Funny how Streisand hasn't made any of our lists.
10. Iggy Pop - his role in Coffee and Cigarettes was brief, but that scene was one of my favorites. Playing him against the perceived type was brilliant, and he played it up so well against Waits.
9. David Bowie - I must admit, I have not seen Labyrinth, but based simply on his ability to entirely obfuscate his identity in The Prestige, he lands on my List.
8. Tom Petty - the role is not very physical, I admit, but Lucky, the ne'er-do-well nephew-in-law of Hank and Peggy Hill, satirizes the prototype of trailer trash quite nicely.
7. Will Smith - I like his roles, but I would like him to play up to the level of drama he reportedly showed in Six Degrees of Separation, instead of continuing to play fun variations on an action theme.
6. Isaac Hayes - again, not the most physical role, but Parker and Stone did make ol' Chef go through quite a lot in the first 9 seasons of South Park. Can you say talk about your salty chocolate balls without snickering?
5. Meat Loaf - You gotta love the big moosie; there is no secret of my appreciation of Fight Club.
4. Jared Leto - Some may argue this is an actor who became a musician, but his musical role has now supplanted his acting. However, this is a shame; his roles in Panic Room and Requiem for a Dream were fantastic. I still feel Requiem is required viewing for all high school students before 10th grade, at the least. Scare them straight, if you can.
3. Dwight Yoakam - in addition to Panic Room, he did quite well in Tommy Lee Jones' opus, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, adding depth to a role that could have been simply 2-D.
2. Cher - She actually has acting chops, so here she lands.
1. The musical cast of The Blues Brothers - one of the best musicals ever made (guys can actually admit to seeing it), with so many great soul, R&B, and jazz musicians packed in. Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, the Band. Individually, great little nuggets. As an ensemble, classic.
3 comments:
Yes, some obvious exclusions - but I haven't actually seen a Sinatra or Elvis movie, and I just couldn't figure out where to put Courtney Love even though I liked her roles.
Re: Tom Petty
Wasn't he the Mad Hatter in some version of Alice in Wonderland, or am I thinking of his videos?
Re: Will Smith
What about the Pursuit of Happyness? Hehe. Just kidding. Incidentally, I did not like Six Degrees. I found it suffered from Indie Pointlessness Syndrome.
Re: Jared Leto.
What is Requiem for A Dream supposed to scare teenagers from? Double-sided dildos? You can't actually think a little amputation would scare kids from the ol' smack, do you?
Petty - I think it was a music video.
Smith - Haven't seen Six Degrees myself but I do think he has a lot of untapped talent.
Requiem - maybe you're right, this new generation may not react to the shock the same way. After all, they laugh at Saw. Still, I always view Trainspotting and Requiem as opposite views of drug culture, and I find Requiem quite haunting. Maybe amputation isn't scary, but chain gangs, gang bangs, and nasogastric feeding tubes are.
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