Why is Sharon Stone famous?

[Hilarity_N.Suze]

Wasn’t she the famous starlet who was supposedly so dumb she slept with the writer?

[lissener]

@hawthorne

@lissener

The reviewer, Manohla Dargis, suggests that BI2 is an interesting essay on age and the Hollywood actress. Intriguing.

Piffle. It doesn’t say that. Thanks for posting the link.

@Dargis

For amusement’s sake, it is possible to read “Basic Instinct 2” as a metaphor […]

Don’t turn this into Verhoeven meets homeopathy.

I have no idea what that means.

In any case, you cut the Dargis quote in such a way that you suggest an entirely different meaning. The entire sentence is: “For amusement’s sake, it is possible to read “Basic Instinct 2” as a metaphor for contemporary American-British political relations (a psychotic Yank lures a decent Brit into a web of deceit and murder), but this is a poor reward for two hours of drift and sludge.” So, the metaphor that amused her was not the gender-issues metaphor, as you disingenuously suggest by way of “piffling” what I said; it was the political metaphor.

Instead, you might have quoted the parts of the review that I was referring to:

[ul]
[li]It is also no surprise that [BI2]. . . is such a prime object lesson in the degradation that can face Hollywood actresses, especially those over 40.[/li][li]The last few decades have been calamitous for American film actresses (of any age), who have been increasingly marginalized by the very industry they helped build. It would be wrong to put all the blame for Ms. Stone’s appearance and performance in “Basic Instinct 2” on the industry; greed and vanity surely played a part, as did behind-the-scenes wrangling.[/li][/ul] --etc.

So, despite the searing insight of your argument–“Piffle. It doesn’t say that.”–it still reads to me as thought it does.

[Sage_Rat]

“I get to see all the movies just how I want 'em; I get to read the all the reviews how I like; and neither the movie nor the review itself is gonna stop me!”

While I will admit that the existence of the movie speaks a lot on the horrors of an actress going old, I really doubt that inside it is there any submetaphor dealing with that beyond the actress herself really being there.

[Silentgoldfish]

@ianzin

I don’t hold any special brief for Ms Stone. However, could those of you happily chuckling about her ‘going crazy’ at a certain point in recent years please bear in mind that this otherwise healthy and relatively young woman suffered a serious stroke that took her about a year to recover from? She was on a UK chat show a few weeks ago and discussed this with great dignity and no self-pity at all, even though it could have killed her and was definitely a major reason why her career stalled for a little while.

Not to get too pious or anything, and yeah, I can enjoy a pile-on as much as the next Doper, but sheesh, a little sensitivity goes a long way.

I don’t want to take away from her experience, but if it was a serious stroke she wouldn’t have recovered as well as she obviously has, and it shouldn’t be used as an explanation for why she comes off as nutty in interviews.

[hawthorne]

lissener
Instead, you might have quoted the parts of the review that I was referring to:

* It is also no surprise that [BI2]. . . is such a prime object lesson in the degradation that can face Hollywood actresses, especially those over 40.
* The last few decades have been calamitous for American film actresses (of any age), who have been increasingly marginalized by the very industry they helped build. It would be wrong to put all the blame for Ms. Stone's appearance and performance in "Basic Instinct 2" on the industry; greed and vanity surely played a part, as did behind-the-scenes wrangling.

This doesn’t support your argument that this is might be an “interesting essay on age” or that the reviewer thought it was. Over 40 actresses get discarded by the industry and appear in garbage films (and there are few decent roles for women of any age). Recognising this is not new and supposing that a rubbish film featuring a cash in by a fading star is more than crap just insults the great film that was such an essay - Sunset Blvd.

Which is pretty much what sage rat said.

[Rucksinator]

Because she’s a hot chick who flashed her vag in Basic Instinct.

[RickJay]

@lissener

[li]It is also no surprise that [BI2]. . . is such a prime object lesson in the degradation that can face Hollywood actresses, especially those over 40.[/li][li]The last few decades have been calamitous for American film actresses (of any age), who have been increasingly marginalized by the very industry they helped build. It would be wrong to put all the blame for Ms. Stone’s appearance and performance in “Basic Instinct 2” on the industry; greed and vanity surely played a part, as did behind-the-scenes wrangling.[/li][/list] --etc.

So, despite the searing insight of your argument–“Piffle. It doesn’t say that.”–it still reads to me as thought it does.

In no way is the reviewer saying what you claim - that the film is an essay on these things. She is saying it’s an EXAMPLE of those things, a very different thing indeed. And a fair warning to stay away from the movie.