Author Topic: Any other Gwyneth Paltrow fans here?  (Read 7027 times)

Offline ednbarby

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,586
Any other Gwyneth Paltrow fans here?
« on: April 13, 2007, 10:58:33 pm »
Or is it just me?

I just watched "Sliding Doors" again.  Found it in the Target discount bin for $5.50.  I ain't jokin'.  I'd only ever seen it once years ago and loved it, but that was back when I only watched movies once and I was good.  What was I thinking?

I realized after watching this again tonight that I've never seen her in anything where I didn't end up caring *so much* about her character that I just wanted - no, yearned - for her to be happy in the end.

I think she and Maggie are the best young actresses we've got.  I find I yearn the same for all the characters Maggie plays.  They both just come right through the screen.  Of course Judi Dench will always be my queen.  Screw Helen Mirren.  I mean, she's great.  But Judi Dench is God.

And Gwyneth.  I just adore her.
No more beans!

Offline fernly

  • Brokeback Got Me Good
  • *****
  • Posts: 392
Re: Any other Gwyneth Paltrow fans here?
« Reply #1 on: April 13, 2007, 11:18:57 pm »
I haven't seen that many of her films (yes, I have been living under a rock ;D), but the one that made the biggest impression on me was her role as an unsympathetic character in "Flesh and Bone." I hadn't heard of her at that point (1993) and her performance in that one was just like you describe, it came "right through the screen".

on the mountain flying in the euphoric, bitter air

Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,165
  • "He somebody you cowboy'd with?"
Re: Any other Gwyneth Paltrow fans here?
« Reply #2 on: April 14, 2007, 12:39:24 am »
Of course Judi Dench will always be my queen.  Screw Helen Mirren.  I mean, she's great.  But Judi Dench is God.

Careful. Tonight I just watched the first disc of Elizabeth I, with Helen Mirren. She was superb. She made a much better Elizabeth I than Judi Dench (as in Shakespeare in Love). The best Elizabeth I since Glenda Jackson in the 1970s.

Judi was wonderful as Victoria in Mrs. Brown, however. (But--something I thought impossible--she was awful, I mean painfully awful, in The Importance of Being Earnest. Must have been bad directing, it couldn't have been Judi's fault. ...)

So I'll take Helen for Elizabeth I and Judi for Queen Victoria.  ;D
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline ednbarby

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,586
Re: Any other Gwyneth Paltrow fans here?
« Reply #3 on: April 14, 2007, 09:43:02 am »
I haven't seen The Importance of Being Earnest.  Perhaps I'd better continue to avoid it... 

Mrs. Brown was when I first came to worship her.  I still hold (yet another) grudge against the stupid Academy for awarding Helen Hunt that year for a "performance" in which she couldn't even properly maintain a Brooklyn accent, let alone make me care about her character.

Judi made Victoria's grief palpable.  Her face in some of those early scenes is still burned on my memory.  And she's who made me weep uncontrollably for five minutes just by the way she spoke one line - one word, really - in a play I saw her in years ago.  Only she and Heath have ever done that to me.

I'll have to check out Elizabeth I.  I really loved how Cate Blanchett played the young Elizabeth, but I'd like to see a depiction of the latter days of her reign (haven't seen the Glenda Jackson one, either).
No more beans!

Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,165
  • "He somebody you cowboy'd with?"
Re: Any other Gwyneth Paltrow fans here?
« Reply #4 on: April 14, 2007, 10:42:48 am »
I seriously recommend that you do continue to avoid The Importance of Being Earnest. All-in-all it's one of my most favorite plays, but the whole take on it in the film was just ... so wrong.

Don't know if you know the play, but Judi played Lady Bracknell. In the play, there is a wonderful line where Lady Bracknell is described as being "a monster without being a myth, which is unfair." Well, in the film, Lady Bracknell wasn't a monster, she was a terribly ordinary person, and that's just not right.

Judi was soooo wonderful in Mrs. Brown. That was the first thing I ever saw her in. She did, indeed, make Victoria's grief palpable.

In retrospect I realize I was very unfair to Cate Blanchett when I wrote last night. (J.W. slaps self up side the head and dictates memo to self: Don't write movie criticism while drinking scotch and water.) She did make a good young Elizabeth. I allowed my loathing for the unbelieveably bad history in that film to warp my judgment of her performance.

I'm afraid I can't help that. Tudor history is one of my passions, and the history as portrayed in Elizabeth is just ... wrong. The old BBC/Masterpiece Theatre Elizabeth R miniseries with Glenda Jackson is available on DVD (I own it on tape). Some dramatic license with history was taken there, too, of course, but less than in Elizabeth I (Mirren) and much less than in Elizabeth (Blanchett).

While I'm on the subject, I might as well put in my recommendation for the old Six Wives of Henry VIII, also a miniseries from the 1970s, which, obviously, preceded Elizabeth R, and is also available on DVD. Keith Michell, who played the king, gave the definitive screen portrayal of Henry VIII. Since I don't have premium cable channels, I'm not watching The Tudors, and from what I've read of it I probably wouldn't watch it anyway. Jonathan Rhys Meyers may be able to capture Henry emotionally, but he quite literally doesn't have the physical presence to be Henry VIII.

Sorry, this has strayed awfully far from Gwyneth Paltrow. I adored her in Shakespeare in Love. Her mother was and is a great beauty, and Gwyneth is, too.
« Last Edit: April 14, 2007, 04:49:23 pm by Jeff Wrangler »
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Front-Ranger

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 30,288
  • Brokeback got us good.
Re: Any other Gwyneth Paltrow fans here?
« Reply #5 on: April 14, 2007, 01:14:51 pm »
Careful. Tonight I just watched the first disc of Elizabeth I, with Helen Mirren. She was superb. She made a much better Elizabeth I than Judi Dench (as in Shakespeare in Love). The best Elizabeth I since Glenda Jackson in the 1970s.

But what about Cate Blanchett? Now that's what I call a queen!!!

"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline Meryl

  • BetterMost Supporter
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 12,205
  • There's no reins on this one....
Re: Any other Gwyneth Paltrow fans here?
« Reply #6 on: April 14, 2007, 01:20:09 pm »
I seriously recommend that you do continue to avoid The Importance of Being Earnest. All-in-all it's one of my most favorite plays, but the whole take on it in the film was just ... so wrong.

I agree!  The most British of plays was somehow made too....American.  Effortful, Hollywoodized stuff, and a great cast wasted.  :P

As for the latest take on the Tudors, I haven't had the fortitude to watch it.  In the endless previews, Jonathan Rhys Meyers seems to be having sex with every panting young lady in England.  I wonder how he found time to run the country.  ::)

Cate and Judi and Helen are absolute tops in my book!

Gwyneth is one of my favorites, too.  She has an intelligent girlishness, if that's the right way to describe it.  I liked her as Jane Austen's "Emma," too.  One of the few American actors who've been able to manage the English accent believably.
Ich bin ein Brokie...

Offline ednbarby

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,586
Re: Any other Gwyneth Paltrow fans here?
« Reply #7 on: April 14, 2007, 04:29:25 pm »
I adored her in Emma, but then I adore her in everything.  And Jeremy Northam.  Gaaaaah...  That entire scene with Jane and Frank Church playing the piano and singing - the facial expressions alone were priceless, but especially his.  I could just eat him up with a spoon.  He is soooooooo my type.

But I digress.  There's something kind of tomboyish about Gwyneth that I find very appealing.  Even at her most feminine, she seems to have a man's - I don't know - facial and speech-oriented mannerisms, somehow.

I'll most definitely check out Elizabeth I on your recommendations, Jeff.

And you're all correct - The Tudors sucks out loud.  I summoned the fortitude to watch it the other night and couldn't get past 15 minutes.  It was just - boring.  And you're right - Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is not the one to play him.  A very accomplished actor (and more than a tad hot), but COME ON.  I watched it only for my beloved Jeremy Northam.  Now, had he been in more of that first fifteen minutes than about 15 seconds, I would have stuck with it.  He's the best thing on that show.  By far.  And I don't just say that because I could still eat him up with a spoon.
No more beans!

Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,165
  • "He somebody you cowboy'd with?"
Re: Any other Gwyneth Paltrow fans here?
« Reply #8 on: April 14, 2007, 04:53:48 pm »
But what about Cate Blanchett? Now that's what I call a queen!!!



Quoting myself:

In retrospect I realize I was very unfair to Cate Blanchett when I wrote last night. (J.W. slaps self up side the head and dictates memo to self: Don't write movie criticism while drinking scotch and water.) She did make a good young Elizabeth. I allowed my loathing for the unbelieveably bad history in that film to warp my judgment of her performance.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,165
  • "He somebody you cowboy'd with?"
Re: Any other Gwyneth Paltrow fans here?
« Reply #9 on: April 14, 2007, 05:06:45 pm »
And Jeremy Northam.  Gaaaaah...  That entire scene with Jane and Frank Church playing the piano and singing - the facial expressions alone were priceless, but especially his.  I could just eat him up with a spoon.  He is soooooooo my type.

Mine, too.  ;D As much as I loathed The Importance of Being Earnest, I loved An Ideal Husband--again with the Oscar Wilde!--with Jeremy Northam, Rupert Everett, Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver, and Julianne Moore.

Quote
And you're all correct - The Tudors sucks out loud.  I summoned the fortitude to watch it the other night and couldn't get past 15 minutes.  It was just - boring.  And you're right - Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is not the one to play him.  A very accomplished actor (and more than a tad hot), but COME ON.  I watched it only for my beloved Jeremy Northam.  Now, had he been in more of that first fifteen minutes than about 15 seconds, I would have stuck with it.  He's the best thing on that show.  By far.  And I don't just say that because I could still eat him up with a spoon.


Much obliged for the confirmation of my instinct with regards to The Tudors. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is, indeed, more than a tad hot, in a hollow-cheeked runway-model kind of way, but he's no Henry VIII. The real Henry was a hottie, too, in his youth--if you like 'em tall, reddish-blond, broad-shouldered, and barrel-chested. He didn't always look like the overweight, suspicious middle-aged man of the familiar Holbein portrait.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,165
  • "He somebody you cowboy'd with?"
Re: Any other Gwyneth Paltrow fans here?
« Reply #10 on: April 14, 2007, 05:12:35 pm »
I'll most definitely check out Elizabeth I on your recommendations, Jeff.

A word of warning. There are some extremely graphic portrayals of executions for treason--unnecessarily graphic, in my opinion.

However, Helen Mirren is very good and particularly effective in the scene where she gives the queen's famous speech to the troops during the Spanish Armada emergency.

And also going for it, Elizabeth I has Jeremy Irons as the Earl of Leicester and OMG-he's-so-pretty Hugh Dancy as the Earl of Essex.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Front-Ranger

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 30,288
  • Brokeback got us good.
Re: Any other Gwyneth Paltrow fans here?
« Reply #11 on: April 14, 2007, 05:31:07 pm »
A word of warning. There are some extremely graphic portrayals of executions for treason--unnecessarily graphic, in my opinion.

However, Helen Mirren is very good and particularly effective in the scene where she gives the queen's famous speech to the troops during the Spanish Armada emergency.

And also going for it, Elizabeth I has Jeremy Irons as the Earl of Leicester and OMG-he's-so-pretty Hugh Dancy as the Earl of Essex.
Yes that Hugh Dancy is lucious as a lollypop!!
"chewing gum and duct tape"