Who could it be? WHO is Scott referring to??
Well, Jeff Bridges of course!
I just recently took in
The Door in the Floor, which is half-drab/half-fascinating, but Jeff Bridges gives one
phenomenal performance in it. And then (as I often do when I see something new from an actor I really admire) I took a scan back through his filmography to put the new performance in perspective.
Mr. Bridges has been nominated four times:
The Last Picture Show (1971, supporting),
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974, supporting),
Starman (1984, lead),
The Contender (2000, supporting). He's never won.
Like most of you, I have fond memories of the shaggy Jeff from the generally moronic
King Kong remake, and the guy's been one of my favorites for as long as I can remember. What impresses me most as I look back over his list is that Bridges consistently wavers between lead and support, drama and genre, quiet and loud - and he's always one of the best things in whatever movie he appears in.
(
Underlined = excellent movie, * = particularly excellent work from J.B.)
80s?
Tron,
Kiss Me Goodbye,
Against All Odds,
Starman*,
Jagged Edge*,
8 Million Ways to Die,
The Morning After,
Nadine,
Tucker: The Man and His Dream*,
See You in the Morning,
The Fabulous Baker Boys*
--That's a pretty solid batting average right there. And even in the ones I didn't like {Nadine, See You...), Bridges still makes the damn things watchable.
90s?
Texasville,
The Fisher King*,
American Heart,
The Vanishing*,
Fearless*,
Blown Away,
Wild Bill,
White Squall,
The Mirror Has Two Faces,
The Big Lebowski*,
Arlington Road,
The Muse,
Simpatico
--OK, just a little bit less consistent with the material this decade. (Sorry, but I just loathe
Texasville,
The Vanishing and
The Muse.) But just consider the wildly eclectic performances offered in
The Fisher King,
The Big Lebowski and
Fearless... Pretty impressive work. (And I still dig
White Squall a whole lot, so nyer.)
The 00s:
The Contender*,
Scenes of the Crime,
K-Pax*,
Masked and Anonymous,
Seabiscuit*,
The Door in the Floor*
--Jeff all but
steals The Contender from the entire cast, his work in
Seabiscuit was far and away the crowning jewel of that flick, and if there's any justice in movieland, he'll earn his fifth nomination for
The Door in the Floor. (I have yet to see the reportedly-atrocious
Masked and Anonymous, although the cable-flick-ish
Scenes of the Crime is certainly an entertaining little b-movie crime thriller thingie.)
Next up for the actor is a rather inriguing comedy project called
The Moguls. According to the IMDb, the plot summary is:
"Citizens of a small town, under the influence of a man in the midst of a mid-life crisis (Bridges), come together to make an adult film." Also in the ensemble cast are William Fichtner, Tim Blake Nelson, Patrick Fugit, Ted Danson, Glenne Headly, Lauren Graham, Isaiah Washington, Steven Weber, Judy Greer, Valerie Perrine, Eileen Brennan, Brad Garrett, Elden Henson, Fiona Hunter and Joe Pantoliano as "Some Idiot".
And then it's back to work with Terry Gilliam once more for
Tideland, which co-stars Janet McTeer, Jennifer Tilly, Brendan Fletcher and Jodelle Ferland and is based on the novel by Mitch Cullin.
So while everyone heaps tons of (generally well-deserved) adoration on actors like Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, etc., I keep an eye out for the next contribution from Jeff Bridges...and Robert Duvall...and Gene Hackman...and Dennis Quaid...and Michael Keaton.
So am I nuts, or is Jeff Bridges a generally overlooked genius?
