I am always looking for the perfect word to describe certain actors. For Robert Downey Jr. the task becomes exponentially more difficult, because he is so many things. However, if pressed, "mercurial" just about does the trick. As an audience, we want to be told a story, taken on a journey. The actors have to make us feel as they are the captains of that ship, that they will take care of us. Downey says, screw taken care of, how bout' a trippy rock n' roll adventure the likes of which you haven't seen since college? Like Meryl Streep, Downey projects the magical mirth, the sheer joy of acting that transforms a character into a living, breathing entity. Iron Man 2 is no exception. As Tony Stark, Downey beats a scene like it's his bitch. Downey never hides who he is when he plays a character and that's a good thing, because he is one of today's more compelling personas. Jon Favreau directed the second installment of the Stan Lee's comic book creation, and once again, he proves a worthy talent. The pacing is nice, without too many "plot point here" moments that poison almost every action movie that has come out in the last few years. Iron Man 2 was written by Justin Theroux, usually seen in front of the camera in films like Miami Vice and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Theroux is one of those actors who bitches about the commercialism of film and the whore-like existence of the actor, however he has clearly gotten on board by being a part of one of the most successful franchises in recent history. Theroux is actually a good writer. He has an excellent feel for Downey's rhythm as a performer and he doesn't get disastrously carried away with one-liners.
The casting of Iron Man 2 is simply inspired. Sam Rockwell plays Stark's competitive fellow bazillionaire physicist (how many of these guys are there?). When Rockwell played the lead in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind I was struck by him. I felt then that Rockwell had a Downey-esque acting style, in that he brought his own intelligent quirkiness to his roles without too much Method added. He does a suitable job here but he is no Downey. He is loose and casual as Justin Hammer and doesn't really seem to be giving his all. Mickey Rourke (as the evil Ivan Vanko) is the polar opposite. Apparently, Rourke got into character by having a crew member hold up photos of his beloved dog, Loki, who passed away shortly before filming commenced. It's always easy for us actors who were trained post-Method to snicker at these tactics, but in the end, it's the performance that matters. Rourke is a badass of epic proportions who delivers a fantastic performance. Don Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard as military man James Rhodes and it is a welcome change. Cheadle always adds to every film he's in and he fits this role perfectly.
The role of Stark's Girl Friday Pepper Potts is reprised by Gwyneth Paltrow. Much is made of Miss Paltrow's high-brow 'tude off duty. I myself have always had a love-hate relationship with Gwynnie. I roll my eyes at her out-of-touch comments on Letterman and I feel that despite her fancy Spence education, she speaks like a bored mallrat. But, time and time again, I am forced to admit that Gwyneth Paltrow has the acting goods. She is natural and fluid, and with the Iron Man films, has found her comic timing. Also, full disclosure, I am a subscriber of her online newsletter, GOOP. Once you get past the Kabbalah promos, the recipes are surprisingly delicious. There were rampant rumors that Paltrow did not get along with Scarlett Johansson, who plays the luscious Natalie Rushman. The general thought was that Paltrow did not appreciate the decade-younger Johansson being the prettiest kitten in the litter. I have no idea whether this is true or not, but tales of this sort have followed Paltrow around since she made her debut on the Hollywood scene in the early 1990's. There is a story about Gwyneth and Madonna being so catty to Jennifer Lopez at a party, that Lopez almost cried. There is also the now-infamous anecdote about Gwyneth lobbying hard for the lead in Shakespeare in Love after spying the script on bestie Winona Ryder's coffee table. My Comment is about the piranha-style way in which women compete with one another, in Hollywood and beyond. In in the acting world women are set up to be competitive with each other because there is such a premium placed on appearance and youth. There is much talk of being supportive of fellow females in that town, but it is so rarely the case. Women vie for a small handful of (mostly crappy and exploitive) roles and are pressured look their thinnest, youngest and sexiest. Trainers are employed, as are starvation "cleanses", and Botox-wielding derm docs. All of this adds up to a gorgeous actress who has spent too much time and money on her looks and not enough on her craft. Jennifer Aniston is the paradigm here. Aniston displayed real talent on Friends week in, week out. Then she met Brad and appeared to be doing nothing but yoga and following the Zone diet to the letter. When Friends ended, Brad left and Aniston went loco with the grooming. Smash cut to 2010, where nobody can muster anything to say about Jen but that she "looks amazing for 40". We have lost the comic talent in the pursuit of youth and beauty. Aniston has beaten lots of other actresses in the cute wars, but the others are getting the good roles and the accolades for them. In the end, I predict that Aniston will fade away, a victim of too much exposure and too little substance. It really sucks that so much importance is placed on looks in our society. But we women have to do our part to not contribute to the problem. There will always be someone prettier, someone younger. But intelligence and talent are two things that will never get taken from us. How about we spend our time working on that?
The casting of Iron Man 2 is simply inspired. Sam Rockwell plays Stark's competitive fellow bazillionaire physicist (how many of these guys are there?). When Rockwell played the lead in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind I was struck by him. I felt then that Rockwell had a Downey-esque acting style, in that he brought his own intelligent quirkiness to his roles without too much Method added. He does a suitable job here but he is no Downey. He is loose and casual as Justin Hammer and doesn't really seem to be giving his all. Mickey Rourke (as the evil Ivan Vanko) is the polar opposite. Apparently, Rourke got into character by having a crew member hold up photos of his beloved dog, Loki, who passed away shortly before filming commenced. It's always easy for us actors who were trained post-Method to snicker at these tactics, but in the end, it's the performance that matters. Rourke is a badass of epic proportions who delivers a fantastic performance. Don Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard as military man James Rhodes and it is a welcome change. Cheadle always adds to every film he's in and he fits this role perfectly.
The role of Stark's Girl Friday Pepper Potts is reprised by Gwyneth Paltrow. Much is made of Miss Paltrow's high-brow 'tude off duty. I myself have always had a love-hate relationship with Gwynnie. I roll my eyes at her out-of-touch comments on Letterman and I feel that despite her fancy Spence education, she speaks like a bored mallrat. But, time and time again, I am forced to admit that Gwyneth Paltrow has the acting goods. She is natural and fluid, and with the Iron Man films, has found her comic timing. Also, full disclosure, I am a subscriber of her online newsletter, GOOP. Once you get past the Kabbalah promos, the recipes are surprisingly delicious. There were rampant rumors that Paltrow did not get along with Scarlett Johansson, who plays the luscious Natalie Rushman. The general thought was that Paltrow did not appreciate the decade-younger Johansson being the prettiest kitten in the litter. I have no idea whether this is true or not, but tales of this sort have followed Paltrow around since she made her debut on the Hollywood scene in the early 1990's. There is a story about Gwyneth and Madonna being so catty to Jennifer Lopez at a party, that Lopez almost cried. There is also the now-infamous anecdote about Gwyneth lobbying hard for the lead in Shakespeare in Love after spying the script on bestie Winona Ryder's coffee table. My Comment is about the piranha-style way in which women compete with one another, in Hollywood and beyond. In in the acting world women are set up to be competitive with each other because there is such a premium placed on appearance and youth. There is much talk of being supportive of fellow females in that town, but it is so rarely the case. Women vie for a small handful of (mostly crappy and exploitive) roles and are pressured look their thinnest, youngest and sexiest. Trainers are employed, as are starvation "cleanses", and Botox-wielding derm docs. All of this adds up to a gorgeous actress who has spent too much time and money on her looks and not enough on her craft. Jennifer Aniston is the paradigm here. Aniston displayed real talent on Friends week in, week out. Then she met Brad and appeared to be doing nothing but yoga and following the Zone diet to the letter. When Friends ended, Brad left and Aniston went loco with the grooming. Smash cut to 2010, where nobody can muster anything to say about Jen but that she "looks amazing for 40". We have lost the comic talent in the pursuit of youth and beauty. Aniston has beaten lots of other actresses in the cute wars, but the others are getting the good roles and the accolades for them. In the end, I predict that Aniston will fade away, a victim of too much exposure and too little substance. It really sucks that so much importance is placed on looks in our society. But we women have to do our part to not contribute to the problem. There will always be someone prettier, someone younger. But intelligence and talent are two things that will never get taken from us. How about we spend our time working on that?
