So I just finished watching Wild Things for the first time, and now I don’t know what to think about Denise Richards. (I mean, apart from the obvious yowza! and hominahominahomina).
I’d heard that Wild Things had some fairly interesting twists to it, but I’d still assumed that it was your typical cheesy sex thriller, and not what it is – basically, a sex comedy. And I’d seen her in Starship Troopers, but I’d assumed that that was just an over-the-top satire on Paul Verhoeven’s part, and he didn’t let anybody in the cast in on the joke; they all treated it as straight-ahead B-movie action. And though I haven’t seen either of them, she was in Miss Congeniality (from what I hear, a pretty straightforward beauty pageant satire) and Loaded Weapon (a lowbrow parody).
Could it be that I’ve figured her wrong all these years? That she’s not just vapid, but she’s actually in on the joke? And is, in fact, a fairly accomplished comedic actress? That she realized at some point that she’s way too hot ever to be taken seriously, so she directed her career to capitalize on her looks while still making a fairly subtle statement on how shallow that is? And, could she be savvy enough not to appear in indie films where she could just act as an obvious parody of vapid Hollywood starlets, but appear in big-box-office movies so she gets huge recognition at the same time she mocks it? And the joke, in fact, is on me for dismissing her as just another impossibly pretty face?
Maybe The World Is Not Enough was the aberration. Or, even more unsettling, that she was playing the obviously cheesy part as satire, treating the Bond franchise as an obvious joke, but the movie itself was so lackluster and by-the-numbers Summer Action Blockbuster that any self-awareness to her performance was lost? I mean, John Cleese was obviously playing the role of Q for laughs – could it be possible that Richards said, “Right. I’m a nuclear physicist in Daisy Duke shorts and my name is Christmas Jones. Nobody’s going to believe I’m trying to be serious.”
I have no idea whether Ms. Richards is playing her roles with a wink, but there is certainly precedent. Raquel Welch was roasted for most of her roles, all the while quite shrewdly socking away the box office receipts and smiling at the terrible reviews. In several interviews I saw or read, she demonstrated a pretty good awareness of her star appeal and her actual talents. She was actually a competent (though nothing resembling great) actress who, with a different appearance, might have made a decent living in supporting roles in TV, but was bright enough to know that she could make a lot more money a lot quicker pursuing a different approach. She would have been a disaster in a truly serious leading role (at least, in her 20s and early 30s), but she was dynamite in the camp roles that she “filled” to perfection.
I think you got what Verhoeven was doing in Starship Troopers; Verhoeven, like John Waters, quite often makes very shrewd use of inept actors. But I don’t think Richards is in on the joke: she’s a bad actress, which is exactly what Verhoeven needed in the part he cast her in.
Have you seen her performance as “White She Devil” in Undercover Brother? Nice eye candy, but after seeing the screen tests for Starship Troopers I have to say she can’t act fer shit.
Actually, check Ms. Richard’s performance in that one Bond flick. Truly painful to watch. I don’t think she does it on purpose, you can’t fake non-talent like that.
Recently I watched the dvd of The In Crowd. It’s a pretty bad sex/thriller. The great thing is that there is a commentary track by Susan Ward and Lori Heuring. The track is a laugh riot and yes they know when they are being exploited for their looks.
I think Wild Things would have been much better if
Kevin Bacon and Matt Dillion gave each other a big kiss near the end when KB comes out of the shower and the whole thing was their scam from the beginning.
I really can’t stand her and I don’t think she’s anything special to look at.
Her performances are flat enough to be the polar opposite of her chest. She seems completely incapable of displaying anything but vacuousness. The only times in Starship Troopers (in my mind her only moderate success) that she was any good was during the intense fight scenes. She seemed to really get into the action, but still her face didn’t change the whole time.
Did you see her in the movie Good Advice? She does a pretty good job there of being the whiny, annoying girlfriend of Charlie Sheen who dumps him and runs off. This is the set-up for Sheen and Angie Harmon getting together.
I’m with Gorgon Heap. I can’t stand her, her “acting” is horrible (and not in some “I’m a terrible actress, wink wink” sort of way), and as far as I’m concerned, she’s uglier than hell.
I never liked the look of her eyes, her fake tit’s excite me not, and her lips are just WAY TO FRIGGIN’ BIG!!! Her mouth is flaming HUGE!!! A lot of guy’s I know who speak so highly of her proclaim that they’re “Great DSLs,” but these are the kind of guys who couldn’t pay for a b.j., so I horribly dissagree. And in watching Undercover Brother last week, I realized her forehead’s messed up as well.
She’s a horrible actress, and I think she and Greg Araki should get together in a space ship and fly into the sun (Araki’s not an actor, he’s a horrible “director”, and anyone who knows me knows that to put someone in the same category of “dislike” with him, I REALLY think they suck).
I’m with Gorgon Heap… she’s a poor actress, and I don’t find her attractive at all.
Personally, I thought Drop Dead Gorgeous was her ideal role – bitchy, petty, conniving, and kind of stupid. I’ve no idea if she’s like that in “real life,” but that role fit her acting ability and her physical presence perfectly.
While I’m thinking of that movie, it occurs to me that I find Kirsten Dunst far more lickable (and a better actress to boot) that Denise Richards.
Verhoeven does this a lot. If you watch Showgirls with the knowledge that he’s making fun of his main actors, and audience expectations in general, the movie suddenly acquires a whole new life. (I think Kyle MacLachlan might have been in on the joke. His acting is a riff on the fast-talking 30’s-era style that was used in the “star is born” type movies Showgirls is satirizing.) And how about Hollow Man, eh? Elisabeth Shue? Josh Brolin? Gimme a break.
But re Denise Richards, I think she’s just a bad actor.
Since I am apparently the only person in the United States who saw the recent movie “Empire,” I guess it won’t accomplish anything to bring up her role in that movie.
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“Great DSLs,” but these are the kind of guys who couldn’t pay for a b.j., so I horribly dissagree.
Please enlighten me on the meaning of DSLs. From that context, I would guess the L is for lips but the rest puzzles me.
