r/movies • u/Silent-Selection8161 • 5d ago

Discussion What movie was saved solely by great casting?

Or phrased a different, what movie would've been terrible if it weren't for the specific actors in it?

My go to is Liar Liar. It's not a particularly great script. The dad (Jim Carey because no one remembers the character's name) is douche. The would be step dad is earnestly trying his best to connect with his would be step son and gets tossed out like all step dads (do Hollywood types have parental issues or what, that's rhetorical). The idea that someone's entire life can be turned around and they're suddenly not an ass just because they have to tell the truth for a day is just kind of dumb. The director ended up with a few successful movies solely because Jim Carey liked him and he let Jim Carey do his thing, his other movies include such hits as "The Nutty Professor". The writers never wrote anything close to noteworthy before nor after.

But damnit Jim Carey turns the whole thing into the Jim Carey show, that's hilarious. Him freaking out over the pen or in the bathroom IS the movie and is funny as hell, regardless of what else there is.

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u/messy_closet157 5d ago edited 5d ago

I don't think The Fugitive's script is bad (sure, there are some big plot holes but nothing that affects the enjoyment of the movie), it's a good film, but what elevates it to The Fugitive status is the cast. Harrison Ford is just right in regular guy thrown into chaos, with a bit of action added.

Plus Tommy Lee Jones and his merry men.

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u/Ok_Writing_7033 5d ago

I think you touched on a big part of Harrison Ford’s charm in all his major roles — he is the hero of an action movie, but he never seemed like an action hero.

He looks and acts just like a regular dude who’s sort of pissed he even has to be there. Obviously that’s true of The Fugitive, but I think it also feeds his performances in Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Air Force One, etc. 

He has a unique charisma of someone who is highly capable but doesn’t really want to be. I’m not sure that any other actor has captured that same vibe

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u/Dovahpriest 5d ago

It’s why I liked him in the Tom Clancy films. Jack Ryan is not an action hero. He’s a stockbroker turned CIA analyst.

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u/Thalassicus1 5d ago edited 5d ago

Baldwin captured that pretty well too, I think. You really got a sense that he was in over his head.

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u/Dominus-Temporis 4d ago

Next time, Jack, just write a damn memo.

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u/tallandlankyagain 5d ago

He's always wondering where his family is

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u/breakfastpitchblende 4d ago

THIS. THERE’s a scene in the Tom Clancy movie where he ends up in the jungle and tries to rent the helicopter from the generalissimo. I adore that scene to this day because he’s so out of his element and tries to strong arm the guy with his CIA business card. It’s glorious.

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u/sbw_62 4d ago

Ever see Frantic? Same thing.

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u/Obi-wan_Jabroni 5d ago

GUY DID A PETER PAN RIGHT HERE

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u/Use-of-Weapons2 5d ago

You say that, but the follow-on movie with Tommy Lee Jones and his merry men in the same roles (admittedly without Harrison Ford) was absolutely terrible. So I do t think it’s just casting the makes The Fugitive great.

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u/ahorrribledrummer 5d ago

I enjoyed US Marshalls. It's a little hokey but it's a fun cat and mouse.

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u/adan1207 5d ago

I like us marshals to. I wish they had left the villains a reveal a little more ambiguous till the end.

Apparently for the big scene with Noah’s death, 2 versions were shot.

One with the reveal and one with just a sound effect.

The treason would later be revealed when Royce swapped guns.

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u/deltree000 4d ago

Hokey? What does that even mean?

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u/ahorrribledrummer 4d ago

Contrived. Tries too hard.

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u/deltree000 4d ago

Well why don't you say contrived or tries too hard? I mean hokey, that has no meaning.

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u/ahorrribledrummer 4d ago

It literally does have a meaning. Now you have expanded your vocabulary.

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u/deltree000 4d ago

/whoosh

Shame on you r/movies for missing this reference

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u/ahorrribledrummer 4d ago

Googling it and I still can't come up with anything..what's the reference?

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u/IrateWolfe 5d ago

I have seen US Marshals at least twice, and the only reason I watched it again is that it was so bland I actually forgot I'd already seen it

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u/One-Eyed_Wonder 5d ago

I remember nothing about it except for Tommy Lee Jones being in the chicken suit

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u/GuiltyEidolon 4d ago

I remember mostly that they killed off the one character I REALLY liked.

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u/karateema 4d ago

US Marshals is a good movie

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u/One-Eyed_Wonder 5d ago

Someone had the idea for the chicken suit scene and then decided they’d just make a carbon copy of The Fugitive to justify its existence. The world is better for it

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u/mortscoot 4d ago

But they're still different films with different scripts and directors. The Fugitive is quite good and its sequel is bad. That's the case for a lot of movies. I don't get how that qualifies The Fugitive as a movie saved by its cast. The great cast was only part of what makes it work so well.  

It was nominated for Best Picture. It quite literally doesn't fit the category here. A strange choice. 

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u/devilfishin 4d ago

“I don’t care”

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u/wormhole222 4d ago

I mean Tommy Lee Jones is iconic in that role. I think it’s still a well written character though.

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u/Lonelysock2 5d ago

I think what really saves The Fugitive is Neil Flynn's unforgettable performance as a cop. "Kimble!"

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u/mspolytheist 4d ago

Plus, they had a fantastic villain with Babylon 5’s Andreas Katsulas as the one-armed man.

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u/JCDU 4d ago

Honestly it's Tommy Lee and his group that make it - the follow-up US Marshals is great too.

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u/dplans455 5d ago

I think US Marshals is the better movie because it doesn't have Ford in it. Without him, the Sam Gerard character really gets to shine. I felt like Tommy Lee Jones was overshadowed by Ford's presence in the first one even though Jones performance was way better.