tones about how The Captain's eyes glazed over immediately after the director yelled "that's a wrap." He became unusually quiet. Sullen.

Mr. Moose hung out with a few groupies after that last show was over. Some reported The Mooster and his entourage stayed in his dressing room for several hours after the show, snorting cocaine and playing Twister. Mr. Moose was a player, after all, and it was the 80's. The last groupie left the dressing room some time after midnight, leaving Mr. Moose alone in the dark studio. Drunk, stoned and exhausted.

No one ever saw him again.

People suspected The Captain had something to do with the disappearance, but the police could never prove the allegations. When asked about the missing Mr. Moose years later, The Captain would simply smile and reply: "That's the way the ping pong ball bounces."

It's a sad show biz story, really.