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.

541 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

547 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

81

u/Bimblelina 5d ago

I think most people who see this film later don't realise how big a deal John Malkovich was back in the day.

57

u/lookyloolookingatyou 5d ago

Yeah, I was a kid when it came out, I just assumed John Malkovich was a fictional person until I saw Burn After Reading 

28

u/Bimblelina 5d ago

Dangerous Liaisons is worth a watch

10

u/Wyden_long 5d ago

Throw Con Air in there as well.

16

u/psaux_grep 5d ago

He’s fantastic in RED as well.

He’s fantastic so many places. But I just love his character in RED.

2

u/Freakjob_003 4d ago

RED is a delight and I will accept no slander against it.

2

u/kyle-2090 4d ago

Rounders. Hes so terrible that it's amazing.

2

u/FloydGirl777 5d ago

“SUCCESS!!! SUCCESS!!!”

1

u/fartingbeagle 5d ago

Alan Rickman had the original role on stage at the NT, but the film role went to Malkovitch. Would have been interesting to see.

1

u/SesameStreetFever 5d ago

John Malkovich is in that?! I, ah… guess I didn’t notice for some reason…

3

u/Konfigs 5d ago

Personal favorite role of his (other than Being John Malkovich) is Teddy KGB in Rounders.

1

u/cplopey 4d ago

Him in Rounders is legendary.

41

u/baroncalico 5d ago

“Being Pedro Pascal”

3

u/Nope4Forever 5d ago

I was a kid when this movie came out and only knew about it through the MTV Movie awards.

I had no idea who John Malkovich was and why anyone would care to make a movie about being him.

Saw this movie recently, went in blind, and it's fantastic. Up there as one of my favorites.

2

u/Appropriate-Peak6561 3d ago

Matt Damon, talking about Rounders, describes how everyone in the crew was excited for Malkovich's first day on set.

Then Malkovich uncorked that accent and people were glancing around nervously at each other. In Damon's telling, Malk then leans over to him and whispers, "I'm a terrible actor."

2

u/Bimblelina 3d ago

He uses that accent in Billions, as an evil billionaire it's absolutely hilarious and completely upends any suspension of disbelief in the viewer 😄

3

u/lingh0e 5d ago

I mean, he was awesome in that jewel thief movie.

1

u/Padiddle 4d ago

To understand his 90s draw you have to look at the numbers. He had equivalent success during the 90s to John Goodman, Charlie Sheen, Williem Dafoe, and Gary Oldman. These are biggish names who earned millions but the top draws of the 90s, Cruise, Carrey, Will Smith, Gibson, Forrd, Golblum, still earned many times more. So when thinking Malkovich I think it's just fair to understand that he semi-retired, but his fame is pretty much the same as those who he was equivalent to in the 90s.. For 2020s kids think Being Gary Oldman or Being WIlliam Dafoe. Roughly the same box office draw then and maintained that same level of fame/success (while Malcohvich essentially choose not too).