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Thursday, October 29, 2009
Actor Allergies and Leslie Nielsen Syndrome
Leslie Nielsen, surprised by his comic skills

 I think of myself as an omnivore -- both of food and film -- but am allergic to certain actors. Maybe it's an allergy to certain actors in certain roles. Watching the World Series last night, I got hives from the ad for the forthcoming A Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey (in four roles). While the allergy didn't prevent me from enjoying The Truman Show or Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, (films in which the funnyman dials his Jimness down to three on a scale of ten), it distracts from the experience of Carrey flicks such as Liar, Liar and Dumb and Dumber. I also have a partial allergy to Kevin Costner: While I thoroughly enjoy Bull Durham and Tin Cup, Costner's self-importance in The Postman  and Waterworld has me reaching for the Benadryl.

My self-diagnosis: I'm not completely allergic to actors but might have Leslie Nielsen syndrome, named for the wooden straight actor of the '50s and '60s who re-emerged in the '80s as the deft farceur of The Naked Gun flicks. Don't think much of him in drama and melodrama, but as a comic he's divoon. In other words, I am allergic to certain actors in certain types of roles, for instance, Jeanette MacDonald, who made frothy comedies for Paramount early in her career and wooden operettas for MGM in her later years. Love her Paramount comedies, can't watch the MGM operettas. Similarly, love Wesley Snipes in White Men Can't Jump and Jungle Fever but cannot cannot cannot watch him in the Blade movies.

I may be completely allergic to Nicole Kidman, who not only played a Stepford Wife but seems like one on screen. Yet I thought she was the only good thing about Eyes Wide Shut. In terms of classic stars, just don't get June Allyson (except in Good News), Robert Taylor (too pretty, but perfect in Camille), Luise Rainier and Danny Kaye (though I have a soft spot for Merry Andrew). 

Do you suffer from Leslie Nielsen syndrome? Which actors or actresses trigger it? Are you completely allergic to a performer? Who? Why? 

 

 

Posted by Carrie Rickey @ 1:17 PM  Permalink | 16 comments
Comments   
Posted 01:38 PM, 10/29/2009
Bob Ross
I believe any actor can be excellent, given the right script and director. Conversely, even the greatest actors have made us suffer through a certain amount of garbage. I realize there are people who will see anything by their faves and will avoid actors they "hate." They are misguided about the nature of the business. And the art.
Posted 01:46 PM, 10/29/2009
socialgrace
I get hives when actors attempt accents that are beyond their linguistic capacity. Witness Kevin Costner (him again! he clearly is a high-histamine type) in Robin Hood, or Nicolas Cage in Captain Corelli's Mandolin. I require an epi-pen when actors--many of whom I adore on screen--dabble in politics and policy: Sean Penn on Saddam Hussein; Johnny Depp on any number of things; Scarlett Johanssen on Barack Obama's personal cell phone contact.
Posted 02:13 PM, 10/29/2009
John Brumfield
I think Bob Ross has a point but I have never liked Glenn Ford in ANYthing even though I've liked some of his films very much ("Gilda" and not just because of goddess, Rita Hayworth, but also the wonderful George Mc Cready). Talk about wooden. Glenn's petrified wood. In the one-time allergy category, I thought Ryan O'Neal RUINED Barry Lyndon. Otherwise, I'm just kind of immune to his charms rather than allergic to them.
Posted 02:14 PM, 10/29/2009
ChristopherL
Kevin Spacey in almost any context is unbearable (he was fine in Moon though - that's just the right role for him.) I cannot take Meryl Streep seriously. When she's used in a comedy or to take full advantage of her scenery-devouring hamminess ("Doubt") she can work. But I find it impossible ever to believe her in a dramatic performance. Plenty of comedians, of course: Will Ferrell, Jim Carrey, etc.
Posted 02:28 PM, 10/29/2009
carrierickey
ChristopherL: I'm with you on Spacey, whose flaring nostrils seem to perpetually be sniffing curdled milk and whose voice has a level of irritability I find off-putting.
Posted 02:38 PM, 10/29/2009
garyk
I avoid Nic Cage--I actually left in the middle of LEAVING LAS VEGAS--but he was sublime in ADAPTATION, and there were TWO of him! I liked Meryl Streep for years in the 1980s, but after she started doing comedic roles (SHE DEVIL, DEATH BECOMES HER), I've found her to be hammy. Now every drama she does (DOUBT, JULIA AND JULIE) I find her to be insufferable.
Posted 04:16 PM, 10/29/2009
Pash
This is a dangerous game, Carrie, one in which secrets are revealed. Case in point: I never liked Humphrey Bogart. Never. I kept quiet about (particularly when I was a working critic) because, on the few occasions when I did confess my distaste, it came across as blasphemy or some kind of treason. Anyway, I never liked him as a performer or as a screen presence and, given the way movies and stars are these days, I seriously doubt if he would pass muster. Among contemporary stars, Samuel L. Jackson gives me the hives. I find him one-note and I even dislike the sound of his voice. Of the women, I find Annette Bening hugely annoying - and a little too self-satisfied. I agree with Gary about Streep, if only because she's getting all the good women-of-a-certain-age roles now. (I'd be royally miffed if I was Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer and Susan Sarandon.) I've this uneasy feeling that when "August: Osage County" is made into a film, Streep will have the lead. In general, my hives tend to come and go. About 30 years ago, I couldn't understand what all the opinion-makers (critics and filmmakers) found in Rosanna Arquette. When she had her 15 minutes of fame, I could barely take her. Now that she's more or less fallen out of favor, I find her appealing.
Posted 07:37 PM, 10/29/2009
sillybilly
I'm allergic to Julia Roberts...Yuk...rat face.
Posted 10:53 PM, 10/29/2009
JohnCollins
Jack Nicholson is a one note reprobate.
Posted 10:57 AM, 10/30/2009
mary boccella
Pash gives me courage to admit my allergy to another icon...Marlon Brando! Did he ever smile?? The only film I could watch him in, was "Sayonara", in which he played a Japanese character; his most believable for me. I also agree about Humphrey Bogart; did he ever smile???
Posted 04:58 PM, 10/30/2009
Nancy KC
Oh, goody, goody! What fun. Now that I'm no longer a critic (that nobody read, mind you) I also no longer have to watch my p's and q's--so let 'er rip! First, let me add my voice to the chorus of Jim Carrey and Julia Roberts-haters. I just don't get their mystique! I'll also vote along with the distaste for Nicole Kidman, except for her heartrending work in Cold Mountain. Then there's Melanie Griffith and Meg Ryan with their too-old-to-talk-baby-talk voices, and too-wrinkly-to-wrinkle-their-noses cutesiness. Gag! Oh, and you can throw Goldie Hawn onto that heap. I detested the earlier Helena Bonham Carter, who was wooden as a stump, but admit that she has developed some acting depth along with her willingness to take on some not-too-pretty character roles. Going back a few years (well, more than a few), I never got the whole Norma Shearer thing--no looks, and less acting chops. The only time she ever got to me was her very affecting star turn as Marie Antoinette.
Posted 08:29 AM, 10/31/2009
jamesinphilly
Nicolas Cage. Bar none. Can't stand his choices as an actor post-Leaving Las Vegas and the Academy Award. I just think he is brilliant, but 9 out 10 movies he makes is NOT Adaptation, LLV, Moonstruck, etc... He's such a disappointment.
Posted 03:02 PM, 10/31/2009
wfs0868
Disagree with Pash regarding Bogart. He has a much stronger screen presence than many actors in films today and his performance in "The African Queen" is a standout. I'm allergic to Barbara Streisand...shrill in her comedic roles and maudlin in her serious roles. Having said that, I did like her in "Nuts".
Posted 03:29 PM, 10/31/2009
Tatts
Jim Carrey, Kyle MacLachlan, Will Ferrell, Hugh Grant (shudder), Fred Astaire, John Wayne, Martin Lawrence. But mostly Jim Carrey and Will Ferrell--Ugh!
Posted 07:05 AM, 11/01/2009
FastFrank
There is also a syndrome known as actor diaharea. That is when an actor seems to appear in almost every movie made. Ernie Borginine and Gene Hackman suffered from it. Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins may soon suffer from it.
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About Carrie Rickey

Carrie Rickey has been The Philadelphia Inquirer’s film critic for 21 years. She has reviewed films as diverse as Water and The Waterboy, profiled celebrities from Lillian Gish to Will Smith, and reported on technological breakthroughs from the video revolution to the rise of movies on demand. Her reviews are syndicated nationwide and she is a regular contributor to Entertainment Weekly. Rickey’s essays appear in numerous anthologies, including The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll, The American Century, and the Library of America’s American Movie Critics.

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All blog items posted before May 23, 2008, can be accessed at http://blogs.phillynews.com/inquirer/flickgrrl/.

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