# Cinema's Greatest One Hit Wonders **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057 "2006-02-12T00:53:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/181 "2006-02-16T20:06:15Z")
> [@Ichbin Dubist](#): > > I seem to have missed any mention of Keir Dullea, who starred in _2001_ and has had only minor roles since, as far as I know. Before 2001, he was in David and Lisa, which I think was fairly successful. After he was in The Fox, based on a D H Lawrence story. I think I’ve seen him in something since, not counting 2010. ---
**Author:** ![Roanoak1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ad7895/32.png) [@Roanoak1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roanoak1)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/182 "2006-02-16T22:02:47Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > He is quite good in “The Fighting Temptations” His best movie without a doubt is his role as a Navy Diver. Y’all HAVE to disqualify Cuba Gooding Jr. as a one hit wonder. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/183 "2006-02-17T02:14:09Z")
> [@scotandrsn](#): > > Agreed. I didn’t realize it until year’s later, but he’s also the villain in _Robocop_. “Clarence Bodiker, you’re coming with me!” ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/184 "2006-02-17T06:28:27Z")
> [@Sleel](#): > > Natasha Lyonne > Somebody already mentioned the American Pie movies. She was also in Blade: Trinity. And Woody Allen’s **Everyone Says I Love You**. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/185 "2006-02-17T10:17:12Z")
> [@E. Thorp](#): > > And Woody Allen’s **Everyone Says I Love You**. And **But I’m a Cheerleader** , which I remember as pretty amusing. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/186 "2006-02-17T14:46:18Z")
Just thought of another one - the guy who played the lead in “The Rocketeer” ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/187 "2006-02-17T15:34:50Z")
Thanks, **scotandrsn**. It’s good to see that Robert Sean Leonard is getting much better work these days - he’s a good actor. I don’t watch much network TV, so I’m not surprised I missed him in **House**. And about Jennifer Grey - remember just a coupla years ago she tried to make a TV comeback with some sitcom? Apparently the sitcom was supposed to mirror her life - I think the character was an actress that had one big hit but now was struggling to make it. I remember the ads being something like, “Hey! Remember me? I was in _Dirty Dancing_ and got a nose job. I’m still a good actress! Remember?” Apparently no one did, because it was cancelled shortly after. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/188 "2006-02-17T16:02:09Z")
I saw an episode of that show with Jennifer Grey (it was called _It’s Like, You Know_) and seeing the change that her nose job made to her appearance was quite startling. She obviously disliked its orginal, (dare I say it?) slightly semitic bump, and so had it “fixed.” She might have even been told by Hollywood types that her nose was keeping her from getting work. But as the gags in the show and its ads demonstrate, the nose had been a defining characteristic. Without it she was slightly more attractive (in a bland, generic way), but significantly less memorable and distinctive. And AFAICT, the nose job didn’t help her get more work. After writing that, I found this on IMDb: “In a recent interview for Channel 5 (UK) she said that having plastic surgery to her nose was the worst mistake she had ever made. This was because she was no longer recognizable as the girl from the film ‘Dirty Dancing,’ just somebody who looked a bit like her.” A classic “Be careful what you wish for” story. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/189 "2006-02-17T16:12:14Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I saw an episode of that show with Jennifer Grey (it was called _It’s Like, You Know_) and seeing the change that her nose job made to her appearance was quite startling. She obviously disliked its orginal, (dare I say it?) slightly semitic bump, and so had it “fixed.” She might have even been told by Hollywood types that her nose was keeping her from getting work. > > But as the gags in the show and its ads demonstrate, the nose had been a defining characteristic. Without it she was slightly more attractive (in a bland, generic way), but significantly less memorable and distinctive. And AFAICT, the nose job didn’t help her get more work. > > After writing that, I found this on IMDb: “In a recent interview for Channel 5 (UK) she said that having plastic surgery to her nose was the worst mistake she had ever made. This was because she was no longer recognizable as the girl from the film ‘Dirty Dancing,’ just somebody who looked a bit like her.” > > A classic “Be careful what you wish for” story. That makes sense to me, she went from being So cute and interesting to kind of bland and ordinary. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/190 "2006-02-17T16:54:55Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > A classic “Be careful what you wish for” story. So true. And disappointing to those of us who like shapely Semitic noses on women. Speaking of Semitic noses: True linguistic factoid: There are two words for beauty in Classical Arabic. _Husn_ is said to specifically describe the beauty of the eyes, while _jamāl_ specifically describes the beauty of the nose. So Classical Arabic is the only language I know that has a word just for nasal beauty. A language that accommodates Semitic women’s beauty, I like it. ---
**Author:** ![Tikster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@Tikster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikster)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057/191 "2006-02-19T17:59:49Z")
Regarding **Robin Wright Penn** : Wasn’t she in she’s so lovely, message in a bottle & Unbreakable? Not a OHW I think. Neither is **Brad Dourif** : but **Sleel** already summed that up nicely 🙂 Finally **Iben Hjejle** , she’s probably a OHW outside Denmark, but nationally she’s in a lot of movies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinemas-greatest-one-hit-wonders/344057.md?page=9)