MovieChat Forums > Ghosts of Mississippi (1997) Discussion > James Woods was Too Good

James Woods was Too Good

posted 14 years ago by mdudnikov
7 replies | jump to latest

As usual Rob Reiner presents his subject matter with all the subtlety of a sledge hammer and Whoopi and Baldwin are to acting what Bill Clinton is to honesty, foreign and remote. James Woods on the other hand stole the movie. His performance is riveting. He is really the only interesting character there. With this combination of factors Woods is almost too good, almost making you identify with this dispicable man.

By the way that is quite an unusual name Byron De La Beckwith. Seems like it was put together by a committee. De la is Spanish meaning of the, and Beckwith is very British in origin.

[–] t_smitts 14 years ago

Actually, "de la" is French.

And Bill Clinton is a rather odd choice as an example of dishonesty. I'm not saying he was 100% honest, but there have been politicians who've lied about far worse things.

[–] walmarc 14 years ago

Agree with you, Woods was amazing.

[–] Director-21 14 years ago

Woods performance is great, but I would not say that he makes the character sympathetic. I would say that he makes the character memorable but in that "what a scum bag" type way.

[–] koffeenkreame41-1 14 years ago

Whoopi Goldberg wasn't bad, she was great in here, but Woods stole the movie.

"I am the ultimate badass, you do not wanna `*beep*` wit' me!" Hudson in Aliens.

[–] migoe44 14 years ago

Totally agree that Woods is blindingly brilliant and saves the movie from mushy sentimentality. Goldberg comes across too self-satisfied and jolly and was the total wrong call for this part - she's too light ( as a personality ). It also pushed it a bit that the son-in-law of the most racist judge that Miss Hippy ever produced would suddenly go soft when he realised he had the same tot of kids as Medger Evers - lazy plotting.But Woods rocked !

Your point about the name BDLB is amusing. I'm not American but I would have thought in New Orleans such a name - combining resonances of both Cajun and Anglo- Saxon cultures - would be quite run-of-the-mill. Jackson is only a little north of that crazy city . I rest my case.

[–] JudgeJavelin 10 years ago

He was that good because he simply played himself as he truly is.

What a racist bastard...

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Prepare to be judged....with a FGM-148 Javelin!

[–] KhurramAtta 9 years ago

Very ignorant of you,Retard.

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