September is often used as a dumping ground for movies, but this year it also appears to be a dumping ground for once-great or once-promising talents who’ve lost their way. I’ve taken note of at least 10 individuals (actors, actresses and a couple filmmakers) who have new films out this month (I’m counting the Labor Day weekend, too) who are due for a visit from the Ghost of Movies Past.
More specifically, these people need to backtrack to the ‘90s, which is when most of them did their last truly great work. Perhaps they need to take a look at that earlier work and remember what it was they used to do. Or perhaps they just need to get advice from the Coen brothers, who similarly hit a slump in the new millennium, but who are now back on track with a few more Oscars in hand and a new comedy, Burn After Reading, which looks to be more in line with their ‘90s classic The Big Lebowski than their 2000s missteps Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers.
Nicolas Cage (guilty September 2008 release: Bangkok Dangerous)
It could be argued that Cage made just as many worthless movies in the ‘90s as he has in the ‘00s. Also, considering his box office success with Ghost Rider and the National Treasure movies, plus his excellent Oscar-nominated dual role in Adaptation, it’s debatable that he’s “lost his way.” But it’s clear to me, at least, that he currently lacks any concern for the quality of his work, as evidenced by this month’s Bangkok Dangerous, which makes even Con Air look well crafted by comparison. In the ‘90s, Cage was doing much greater work for Scorsese, Lynch and even Michael Bay, and he won an Oscar for Best Actor, too. Unless he starts caring about the roles he chooses, he’s more likely to one day receive lifetime recognition by the Razzies than a lifetime achievement award from the Academy. Who he needs to work with again to get it back: the Coens; Uncle Francis (Ford Coppola); Scorsese; even Michael Bay would be good.
Neil LaBute (guilty September 2008 release: Lakeview Terrace)
He directed Nic Cage in the terrible 2006 remake of The Wicker Man, placing him a long way in the wrong direction from that promising playwright/filmmaker who gave us the wicked men of In the Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbors in ’97 and ’98, respectively. With 2000’s Nurse Betty, LaBute began working from other people’s scripts, which actually wasn’t too bad considering his next fully self-authored work, the 2003 adaptation of his own play, The Shape of Things, was a one-note disappointment. This month he attempts to rise up from his 2006 disaster with Lakeview Terrace, again from material he didn’t write, and it could be decent. But despite my rejection of Shape, I’d prefer he return to the kind of mean-spirited stuff he wrote himself a decade back. If anyone else, though, I’d say he could potentially do well adapting something by Bret Easton Ellis. Who he needs to work with again to get it back: himself; Aaron Eckhart.
Mathieu Kassovitz (guilty September 2008 release: Babylon A.D.)
It may be hard to imagine, but the guy who helmed the critically panned new sci-fi movie Babylon A.D. was once honored as Best Director at Cannes. The year was 1995 and the film was La Haine, a powerful black-and-white French drama about three hooligans from the low-income outskirts of Paris. On Rotten Tomatoes, it is rated 100% fresh by critics; Babylon has a nearly inverse score of 7%. Kassovitz, who has also done fine work as an actor (Amelie; Munich), recently claimed that the movie is bad because of alterations made by 20th Century Fox rather than because of his work as a director. Well, fine, but the guy’s previous film, Gothika, was pretty shitty too (how it received a RT score of 73% or earned $150 million is beyond me). What he needs to work with again to get it back: French dialogue; independent distributors.
Vin Diesel (guilty September 2008 release: Babylon A.D.)
The star of Babylon A.D. is also in need of a ‘90s backtrack. Between Saving Private Ryan in ’98 and both Boiler Room and Pitch Black in 2000, I believed Diesel was to be this generation’s greatest action hero, one who could actually act, too (he seemed like he could then, anyway). But the guy’s been a real loser in the action and the acting departments since 2002’s xXx. Diesel made a recent try at quality work with Sidney Lumet’s Find Me Guilty, but it’s possible audiences don’t want to or simply can’t take the actor seriously enough. It’s probably too late for him, now, although he should see some increase in audience size with his return to the Fast and the Furious franchise next year. Who he needs to work with again to get it back: Spielberg.
Meg Ryan (guilty September 2008 release: The Women)
Can you reverse the effects of collagen implants? Ryan, who was such a cutie as a staple of ‘90s romantic comedy, now looks so creepy with all the work she’s had done on her face that it’s no wonder Picturehouse had to be so excessive with the Photoshop in the poster for The Women (though Ryan is at least slightly more recognizable than Annette Bening). To give Ryan’s doctors credit, the actress’ downturn may have actually had more to do with that misguided affair she had with Russell Crowe while making 2000’s Proof of Life, which was pretty much the beginning of her career slump. Who she needs to work with again to get it back: Tom Hanks; Nora Ephron.
Jason Biggs (guilty September 2008 release: My Best Friend’s Girl)
Yeah, it’s a shame that Biggs’ greatest achievement was American Pie, but that movie truly is a masterpiece compared to most of the films he’s appeared in since. However, my hope for him to backtrack to the ‘90s isn’t so he’ll recall what made him a star in a ’99 gross-out comedy; it’s to make the plea that he return to sitcoms. Before he was the pie-fucking kid, he was a semi-regular on the early ‘90s series Drexell’s Class. While I never saw the show, which only lasted 18 episodes, I do think Biggs is better suited for television, mainly because I’d rather not see his face on the big screen any longer, especially as yet another embarrassment-prone comedic sidekick, as he is in this month’s My Best Friend’s Girl. Hopefully one day he’ll get out of the cinemas and realize he’s this generation’s Jon Cryer, who eventually found his place in a lame yet popular series. Who he needs to work with to get it back: ABC; NBC; CBS.
Woody Harrelson (guilty September 2008 release: Surfer, Dude)
Following the signoff of Cheers in the early ‘90s, Harrelson seemed on track to be one of this generation’s most prestigious actors, on the level of Sean Penn and Russell Crowe even. Yet after wowing us in Natural Born Killers and then receiving an Oscar nomination mid-decade for The People vs. Larry Flynt, he kind of left the spotlight to appear in less-prominent films (like his other release this month, Battle in Seattle) and some less-prominent roles in major releases. He’s at least working a lot (8 releases in 2008 alone) and showing up in great movies like No Country for Old Men, but I have to wonder what he’s thinking by being in Surfer, Dude. OK, so he’s good in the occasional comedy, including this year’s Semi-Pro, but he’d far more respected if he cut back on the quantity of films and concentrated on the quality ones. Who he needs to work with again to get it back: fewer filmmakers; an agent that can get him bigger, meatier roles.
Matthew McConaughey (guilty September 2008 release: Surfer, Dude)
I guess it’s not surprising that McConaughey ended up in a movie called Surfer, Dude, but I still wish he’d stayed the course of films like Lone Star, A Time to Kill, Amistad and Contact instead of the sorts of romantic comedies and adventures he’s done since the turn of the century. He was even obnoxious in Tropic Thunder. Personally, I enjoyed him in 2002’s Reign of Fire, but otherwise he’s been a real disappointment this whole decade, and reuniting with his EdTV costar Woody Harrelson for a dumb surfing comedy may well be the biggest upset so far. Who/what he needs to work with again to get it back: Spielberg; Grisham novels; Jodie Foster.
Cole Hauser (guilty September 2008 release: The Family That Preys)
Like McConaughey, a number of fellow actors from Dazed and Confused have experienced slumps this decade, including Ben Affleck and Hauser. I honestly once believed the latter to be one of the most promising newcomers of the ‘90s. I guess it could be difficult to make a prestigious career out of only playing bad guys, but with his performances in Higher Learning and All Over Me, he seemed perfectly suited to try. Unfortunately, his villain from 2 Fast 2 Furious was a lot less than I thought him to be capable of. And he hasn’t really wowed me in anything else this decade, either. It’s possible that appearing in Tyler Perry’s attempted crossover film, The Family That Preys, will be a good career move, but I’m highly skeptical. Who he needs to work with again to get it back: Richard Linklater; Ben Affleck.
Al Pacino (guilty September 2008 release: Righteous Kill)
I’m picking only one of the two veteran actors united for this month’s Righteous Kill, because I’d probably be saying the same thing about each. Despite their being accepted as two of the greatest actors of the 20th century, neither has seen Oscar recognition since the early ‘90s, and neither has been very good at choosing quality roles lately. But at least Robert DeNiro has tried to do more interesting things with his career, whether it be appearing in broad comedies or returning to directing. Plus, it seems like he tried to backtrack a bit by re-teaming with his Wag the Dog director, Barry Levinson, for What Just Happened? He probably shouldn’t have just dropped out of Martin Campbell’s Edge of Darkness, but whatever. As for Pacino, he seems even more tired and passed his prime than DeNiro does, and I don’t believe he’s even tried to give a great performance in anything since 2000. The fact that he appeared in Gigli is the biggest disappointment, although it’s somewhat understandable since he was reuniting with the guy who directed him finally toward his first Oscar. His upcoming portrayal of Salvador Dali in next year’s Dali & I: The Surreal Story proves he has potential to do something unpredictable, but I’m honestly expecting another unfortunate ham effort. I’d love to see him and DeNiro paired up for an actual Scorsese movie rather than a film that’s pretending to be one (was there any other reason for the Righteous Kill trailer to feature “Sympathy for the Devil”?). Who he needs to work with again to get it back: Lumet; Coppola; DePalma.
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