March 9, 2010

"Excuse Me; Meryl Streep Could Play Batman and Be the 'Right Choice'."

A friend recently emailed me a breathless lamentation concerning a random Twitter update by comedian / actor Dane Cook claiming that he was auditioning for the upcoming Captain America movie. The wildly unpopular rumor was confirmed, though it is still unclear if Cook was actually auditioning for the title role.

Fear not, gentle reader; I have no intention of writing yet another speculative piece on who will play Cap. Instead, I am writing in defense of acting.

There was a time in Hollywood when a role was created, then James Stewart played it. Need an earnest bumpkin raging against the machine? Call Jimmy. An alcoholic who cynically chooses to be pleasant rather than smart? Call Jimmy. Hard-nosed loner? Acrophobic cop? Pacifist lawyer assassin? Jimmy, Jimmy, and Jimmy. Casting wasn't an epochal event in those days because Jimmy Stewart & Co were all professional actors. These days we're lucky to get someone whose chops range from skinny wisecracking schlub to fat wisecracking schlub.

The art isn't dead. In the span of two decades, Dustin Hoffman went from Rain Man to Hook to Wag the Dog to Meet the Fockers. Tom Hanks has been believable as gay, stupid, and super-duper lonely. Hell, Robin Williams was Mork and Professor Keating.

Acting -- if it is indeed a craft at all -- is the craft of communicating inauthentic emotions authentically, and traditional comedians have lately proven themselves surprisingly adept at that particular skill.  Just ask Bill Murray, Adam Sandler, Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey, Monique, Jeff Daniels, or Hugh Laurie. If Dane Cook knocked the audition out of the park, I'd cast him as Harriet Tubman.

And remember, not that long ago somebody suggested this guy be cast as The Joker.

2 comments:

  1. Don't forget Hanks in Saving Private Ryan in a tremendously realistic portrayal of a lieutenant in World War II.

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  2. Also, most movies are pretty terrible. All superhero movies are terrible.

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