Monday, May 09, 2005

Typecasting Funny Guys

So tonight I watched Blade Trinity. Why? Because again, being the geek that I am, I love comic book movies. However, some people just aren't meant for action roles no matter how much you buff them up. Ryan Reynolds is one of these guys.
In this movie, he is supposed to be this kick-ass, smart-ass guy in the comic relief sort of sense. Wrong. Ryan Reynolds was unfortunately cast in the movie Van Wilder. And now forever more in my mind, he'll be Van Wilder. He'll the male nurse making a pass at Kumar in Harold and Kumar. It's gotta suck to be that kind of actor who gets typecast into a role. I felt almost guilty about wanting to see him make another Van Wilder movie.



From this ....


... to this kick-ass guy? Oh yeah, that chica on the left is waaaaaayyyyy hot.

It is tough to get over the roles that same actors get type cast with. No matter what I do, I can't get over De Niro as a gangster since he played one of the best ever in Goodfellas (A Devil Top 20 movie). No matter how funny he may be in the Focker's movies, he will always be that mobster with those great lines like "you insulted him a little bit" or "You talking to me?".

It's a shame because some great actors get stuck in the same type of roles if they don't expand and try something different. For instance, when I first heard about Saving Private Ryan, I had no idea of what to expect from Tom Hanks. I kept thinking to myself "This is the guy who only makes movies with Meg Ryan; how is he going to pull off a war epic?" I'm glad I was wrong on that one. He took a chance and it worked out great.

But let's also be honest; it's typecasting that keep Vin Diesel restricted to his monosyllabic roles. It's what keeps Steven Segal on his direct to video movies. It's what keeps Lorenzo Lamas out of the spotlight. It's what makes Antonio Sabato Jr. a punchline at the Oscars. It's what keeps some really bad actors from stinking up what could be great roles. So in the end, typecasting hurts some, but it also thins the herd as well.

2 comments:

NML/Natalie said...

Antonio Sabato Jnr is soooo hot! Meg Ryan is always cute and fluffy in rom-coms. Can't stand her personally. I'm even a bit bored with Tom Hanks....
I always say that these actors that get type cast should try harder to be varied, but then, i don't get millions for acting, so what the hell do I know?

La Madre said...

I've never seen Harold and Kumar but I do have a crush on Ryan Reynolds...give him a chance.