Wednesday, June 24, 2009

What were they thinking?

I was flipping through the channels yesterday and saw John Cusack so naturally I put the remote down.

I picked it up about 30 seconds later.

I had happened upon the last 15 minutes of The Ice Harvest; which I had never seen.

And I never will.

Let me tell you why.

Twelve seconds into the scene I had landed on, John had a handgun in his hand.

His goal in the scene was to save a girl who was in obvious danger, so the gun seemed reasonable.

He DID look incredibly uncomfortable holding a gun so they got THAT part right.

The gun was sans bullets, so he went off to find bullets.

John's characters are often unprepared for emergencies, so they got that part right, too.

What he found instead of bullets was a shotgun.

A shotgun that he then pointed at Randy Quaid.

[insert that sound that a record needle makes scraping across a record]

That is just soooooo not John Cusack.

A few seconds later John was disarmed and had a big knife stuck THROUGH his foot by a very upset Randy Quaid..

……...*YIKES*

I actually felt ill.

I went off and found baby deer and kittens to look at for a while.

Doesn't it say IN HIS CONTRACT somewhere....play nice with John Cusack, he's fragile?

I'm all for actors stretching their acting chops. But there are some things that I just have a problem with certain actors doing.

For instance, I can't picture John Wayne in a tutu. (oh damn, I just pictured John Wayne in a tutu) But you know what I mean, even if the man, say to settle a bet, would wear a tutu, there is no way that the CHARACTER of John Wayne would wear a tutu.

Same with John Cusack. John plays fragile, complicated men who ultimately get you to feel that you should be scooping them up into a blanket fresh from the dryer and offering them cocoa.

I have no idea if that is what he is like in real life. I did, however see a video of him being interviewed by a reporter who had mixed him up with Kevin Spacey. She kept insisting that John was in American Beauty and unfortunately she was one of those people who once they have an idea in their head, they don't let it go. He remained calm and classy. He did look a little miffed by the end there though.

But not nearly as miffed as when Randy Quaid stuck that knife in his foot.

[shudder]

http://www.maniacworld.com/how-not-to-interview-john-cusak.html

14 comments:

Kris said...

If I dream of John Wayne in a tutu tonight, I'm coming after you! LOL!

How about the character who played John Boy from the Waltons in the role of the Terminator?

I agree, John Cusack has been typecast and for him to stray so far from the kind of character he is known for is JUST WRONG!

Anonymous said...

I love John Cusack. I think I fell in love with his mouth in Say Anything. Hmmm, I should rent one of his movies.

Karen from Mentor said...

Kris,
John boy terminator....I smell a screenplay.

I think you can counteract John Wayne in a tutu by picturing Will Smith in nothing.

Whole nother kind of dreams my friend.....

mdvelazquez said...

I can see John Wayne donning a tutu as a joke.

I can't see Cusack with a gun. I don't think he even carried a gun in the Grifters.

Karen from Mentor said...

Linda,
Yes, do so, rent ALL of his movies. Watch them wrapped in a blanket, drinking cocoa.

I loved him in Must Love Dogs. The scene with him and Diane Lane running from drug store to drugstore...oh man.

Let me know how the movie marathon goes. And whether you watch his movie catalog chronologically or alphabetically. Enquiring minds need to know.

Hey D....going to out yourself as a fellow Cusack lover? You know you want to. :)

Karen from Mentor said...

Maria,
What color tutu? Manly blue or girly pink?
and tights or not? Or is he wearing the tutu over the normal working J.W. clothes complete with six shooter and spurs?

Did you ever see Angel and the Bad man? Great really early JW movie.
For later movies I LOVE both The Cowboys and The Shootist. {spoiler alert) His character DIES in both movies. I wonder if that was what made them more memorable?

Rougeneck said...

John Cusack in Grosse Point Blank might change your mind. He's still loveable neurotic and unsure, but he's also a serial killer. It's one of my gaves - I highly recommend it...

Frank Marcopolos said...

I always liked his performance in High Fidelity, myself. I've been meaning to see Grosse Point Blank, too.

Karen from Mentor said...

Frank,I LOVED high fidelity.

Sarah, Is he a FUNNY serial killer....cause I could do that...probably :) (gaves?)

jennifertanner said...

That's it...I couldn't think of the movie where he played the serial killer! (thanks Frank)Grosse Pointe Blank. The scene where he beats that guy...so un-Cusack! Ugh.

It was like watching Fred MacMurray play the bad guy in Double Indemnity and calling Barbara Stanwyck "baby" ACK!

Chris said...

Correction: In Grosse Pointe Blank, John Cusack is not playing a serial killer, but a hitman. There is a huge difference. Serial killers lack empathy and morality. Hitmen just lack morality when it comes to killing people.

Anyway, Grosse Pointe Blank is a delight regardless, up there with High Fidelity and Say Anything.

And sorry I'm anal.

Karen from Mentor said...

Jen, I get the fred MacMurray reference....too funny...

Chris, regardless of your anality (is that a word) if John is beating anybody up, it would be a pass for me....see the part where I like him all fragile and vulnerable.
(thanks for stopping in guy) Although on second thought, If you told me where I should cover my eyes and mute any beating up sounds, I'd give it a try.

j said...

I think I saw the Ice Harvest when I was sick. I remember not liking it. (Or maybe I didn't like being sick.) Did you see Identity? Can't even talk about that movie without giving something away. High Fidelity... definitely my favorite Cusack film.

Anality. That's almost a superpower. Except not...

Daniel Powell said...

Karen,

You nailed this one. Love John Cusack (Joan's good too), but some characters aren't made to go against their strengths. It's rare that an actor like Cusack can break his or her established mold (though I though Pierce Brosnan did it in The Matador).

Off to peruse those Thursdays...