Passing by the tv a few weekeends ago, I noticed that Groundhog Day was on. Stopping to watch, it occurred to me that, though Andy McDowell is by no means an actress of skill or talent, she is a major player in no less than three of my favorite movies: Michael, Four Weddings & a Funeral, and the aforementioned GD.
Which brings me to the thread question: what awful performers show up regularly in good movies, and, incredibly, manage not to stink up the joint? Bonus points if your nominee actually finds his or her performance elevated by the cinematic environment.
Holy crap, before I opened the thread I was ready to nominate Andie MacDowell. With almost anyone else in her role, I would have found Four Weddings and a Funeral perfect.
The exception is Short Cuts where she manages to not stink up the joint. However that’s because her character is dealing with the death of her son and her catatonic monotone actually works for the role. But when I hear the line that is heartbreaking even coming from her something like There will be no more birthdays I wish it had been someone really good.
ETA: Does Al Pacino’s chewing the scenery these days make him a bad actor, or does his acting history rule him out?
I thought of Bill Paxton, who is the Worst Actor Ever. He’s in a string of stinkers, but he’s also in The Terminator, Aliens, Boxing Helena, Tombstone, Apollo 13 and A Simple Plan. I really enjoy all those movies… except for him!
I’ve been enjoying him in Big Love (just finished Season Two on DVD), but that may just be a good fit between the character and his rather wooden style.
And I’m rather fond of Pacino’s gusto, so don’t want to vote for him either.
Andie McDowell, though, really ain’t much of an actor, though she is a gorgeous human being.
ETA… OK - I am an idiot. I read this as good actors in bad movies. I was a little disturbed at who people thought was a good actor, but there you go. I’ll leave quietly now.
He’s not the worst actor in the world, but I’ve never been impressed by anything that William Hurt has done – he always seems slightly lost, and plays pretty much the same blocked-up dude in every movie – and he’s been in Body Heat, Altered States, Gorky Park, Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Big Chill, The Accidental Tourist, Children of a Lesser God, AI, Syriana, The Good Shepherd, History of Violence … even your aforementioned Michael.
See, now I like William Hurt, despite the lack of a vast range. He’s not a chameleon like Gary Oldman, but then neither was Humphrey Bogart. It’s all a matter of casting - cast him properly and I think he works well. Blocked up and slightly lost is what is called for in films like Accidental Tourist or Rare Birds. And he can twist slightly lost and vacant to slightly deranged and vacant with good effect ( IMO )as in History of Violence or I Love You To Death.
But these actor things are always so subjective - I like Nicole Kidman as well, who many seem to regard with a shudder of horror :).
Brion James. Most famous as the replicant Leon in Blade Runner. He usually plays either the villain, or one of the villain’s henchmen. Sometimes one of the hero’s sidekicks. I thought he was kind of cool in Flesh+Blood and The Fifth Element
Kris Kristofferson is a shitty actor with the unfortunate habit of appearing in several of my favorite movies, preventing them from being unalloyed pleasures. Instead, the pleasure is alloyed with shittiness.:mad: