I was checking out io9, today, and I caught a discussion about who deserves a McConaughey-like comeback.
Pretty good suggestions, in the link, but I wanted to expand the question. Who would you guys like to see have a positive resurgence in any artistic field…acting, music, art, etc…
I’ll get the ball rolling:
Acting- Michael Pare
This guy was all over the 80s. He had Matinee Idol looks. Strong, quiet-type. I would like to see him on True Detective or maybe get the Tarantino bump.
Music- Soul Asylum
I really expected these guys to have a long, storied career. They had an a attractive front-man with a unique voice. They could alternate between pop, Top 40 friendly hits to some pretty decent rock anthems.
What about you guys? I’m open to any genre, field, subject at all. Who needs a second act?
Okay, I’ll play. Fountains of Wayne - incredibly catchy, literate, fun power pop. They had their one big hit, Stacy’s Mom - a fine song, but their catalogue has so much more. It would be fun to see them get another single, or get a licensing deal to use a song which ends up going viral.
Matthew McConaughey’s comeback surprised me, because in his earlier days, he rarely (if ever) showed signs of being a serious actor with real ambition. I agreed completely with the *** Family Guy*** sequence in which Stewie Griffin slammed him for being a vapid pretty boy with no sign of real talent.
So, when I saw him in Dallas Buyer’s Club and in True Detective, I was shocked at how good he was. I’d have thought that, if McConaughey ever made a “comeback,” it would be in some SUCCESSFUL lightweight romantic comedies.
I felt the same way when I saw Rob Lowe on West Wing- I never thought he could act his way out of a paper bag, and I was stunned at how well he handled Aaron Sorkin’s snappy dialogue.
I can’t PREDICT who’ll make a comeback in show biz, but my favorite comebacks are ones like these- where someone I thought DESERVED to be washed up proves me wrong, and gives a great performance I didn’t think he was capable of.
Mark Linn-Baker and Bronson Pinchot from Perfect Strangers. Both have done things here and there since the 80s but they seemed way too talented to be “one and done” stars.
I always thought there was more to Bronson Pinchot than what we got. Unfortunately, the only thing I can even remember him in after Perfect Strangers is the dreadful Langoliers.
Hate me to Death, but thats one guy I’d like to see walk up to the stage, dark horse style, and pull a statuette.
Probably never happen though; so much hard work to grow that flower.
And if you think THAT’S a longshot, multiply those odds by a couple Billion and say that 5 whole seconds of that speech would be, “…Oh, there’s this jerk on the internet…”
I always found it interesting that Tom Kelly retired as a baseball manager in 2001 at age 51 and hasn’t managed since. 65 is kind of old for a baseball manager but a few years ago there were 70 year olds in Torre, Cox and LaRussa. Perhaps Kelly figures “We won two world series so why do I need to spend months on the road?”. But I figured if he could get a third title, it would boost his Hall of Fame chances.
Rick Moranis. He retired from acting when his wife passed away so he could raise his daughters. Once they’re old enough to be on their own for a bit, I’d like to see him get back into comedy or writing.
Apparently, Popular Problems was voted one of the top 10 albums of 2014. Tough to stage a comeback when you haven’t been away
For me, I’d like to see the author Barry Hughart write some more fantasy novels. He wrote the classic “Bridge of Birds” thirty years ago, followed it up by two almost as good novels and then quit writing, apparently out of irritation with the way that the publishers promoted the books.
