I happened to be poking through Orson Scott Card’s homepage today and came across his list of favorite movies…
In light of this comment, I got to thinking that perhaps people have been unduly hard on Keanu, and maybe it’s more from the general public’s inability to disassociate him from his image in the Bill and Ted days rather than from a general failing on his part.
I’m not saying he’s Anthony Hopkins, but he isn’t Pauly Shore, either.
[sub]Now where did I put my asbestos overcoat?[/sub]
Whoah.
I’ve seen him do (get ready) Summer Stock Shakespeare in Lenox Massachusetts. He’s not half bad in comic roles.
Yes, Meryl Streep’s tics do get to be a bit much.
Well, if Keanu ever earns an Oscar, I’ll have to eat my words but…
Keanu can’t act his way out of a wet paper bag with scissors. He did NOT hold his own on the screen with Fishburne - it was pretty obvious Fishburne was acting circles around him.
We are talking about the same guy who gave a stellar performance in Walk in the Clouds, right? It astounds me that he continued to get roles after Dangerous Liasons, Dracula or Much Ado About Nothing where he performed at a sub High School Play level.
Keanu has been fortunate to find a number of roles that fit his style well. He was wonderfully cast for the Bill and Ted movies. He was upstaged by a bus in Speed, but the script moved so fast no one cared. The Matrix was such a beautiful film - great special effects - that no one cared about Keanu’s acting.
And Orson Scott Card understands what “acting is supposed to be” better than the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences? Thanks, we will just let him pick the winners next time.
(You are right though, he isn’t Pauly Shore, but he isn’t the median between Shore and Hopkins either).
I’m the only guy I know that actually like Keanu’s acting.
I liked his character in Parenthood.
I aslo liked him in River’s Edge.
True, neither roll is going to win him any awards, but they were entertaining rolls. I do have trouble with believing him as the lead in action movies like Speed though.
I saw him in ‘Little Buddha’ and the only reason he wasn’t the worst actor/performance was because Chris Isaac was in it too. Chris Isaac is a great singer, but as an actor he rivals only Keanu in my book. I’ve never seen Keanu’s ‘comedic’, lighthearted roles but in this drama, awful.
I actually tell my friends to rent this just to see the awful performances, it’s almost hypnotic, you can’t hit ‘stop’ even though you want to.
From where I sit, the Academy doesn’t cover itself with objective glory when it comes to awarding the prizes. Every year when the Oscars (and nominations) are announced, I usually get the feeling that some actors are there because of reputation, or because it’s their turn to win something.
As an example, Clint Eastwood won an Oscar for Unforgiven, as the best picture for the year (I could be wrong on this point). Sure, it’s not a bad film, and I’ll freely admit that I enjoy watching his movies. But it was not the stand-out film on offer, nor was his performance particularly outstanding. I think he got it because someone reminded the academy that he hadn’t been honoured previously.
As for Keanu Reeves, time will tell whether he really was as good as some of you are suggesting. Personally, I think he is still trading on good looks…
Keanu Reeves has done for acting what the Jonestown Massacre has done for Kool-Aid.
His is pretty good in the comedic role (at least the first “Bill and Ted” movie. In his serious roles he sucks the big one.
“BRRRRIiiinng!!”
“Hello. Yes, just a moment. Mr. Reeves, there’s a Mr. Clue calling long distance. Try making your voice go up and down when you talk. It’s called emoting. Most people in your profession are pretty good at it. Flatlining your speech may work for Kevin Costner, but it doesn’t work for you.”
[aside]If I was a woman or gay, Kevin Costner would definitely make my laminated “People I am Allowed to Sleep With” card[/aside]
Keanu is a “terrific actor” in the same way the Hindenburg was a “terrific accident”
Well, in Bill & Ted and Parenthood, he couldn’t have been more perfect.
Beyond that, I don’t think he’s terrible. He’s certainly pretty good for many of the parts he’s been taking. They seem to require the sort of things he can do well. He’s good at looking thoughtful, and even an eensy weensy bit tortured.
You just gotta cast him right, and so far I think that’s been done.
Well, that is a whole different debate. My personal favorite is the “Dances With Wolves” best director Oscar. That was the year GoodFellas was released…
But the point is that the Academy is more qualified than Orson Scott Card and defining what makes a good actor, not that the Academy is always right.
I like him. Great, he ain’t, but he’s sufficient.
Did anyone see Sweet November with him and Charlize Theron? I kind of wanted to but sad movies make me cry too much [sub]yes, I’m a wimp[/sub].
Not hard enough, he’s still making movies
[Montage scene with various clips from keanu reeves movies running through my mind]
No, no, no, no, no.
Nope, i’m sure, he can’t act.
I have never actually seen Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, but I have seen River’s Edge, Feeling Minnesota, The Matrix, A Walk in the Clouds, Dracula, My Own Private Idaho, and Dangerous Liasons. From those movies, I can safely ascertain that Keanu Reeves sucks some serious ass. It actually causes me physical pain to watch him, especially in A Walk in the Clouds. However, I thought he did a good job in The Matrix - that was only because he didn’t really have to do much. Strangely, I can’t imagine anyone else taking the part of Neo, so I guess he succeeded there.
What is all this bad talk about Pauly Shore? He is absolutely hilarious. In his movies, he is not trying to be a good actor, which puts him far ahead of Keanu Reeves. For a period of a year, my goal in life was to marry Pauly Shore, so please stop dissing my potential fiance.
Abe Babe, I think that if you were a woman or gay, you would come to your senses and realize that Kevin Costner is both a horrible actor and ugly. Very ugly. Very horrible. I would actually rather watch Keanu Reeves than Kevin Costner.
And what is it with girls thinking that Keanu Reeves is attractive? He just looks like an average guy - definitely not anything special.
I realize that many of you will disregard all my comments because of my feelings for Pauly Shore. I suggest that you all come to terms with yourselves and realize that Pauly Shore rules.
I’ve seen worse, certainly, and he’s actually a pretty good fit in a few cases (Parenthood being the best example of this). But it seems he has only two modes of expression - full-on Bill and Ted or a quiet monotone.
For instance, in “Sweet November” there’s a scene where he pretty much loses it (the whole failed hot dog promotion, for those who have seen the movie) that I found just incredible unconvincing. He’s very believable as a guy sitting quietly in a meeting, not believable (IMHO) as someone experiencing strong emotions of any kind.