The actors were all well cast and uniformly decent performers across the board. But boy does Molly Ringwald suck! I mean she is frickin' terrible! She ruins many scenes she is in -- they better get a great actress for the movie version. Bryce Dallas Howard?
shareAgreed that Molly Ringwald's performance here was not exactly stellar, but it did not not ruin the whole movie for me. The plot, script and cast (other than Molly) were too good to let that happen.
shareThis is partly to get the focus of this board back where it belongs, but also because I'm curious to know who would you folks liked to have seen as Fran in this mini-series and who would you like to have in a re-make?
shareI thought it was one of Molly Ringwald's better performances, actually, and that she was right for the role. Rob Lowe is the one that was a true revelation. Up to that point, I had always thought of him as this sort-of B-grade actor.....then he pulls out a real A-game performance. I have never viewed him the same since.
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Thought Molly Ringwald did a good job in that scene where she wakes up and he is back. Very good look of surprise and probably not that easy to do.
shareIn Molly's defense (I'm no fan of her acting buuuuuut...) Fran Goldsmith is just an annoying, whiney character. When I read the book, by the end I kept saying "Frannies crying again...shocker.". It's such a weak character to begin with, anyone would have a hard time.
shareYes, this! I never like Franny in the book either. She's such a self impressed, bubble headed twit!
shareYes, this! I never like Franny in the book either. She's such a self impressed, bubble headed twit!Admittedly she did not make a great first impression in the book, especially the way she dealt with her boyfriend just after she found out she was pregnant, but I thought that she did grow somewhat. Not as much as most of the other characters, but she did grow. share
I have to admit I agree with you. As much as I wanted to like the character of Fran (in the book) I do think she was a bit of a let down compared to all the other characters. She seemed to grow the least.
In some ways I think Molly Ringwald nailed her perfectly in her performance as that was how I sort of envisioned Fran in the book.
Flimz I agree. In the book, however, Fran starts out as being a really interesting character who is well-drawn. King provides a lot of backstory on her life and her relationship with her parents. I found her really compelling in the book, particularly when she meets up with Harold.
By the mid to end of the book, Fran is reduced to a woman who is fixated almost solely on her baby and Stuart.
With that said, Molly Ringwald is simply not a talented actress with much range. I'm not judging her in any other way (she seems like a really nice person). Her paired with Corin Nemec for a lot of material didn't help. :)
Yeah, I admit she wasnt my favorite casting choice for Fran, but shes ok in some scenes, although terrible in others (doesnt ruin the film though, and shes mostly in scenes with actors that are good). Personally, I would have picked maybe Jennifer Connelly (or Drew Barrymore).
"I am the one who knocks"
I suspect that they cast some of the actors ,that they went with, because they wanted some (relatively) well-known folks (for 1994), but they didn't have the budget for Christopher Walken or Robert Duvall so they settled for Molly Ringwald.
shareChris Walken would have nailed the part of Frannie no doubt :P
Seriously though, considering the crap Walken has starred in I doubt they couldn't afford him
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Just going off of what I've read in the past and heard in a couple of interviews. At one time they looked at both Walken and Duvall, but both were too expensive. For what it's worth in 1993 (when they filmed the mini-series) Walken hadn't yet started churning out all the garbage. A few things yes, but he was still being a bit more selective I believe.
shareChristopher Walken making a baby with Gary Sinise is an image I don’t need.
shareJennifer Connelly 👍 (I love Drew, but she can't act imo). Shawnee was fantastic as Julie Lawry.
shareMolly was certainly nice to look at, though!
shareMolly was certainly nice to look at, though!I'd have to agree with you there. She is an attractive lady. share
She really was awful. Maybe she needs John Hughes to give her direction.
shareWhat I remember about Ringwald is she was really stuck on herself and thought she was some hot babe, so I wasn't surprised that she went out for the role of Frannie. If I remember correctly, she was offered the Ally Sheedy role in The Breakfast Club, but she insisted on the prom queen role instead and in Pretty in Pink, she insisted her character end up with the cool guy. I also remember reading that Lindsay Lohan threw a fit to play Regina George in Mean Girls, but the producers refused, lol...so, just like in real life and high school, actors want to be seen as 'cool'.
shareI used to call her Molly Ringworm, but that was mostly to irritate my niece. It did, too.
shareAgreed. Since this came out in 1994, a better choice would have been Jennifer Aniston.
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