Good Actors, Bad Choices.

Good actors, bad choices.

Sometimes even a great actor can’t rise above the material. So I thought I’d take a shot at great actors who have taken lame parts. Here are my Top Five.

Jodi Foster. Nell. One unwatchable performance almost erased everything she had done before. (And she’s a two-time Oscar winner.) She was also rotten as the prostitute in Woody Allen’s Shadow and Fog.

Robert DeNiro. Officer Trey Sellers in Showtime. This was so bad it was actually nominated for a Razzie award (worst actor).

Hilary Swank. Madeline Linscott in the Black Dahila. Swank is a lot of things. But sexy she’s not. And of course, what a risk to put herself in DePalma’s hands at this point in his career.

Jack Nicholson. Edward Cole in The Bucket List. It’s sad to see an actor of Nicholson’s stature winding down his career with a role that’s been done many times before.

Meryl Streep. Gail Hartman in The River Wild. Streep is so good I can buy her in almost anything – except white-water rafting with David Strathairn.

Lazy Eye Theatre - Wandering Film Talk