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Post by Pittsnogle_Goggins on May 25, 2021 23:15:41 GMT
I always enjoy his performances but am surprised when I find out some of the major roles directors have wanted him for.
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Post by pupdurcs on May 25, 2021 23:32:17 GMT
I'm indifferent to him. He's a solid character actor. He was in that mould of "regular" type protagonists that could be leading men in the 1970's, where his career peaked (like Roy Schieder or Alan Alda)....but I never saw him as one of the great ones. Didn't have a great deal of range and always seemed to do the same acerbic schtick. I have liked him in some things like The Long Goodbye. But I think he only had a big career because it was standard in the 1970's to make character actors unconventional leading men. It's easy for me to see how his career fell off after the 70's. |
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Post by futuretrunks on May 25, 2021 23:33:21 GMT
I'm indifferent to him. He's a solid character actor. He was in that mould of "regular" type protagonists that could be leading men in the 1970's, where his career peaked (like Roy Schieder or Alan Alda)....but I never saw him as one of the great ones. Didn't have a great deal of range and always seemed to do the same acerbic schtick. I have liked him in some things like The Long Goodbye. But I think he only had a big career because it was standard in the 1970's to make character actors unconventional leading men. It's easy for me to see how his career fell off after the 70's. Blunt, but sounds about right. |
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Post by pacinoyes on May 25, 2021 23:37:53 GMT
Not a great actor but he was tremendously likable and it plays into his acting.......he is an actor who has a winning rapport with other actors - MASH, California Split especially - those are classic guy movies ........ but also with Beatty in Bugsy in an unforgettable resolution of the friendship........great in The Long Goodbye - "it's ok with me" is my philosophy of life and the GOAT shouldn't have messed with him in Oceans 13.  |
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SZilla
Badass
Posts: 1,464
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Post by SZilla on May 26, 2021 0:01:49 GMT
I can't help but think of him first and foremost as Ross & Monica's dad in Friends. I am not even a fanatic of that show, it's just something I've never been able to shake him from. However, he's never had a bad performance in anything else I've seen with him - whether it be The Long Goodbye, American History X, The Player, Short Cuts, Bugsy, A Bridge Too Far, MASH (which I hated), etc. But he's also never someone who's wowed me in any sort of way. He's always just...Ross & Monica's dad.
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Post by Mattsby on May 26, 2021 0:25:53 GMT
Love and need his Altmans: MASH, The Long Goodbye, California Split. There's the underrated Busting that he lifts up with his original charm - the Safdies once put that movie in their Top 100. Little Murders is another memorable one. Also, The Silent Partner where his perf is a little different, he suggests in the role someone regimented and underestimated. He hit a groove in the '70s, a decade his whole persona and tone matched/countered wildly well. He wasn't a regular or ordinary actor at all... He brought an off-the-street swagger and great unforced humor. At that time, he seemed able to have chemistry with anyone and anything.
He lost that touch later on....I remember watching Ray Donovan and other stuff thinking: Oh no, he's become a lousy actor! But regardless, you shouldn't throw oranges on an escalator..... In his prime there was a lot to like.
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Post by TerryMontana on May 26, 2021 5:21:27 GMT
Solid actor. He's great in MASH and A Bridge Too Far.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on May 26, 2021 18:58:45 GMT
I'm indifferent to him. He's a solid character actor. He was in that mould of "regular" type protagonists that could be leading men in the 1970's, where his career peaked (like Roy Schieder or Alan Alda)....but I never saw him as one of the great ones. Didn't have a great deal of range and always seemed to do the same acerbic schtick. I have liked him in some things like The Long Goodbye. But I think he only had a big career because it was standard in the 1970's to make character actors unconventional leading men. It's easy for me to see how his career fell off after the 70's. Some good points here. I've always enjoyed him as an actor especially when it comes to his collaborations with Altman (Mash, California Suite for example), but I'll admit that sometimes he leaves a bit cold in other films. I think it's the whole "lack of a straightforward personality" that does him in for me. I however do see him as a cautionary tale of picking the right scripts at the right time and right place. He was a good leading man for the seventies, but then comes the eighties and he totally flops to the point, where he's forced to go to TV. Like fellow California Suite co-star the late great George Segal, he did however manage to reinvent himself as an old veteran supporting acting, but he wasn't carrying any major movies after 1982. It's another one of those interesting "rise and fall" career arcs that I find so fascinating. |
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clunkybob2
Junior Member
clunky's posts should be locked in a cell
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Post by clunkybob2 on May 27, 2021 12:29:58 GMT
One of my favourite actors, though it has a lot to do with liking Altman so much. Would do well to see more of his films.
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Post by franklin on May 27, 2021 14:03:00 GMT
Am I the only one who thought he was bad in Ray Donovan??
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