I watched this movie for the first time ten years ago and always looked back on fondly. Having watched it again only last night I found Jennifer Jason Leigh incredible to watch but impossible to listen to. So annoying that she really spoilt the movie.
Anybody agree?
She was brilliant in this movie...maybe you just don't understand the reference.
"I dunno...burn stuff?"
Yeah, I completely agree. I know what she was going for, but she completely missed the target.
shareAgree also. I can't watch her now-adays without thinking back at how annoying she was in this. Still, that was just her role, I think; meant to be annoying.
sharei thought she did a pretty good job... it did seem a little bit forced at times, but only a little. not shabby eyecandy either... mmmmmm business women
"Thanks, i try to keep it short in the summer"
I do find her character irritating, but it doesn't spoil the movie for me. I believe she was directed to be this annoyingly brash, I don't think it's bad acting. It's also the only movie I remember seeing JJL in where she keeps all her clothes on, did she do others like this?
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She's one of the best parts of the movie
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"Movie catch phrase!" -Classic Movie
Aside frin FAST TIMES, Leigh has nearly destroyed anything she touches.
shareJennifer Jason Leigh, one amazing actress! I really love her performance!
shareShe is an amazing, unique and much-underrated actress. I loved her here, found her hilarious and spot-on. Some people really don't know what they're talking about.
shareI understand what she was going for, and it doesn't matter. Every time she was on the screen, I wanted to gag/fast forward. Not a mark of a 'brilliant' performance.
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I'm conflicted on this one. I found JJL's voice irritating, too, even though I understand the character she was going for. Yet when I watch Roz in His Girl Friday, she is absolutely perfect as this "type". I can't determine what makes one performance spot-on and the other annoying. Maybe JJL was a bit over-the-top? Maybe it was the surrounding characters that didn't match her style effictively? Interestingly, JJL had a similar era accent as Dorothy Parker... and I found it distracting.
shareWell, her performance is emblematic of the whole movie: it's not really telling a story so much as it is a pastiche of a whole genre of film: the '40s-'50s screwball comedy. These aren't characters so much as they're stereotypes and personas. So JJL isn't trying to recreate a real person as she is trying to play a Katherine Hepburn character from those movies, skewed slightly.
The problem with the film is that it's a slightly amusing sort of concept, but it really ends up leaving me cold. If you want to see a Hepburn-type performance, why not just watch a Hepburn movie? In this movie, the Coens' desire to be visually showy really overwhelms any sort of human interest in the story. It's all artifice and show.
Absolutely agree with Jake lex. I'm a big fan of the Coens and I respect JJL in certain roles that fit her narrow range, but I think they all failed in this film. The Coen's later effort 'O Brother Where Art Thou' is a successful screwball comedy because it doesn't resort to pastiche.
sharejake lex: its supposed to be all "artifice and show" and over the top. That is the point of the fil, and certainly the point of the Amy Archer character. Pay better attention to the few scenes in which she drops the mask and reveals that she is playing someone that is themselves acting.
Your critique is really only a more eloquent version saying that Hemmingway sucks because he only used simple words, when the truth is the exact opposite.
In my opinion.
Insert Emoticon of your choice here.
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I'm a bit torn on her performance too. She's a great actress and has been spot-on in so many movies, so I don't think her acting was bad, per se. She totally looked the part, got all the mannerisms down, her accent was fine, but the quality of her voice is what I think people have a problem with. It's something separate from the accent. It was too low and harsh. I kept imagining Cate Blanchett in this role (similar to how she acted in "The Aviator") thinking that might've been more believable.
I will say this though. This was an extremely challenging role, and I'm hard-pressed to think of ANY contemporary actress who could've pulled it off half as well. Take for example the scene in the press room when she is typing, talking a mile a minute to, like, five different people, add on the accent and the hand gestures, and remember that this is mostly all in one long shot. Whether you like her performance or not, you gotta admit she's a very focused, ambitious and dedicated actress!