Man. This mini-review reminds me of what a PLAYER Mickey Rourke used to be, how IMPORTANT he seemed (at least to those of us who take acting and actors seriously. He was a big big deal). That guy can ACT. His contempt for his own talent, and the profession he has chosen, has made him into the wreck we see today. However: if you have seen The Pledge then you will know that no matter what Rourke does to his face, he cannot kill his gift. He has one scene in that movie, and it's so painful to watch and so fanTAStic, that you almost want to cover your eyes. I think he's a genius, when it comes to film acting ... and I guess I've never stopped missing him on the scene. It all began for me with Diner ... His performance in that still stuns me. It's inarticulate, it all has to do with what he is able to convey without words ... He lets the camera see his soul. That's the mark of a great movie actor.
Anyway. Enough. He's ruined his face, and it makes me very very sad.
Member him in Body Heat? He was great.
Lastly: Kathleen Turner made her film debut in Body Heat. Uhm ... we should all have such a debut. Good LORD.
Body Heat 1981
Lawrence Kasdan wrote and directed this 40s pastiche that verges on camp but takes itself straight. He has devised a style that is a catalogue of noir cliches -- Deco titles, flames and a heat wave, ceiling fans, tinkling wind chimes, old tunes, chicanery in muted voices, a weak man (William Hurt), and a femme fatale in white (Kathleen Turner), and insinuating, hotted-up dialogue that it would be fun to hoot at if only the hushed, sleepwalking manner of the film didn't make you cringe or yawn. Kasdan has modern characters talking jive talk as if they'd been boning up on Chandler novels, and he doesn't seem to know if he wants laughs or not. It's like listening to Mae West deliver her bawdy innuendoes in a sincere tone. He poses Turner as a hot number, and she proceeds to lure Hurt, who's a chump, to murder her rich husband (Richard Crenna) as if she were following the marks on the floor made by the actresses who preceded her. As Teddy, the professional arsonist, Mickey Rourke almost makes you feel that you're at a real movie.Posted by sheila
Kathleen Turner = still as insanely hot as she ever was. [wipes drool from face] ;-)
Posted by: Dave J at May 12, 2005 9:53 AMI have two word for you...Angel Heart. Do you remember how we lost our minds over that movie?!
I don't remember him in Body Heat.
Posted by: David at May 12, 2005 10:04 AMDavid - totally. We went out to Bickfords and all just FREAKED OUT.
Posted by: red at May 12, 2005 10:06 AMHe ruined his face? What am I missing here?
Confession: I have a secret fondness for Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man.
Posted by: Dan at May 12, 2005 10:12 AMDan - Yeah. He hated his face so - starting in his 30s, he started to mess with plastic surgery. And now he has had so much plastic surgery work done that he looks like Roy Scheider after a bender. It's horrible. That beautiful flexible face is now ironed smooth. He looks terrible.
Posted by: red at May 12, 2005 10:14 AMDan: Here he is "before" - when he first hit the scene. Gorgeous. And here he is now. A botched collagen job, ironed out wrinkles, a nose job ... I know the guy has a lot of problems, but I think he was one of the best actors working in the 80s. Hands down. And I miss him.
But still - see his performance in The Pledge. He's got the fake-looking face, but the acting is still there.
Posted by: red at May 12, 2005 10:29 AMEek. What a horrible change. I like Diner,especially since it was filmed in my old neighborhood.
Posted by: Dan at May 12, 2005 10:34 AMI know. It's really sad. His face was the best thing about him, besides his talent!
Yeah - he was great in Diner. Magnetic. A damn MOVIE STAR, and he wasn't even famous yet.
Posted by: red at May 12, 2005 10:35 AMOk - The Pledge added to my netflix queue.
Posted by: Dan at May 12, 2005 10:38 AMDan - there's some great acting there. Robin Wright Penn ... wait til you see Benicio del Torro's 5 minute cameo. But to me, the performance I remember is Mickey Rourke's. Great stuff.
Posted by: red at May 12, 2005 10:39 AMI would agree that Body Heat was a bit campy, but I loved it. Rourke racked up some great performances in Diner, Body Heat, and Angel Heart. I haven't seen The Pledge, is it good?
Posted by: Dave E at May 12, 2005 10:47 AMDave E: Yup. It's very very very good. Jack Nicholson, Robin Wright Penn ... directed by Sean Penn. There are two cameos which almost take over the movie: Benicio del Torro's as a mentally disabled man accused of murder - it's so painful you can't stand it. And Mickey Rourke, the tragic fucked-up father of a murdered little girl.
It's a very good movie - although not a feel-good one, obviously.
The acting is top-notch.
Posted by: red at May 12, 2005 10:48 AMThat was her DEBUT? Did not realize that. It's like she emerged fully formed from somebody's thigh.
Posted by: Anne at May 12, 2005 11:21 AMI thought Rourke had descended totally into the crapper, but then I saw Sin City. Rourke is very strong there.
Posted by: John Cunningham at May 12, 2005 11:22 AMJohn - Yeah, I'm very happy to hear of his good reviews in that. I'm tellin' ya, I miss the guy. He was my favorite actor for a good 2, 3 years.
Posted by: red at May 12, 2005 11:23 AMAnne - yeah, amazing, right? I would put it on the list of Most Spectacular Debuts of all Time. Lauren Bacall would have to be first though - for Slim in To Have and Have Not. Best debut ever.
Posted by: red at May 12, 2005 11:24 AMThe first hint of Mickey's face mania was in Wild Orchid. I remember coming across it on cable and noticing that his cheeks were SWOLLEN, like he had a couple of golf balls grafted onto his face. Watch all his subsequent movies, and you see the progression of surgeries, coupled with his pencheant for boxing, slowly destroy his expressiveness.
The end result is, directors can't (or shouldn't) use close-ups on him. It's upsetting to look at him, especially if you remember what he was. Sin City solved this problem by, well, putting a mask of make-up on him. And he's so f-ing good you wanna cry.
Posted by: Scotter at May 12, 2005 3:30 PMSheil...how about a post all about movie debuts?? Could be cool?? Glen Close in Garp?? Good one.-mitchell
Posted by: Alex at May 12, 2005 7:09 PMMitchell - Yeah, I've been thinking about it. Another amazing debut that comes to mind is Edward Norton in Primal Fear. I'm pretty sick of Edward Norton now - but damn. That was a fine performance - complete unknown.
Posted by: red at May 12, 2005 8:00 PM
