What dumb people with no attention span think..

[lecter]

The reason they give Oscars to so many handicap roles is that they are extremely difficult to play convincingly by sane people, it has nothing to do with PC imho...Di Caprio was great in Gilbert Grape, he's actually a fine actor, pretty boy stuff aside.

[KvHagedorn]

My biggest problem with Tom Cruise is that he always plays Tom Cruise.. it's the same damned thing every time. In Risky Business, the guy is a HS student, in Top Gun, it's the same guy as a pilot.. in Jerry Maguire it's the same guy as a sports agent, etc.

[KvHagedorn]

The reason they give Oscars to so many handicap roles is that they are extremely difficult to play convincingly by sane people, it has nothing to do with PC imho...Di Caprio was great in Gilbert Grape, he's actually a fine actor, pretty boy stuff aside.

He's better than Tommy Boy, at any rate. I really don't think it's that hard to play a retarded person.. really easier, in fact. Just affect a few mannerisms and watch how real retarded people behave.

Ah.. another one came to mind. John Mills in Ryan's Daughter. That was actually the best portrayal of a retarded person I've seen.

[Jammrock]

how much have they made?

Last I heard Ford was around $2 billion, and Julia was $1.2 billion.

[KvHagedorn]

And Jodie Foster in Nell!

Okay.. the list, which includes every retarded person played by a major star, and/or in a major film:

John Mills, Ryan's Daughter (won)
Leonardo di Caprio, What's Eating Gilbert Grape (nominated)
Dustin Hoffman, Rain Man (won)
Jodie Foster, Nell (nominated)
Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump (won)

Can anyone add to this list?

[lecter]

Daniel Day Lewis, My Left Foot (won)

[KvHagedorn]

Cliff Robertson, Charly (won)

[Jessterw]

If you want to see a movie that has a more realistic portrayal of people with mental handicaps, check out The Other Sister. I've heard people argue that it's not, but having a daughter with Down Syndrome and being heavily involved with a local support group, I can argue that it is.

[KvHagedorn]

Has anyone else seen The Remains of the Day?

[Umfriend]

Has anyone else seen The Remains of the Day?

I have. It's one of those movies that sticks with you for a long time (unlike any movie I have seen with Tom Cruise but I have not seen that many).
It is indeed amazing how Hopkins portraits (sp?) a charachter whose behaviour is so incumbered (word?) by the social conventions he has imposed on himself, helped by the surrounding environment and how it restrains him from actually persuing happiness while showing although trying to hide that he does want at least something.

Not many movies I can remember that have made such an impression. Le fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulin is a good one to, but a lighthearted one, more the script than the actual characters and acting. I'll think about other if I have the time.

And that is a big difference with philedelphia I guess. It's a gripping story, Tom Hanks plays a good role BUT it is after all pretty one-dimensional. There is no struggle with himself. He si going down and he is out there for one last vengeance. No regrets, no struggle, he just is. But I guess that is about the script as well as the acting.

[Helevitia]

The Last Samurai is a great movie. I've decided not to see any more TC movies.

[Brian Ellis]

What makes you think they are acting when they play mentally handicapped roles? In the past, I met professionally a small number of well-known and popular actors/actresses. With a few exceptions (and they were usually considered the "serious" ones like Olivier and Gielgud) I would guess their average IQ was well under 100. What struck me the most was their sense of insecurity often resulting in an astounding bitchiness towards "normal" people (and their competitors). I was responsible for sound equipment and they looked on me as the lowest of the low. I often informed them otherwise. When I told one "star" (leading role of many tens of films, generally as a he-man) what I thought of him, he burst into tears! He then tried to get me into his dressing room (it was when I was young and handsome ) as I was so nice and assertive! Since that day, I always felt an inclination to puke when he came on the screen. OTOH, one of the nicest actors I've spoken with was Peter Ustinov, who was also a great intellect. Of course, I was only on the very fringe of showbiz and for a very short time.

[KvHagedorn]

Alright.. spill it. Who was the star? Or shall we play guessing games? Hmm.. Rock Hudson?

I know Spartacus was supposed to have been a very serious movie, but that scene where Ustinov welcomes Crassus and Glabrus and just ad libs all this outrageous deadpan stuff always makes me choke with laughter.

[Brian Ellis]

Not Hudson. I prefer discretion, although he made his homosexuality public in the early 1960s (I met him in 1952) . He died of a heart attack not long after his lifelong partner died of cancer. Please don't pursue his identity.

Ustinov was a great wit and could ad lib outrageously. His repartee was fantastic.

[agallag]

Sean Penn, I Am Sam, nominated.