# Otherwise good/great movies stolen by a terrible performance? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498 "2012-05-01T12:28:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/101 "2012-05-08T10:18:06Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’m not familiar with how Pepper is in the original comic books; maybe she wasn’t supposed to be quite as spirited as I would have liked. In those she was his secretary, period, not his love interest (at least in the original series, I’m not talking about any retcons). Since so much of the comic book character was the “playboy” part, having him get involved (or even interested in) his secretary would have complicated things way too much. The adjective that fits original-comic-book Potts is “efficient”. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/102 "2012-05-08T11:04:14Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > I realize it’s probably just me, but I can’t buy DiCaprio in most of his roles. He was never Howard Hughes for me, just a kid playing in his dad’s clothes. It’s not just you. I cannot watch him in anything without at least some juvenile-ness to the character (I thought he was fine in _Catch Me If You Can,_ for example.) What is Scorcese’s problem? Does he have the hots for Leo, the way he once had the hots for Robbie Robertson? (Not that there’s anything wrong with that, per se. Just sayin’, it’s affecting his casting decisions, and not in a good way.) ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/103 "2012-05-08T11:55:06Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > (snip)I’m not familiar with how Pepper is in the original comic books; maybe she wasn’t supposed to be quite as spirited as I would have liked. _Sky Captain_ is such a throwback that it just screams for that fast-talking 30’s type of female lead. There was Carole Lombard in _My Man Godfrey_, Myrna Loy in the _Thin Man_ movies (noticing a pattern), and Rosalind Russell in _His Girl Friday_. For a more modern take, watch Blythe Danner in _Futureworld_. > > Come to think of it, I can’t think of a current actress who has really done that kind of performance well. I though Jennifer Jason Leigh in _The Hudsucker Proxy_ was pretty good at that type of performance. That was almost 20 years ago. Is she still current? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/104 "2012-05-08T14:46:16Z")
I’m sure Amy Adams could handle that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/105 "2012-05-08T15:17:13Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > It’s not just you. I cannot watch him in anything without at least some juvenile-ness to the character (I thought he was fine in _Catch Me If You Can,_ for example.) What is Scorcese’s problem? Does he have the hots for Leo, the way he once had the hots for Robbie Robertson? I don’t know about Robbie Robertson, but for a while DiCaprio was Scorcese’s new DeNiro. ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/106 "2012-05-08T19:15:53Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > Ah, the internet bandwagon of celebrity hatred. Keanu Reeves, Gwyneth Paltrow, Andie MacDowell, the gang’s all here. (Wait, has no one mentioned Ben Affleck, or Julia Roberts?) > > But now it’s just getting silly. Andie MacDowell is “hideous” now? I mean, I know tastes are subjective and all, but Jesus, [the woman](http://www.stevelandis.com/img/Andie1%A9L.jpg) had a [career](http://www.qnm.it/bellezze/attrici_straniere/andie_macdowell/andie_macdowell_foto_zzz73y63.jpg) [as a](http://img1.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/k/a/ka75548vkvijv8v5.jpg) [cover](http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/images/magazines/covers/5616/600/cosmopolitan-usa-1982-september-01.jpg) [model](http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/images/magazines/covers/1854/600/lofficiel-france-1986-april-00.jpg). Well, since you’re quoting me - I am aware that she had a modelling career. It mystifies me. Yes, I find her hideous, and furthermore and separately, her performance as an actress objectionable. Do you have a problem with me having an opinion? Keanu Reeves on the other hand is a very pretty human, but his acting tends to the wooden, and his performance in _Much Ado_ is an example where it doesn’t work for the film (as opposed to, for instance, _Bill and Ted_, which I love in a nostalgic teenage sort of way). Tell me, if you find these threads so tiresome, why do you read them? Is it purely so you can announce what a bunch of mindless sheep we all are whilst you lay dung all around? But then when someone mentions Matthew Broderick, and you agree that he was poor in that role, that’s _not_ sheep-like? That’s right, anyone who agrees with anyone else on the internet is a mindless idiot… except YOU! Well done, you. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/107 "2012-05-08T22:03:36Z")
[Just](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14603498&postcount=9) [look](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=636219&highlight=andie+macdowell+weddings) [at](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14605476&postcount=16) [all](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11978239&postcount=165) [the](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10732694&postcount=59) [individual](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10203310&postcount=1) [instances](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10203358&postcount=2) [of](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10205589&postcount=24) [SDMB](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10207710&postcount=27) [posters](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9692933&postcount=36) [bashing](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9693313&postcount=38) [Andie](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8219074&postcount=12) [MacDowell](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6290096&postcount=1) [in](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6290242&postcount=8) _[Four](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6186922&postcount=11) [Weddings](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6190402&postcount=57) [and](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5343280&postcount=11) [a](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5033079&postcount=1) [Funeral](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5042744&postcount=97)_. ([Bonus](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=3531014&postcount=98) [tracks](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=2197657&postcount=9)!) Dear God yes, this echo chamber of hatred is tiresome. For pity’s sake, the movie is nearly two decades old! Can’t we at least find something new to collectively bash for the sake of group identification? (By the way, kudos to **GuanoLad** for [taking note of this weird internet grouphate of Andie MacDowell](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10205327&postcount=22) long before I ever mentioned it.) ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/108 "2012-05-08T22:14:32Z")
I think there is only one winner of a thread like this. Andie McDowell was just awful in _Four weddings and a funeral_. It really was a terrible performance. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/109 "2012-05-08T22:17:52Z")
Oh, thank Og. I was afraid nobody was going to mention her. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Stelios](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Stelios](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stelios)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/110 "2012-05-08T23:31:34Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > Have to disagree with Paxton. > > For me it was Four Weddings and a Funeral. Excellent movie with Andie MacDowell horribly miscast. It’s like she read the script and thought to herself, “now how could I possibly say this the worst way?” > > And totally agree on Duvall. She bitches that he yelled at her most of the time to “get that performance” - hell it was like trying to squeeze water out of a rock. Why they didn’t just fire her I’ll never know. It’s funny, Duvall always comes up in these kinds of threads, but I’ve seen The Shining lika a billion times, and I think she’s terrific. She’s the original scream queen. What am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/111 "2012-05-09T01:42:31Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > But it’s nonsense to claim that Keanu ruined “The Matrix” with his wooden acting. Yes, Keanu runs the emotional gamut from A to B. But he didn’t ruin that particular movie with his crap acting. He’s perfect for the role. I agree. I’m a terrible judge of Keanu Reeves’ acting, though - he gets 3 and a half stars out of five for me just for being his gorgeous self. That said, I do think he is unfairly lambasted for being terribly wooden. He has made a serious career as an A-list actor - you don’t do that sustainably for 23 years just by being pretty. > [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Came in to mention this movie. For me, I found Gwynteth Paltrow’s performance \ sucked all the fun out of every scene. Bleah. I think she sucks the fun out of every scene she’s ever been in. > [@Stelios](#): > > It’s funny, Duvall always comes up in these kinds of threads, but I’ve seen The Shining lika a billion times, and I think she’s terrific. She’s the original scream queen. What am I missing? Sorry, Jamie Lee Curtis starred in “Halloween” two years before Shelley starred in “The Shining.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/112 "2012-05-09T02:08:10Z")
Oh, I just thought of another one. Andie MacDowell in _Four Weddings and a Funeral_. Jesus H, she made the movie nearly unwatchable. Anyone agree? ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/113 "2012-05-09T02:09:23Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > Ah, the internet bandwagon of celebrity hatred. Keanu Reeves, Gwyneth Paltrow, Andie MacDowell, the gang’s all here. (Wait, has no one mentioned Ben Affleck, or Julia Roberts?) > > But now it’s just getting silly. Andie MacDowell is “hideous” now? I mean, I know tastes are subjective and all, but Jesus, [the woman](http://www.stevelandis.com/img/Andie1%A9L.jpg) had a [career](http://www.qnm.it/bellezze/attrici_straniere/andie_macdowell/andie_macdowell_foto_zzz73y63.jpg) [as a](http://img1.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/k/a/ka75548vkvijv8v5.jpg) [cover](http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/images/magazines/covers/5616/600/cosmopolitan-usa-1982-september-01.jpg) [model](http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/images/magazines/covers/1854/600/lofficiel-france-1986-april-00.jpg). She is not showing her teeth in any of those photos. An old roommate used to shout out “toothbrush!” every time she opened her mouth when watching Groundhog Day. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/114 "2012-05-09T02:11:15Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Oh, I just thought of another one. Andie MacDowell in _Four Weddings and a Funeral_. Jesus H, she made the movie nearly unwatchable. Anyone agree? And I’m surprised no one has mentioned Keanu Reeves yet either. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/115 "2012-05-09T04:47:58Z")
> [@judikium](#): > > This is probably an unpopular opinion (considering her Oscar) but I thought Kim Basinger was lifeless and dull in the otherwise pretty good L.A. Confidential. Amen. She was awful (as usual) in _LAC_. Great movie, great performances, except when she was onscreen. The Oscar was a joke. > [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > I realize it’s probably just me, but I can’t buy DiCaprio in most of his roles. He was never Howard Hughes for me, just a kid playing in his dad’s clothes. Amen some more. I liked him in _This Boy’s Life_, loved him in _Gilbert Grape_. Didn’t pay much attention to him for a while, until he played a cartoon character in a cartoon movie. _(Titanic.)_ Since then I’ve never been able to take him seriously. Your last line speaks for me too. . ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/116 "2012-05-09T07:19:32Z")
Robert Redford in _Out of Africa_ really tries hard to wreck one of my favorite movies and yet fails, even with his stiff performance and inappropriate American accent. I remember the first time I saw _Out of Africa_ and adored it. It had so much I loved: a great screenplay, terrific performances, gorgeous cinematography and a breathtaking score by one of my favorite composers, John Barry. The hitch came when I saw it a second time and I realized that there was this blond Californian in the film playing an aristocratic, fairly opportunistic, ex-patriot Brit in British East Africa. It was then I realized how badly miscast Robert Redford was as Denys Finch-Hatton. Denys was an Oxonian and very upper-class. Apparently Redford tried to perform with an English accent at first but director Sydney Pollack said, “Aw shit, Bob, knock it off. It’ll never work.” I still love the movie, but that is only because I have developed the ability to cut-and-paste Jeremy Irons face and voice onto Redford’s performance as I’m watching. I did a quick peek at Robert Redford’s IMDB film performances and I realize that when he’s not playing a fairly light role he sucks. He would have pulled\* Out of Africa\* away from my favorite movie list, but I just pretend he isn’t there as some silly American who grew up in England, the son of peers, who attended Eton and Oxford, yet came out of it speaking like he grew up in Santa Monica. Blecch. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/117 "2012-05-09T08:01:14Z")
I still prefer the first True Grit to the recent remake, but Glen Campbell sure proved he was no actor… ---
**Author:** ![Patience\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@Patience\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patience_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/118 "2012-05-09T08:24:32Z")
I just watched _Barry Lyndon_ the other night, and thought Ryan O’Neal’s performance was painful. I loved the film otherwise, and kept wondering how other actors would have fared in the lead role. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/119 "2012-05-09T11:53:59Z")
> [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](#): > > She is not showing her teeth in any of those photos. An old roommate used to shout out “toothbrush!” every time she opened her mouth when watching Groundhog Day. Prepare to be grossed out: [_These_ teeth?](http://www.exposay.com/celebrity-photos/andie-macdowell-beauty-shop-movie-premiere-arrivals-D785Nn.jpg) No, groupthink isn’t coloring perceptions _at all!_ ---
**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:** [May 9, 2012, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498/120 "2012-05-09T13:21:24Z")
So glad to see others put into words what I’ve been feeling for a while - Leo DiCaprio just isn’t believable in his adult roles, though as TreacherousCretin put it he was fine as a cartoon character in cartoon movie Titanic. He just hasn’t transcended his boyishness, at least for this watcher. Compare to Joseph Gordon-Leavitt, who has. Oh I know I’m going against the grain here, but Keanu’s acting never bothered me. Course I never watched him in the Shakespeare… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-great-movies-stolen-by-a-terrible-performance/620498.md?page=7)