Contrary to the gospel of Babe Paley, maybe you can't be too rich but you can be too thin. Saw Tony Gilroy's twisty "Duplicity" starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen last night. Stunned by how gaunt they are. Their hollow-cheeked characters, continent-hopping CIA and MI-6 agents gaming the system and each other, sip a lot of champagne but look as though they haven't had a full meal in a year. In the movie they don't meet cute, they meet underfed. (Admittely, even though they resemble stick figures, these immensely attractive actors nonetheless ooze charm.)
Still, they shouldn't listen to the late socialite Paley, who dictated "You can never be too rich or too thin." Better they should listen to Catherine Deneuve, who wisely said, "After 40, an actress has to choose between her face and her derriere." OK, she didn't say "derriere," she used a more vulgar term. But what she meant was, if your posterior is a soupcon round, you will have enough body fat for your face to stay round and cinegenic. And if your posterior is not, neither will your face be. Deneuve, still lovely at 66, knows her business.
Looking forward to "Duplicity?" Thoughts on Julia and Clive? I liked them in Mike Nichols' "Closer." And it must be said that Roberts has achieved a milestone few actresses do: She's been a star for 20 years.
A star for 20 years? That's right, isn't it and it is amazing. Whenever I don't want to like Julia Roberts in a role (usually it's because it's a mediocre picture, rather than because of some annoying news story) or watch her performance when I'm crossing a room and see her in passing on television, I do like her and I do watch her. That says a lot.— ccjroberts- For me personally, Julia Roberts was an acquired taste. I kept her at arm's length for a while because I frankly thought there were more talented/less lucky actresses of her generation who were being ignored. Ione Skye, for one; Annabeth Gish and Lili Taylor are two others. But I've come around. Now, I look forward to a Julia Roberts film. I think she's carried her stardom with incredible grace and, as Gail Strickland puts it in that memorable "Seinfeld" episode, one can't acquire grace. You either have it or you don't. Roberts has it in spades, along with that irresistible smile. As for Clive Owen, he won me over immeidately when I saw him in "Bent." Good actor. Real movie star.— Pash
Comment removed.- I'm still up in the air with Ms. Roberts. She plays one note, the toothy ingenue, well and that's it. Clive Owen, on the other hand, is a massive man crush of mine, a rugged version of Robert Mitchum for the 21st Century. And I also wonder if the new technology in reference to film cameras are making us as an audience notice how thin our actors are nowadays (e.g. I wonder if the same audience would say the same thing about Audrey Hepburn).— John Dacapias
- hmm... They both are a little overrated to me. (don't tell my wife as she loves Erin Brockovich). Clive has always seemed a little weak to me in his roles. He now looks weak as well. He needs to buff up a little (maybe Hugh Jackman can help him out). They do look good together, and it is a bonus they can both sit on the same chair... Window Cleaning Bay Area— mikeswindowwash
- The quote you use to tie in your irrelevant criticism of the film is more frequently attributed to Wallis Simpson. If there is such ambiguity over the source of the quote, it detracts from the focus to keep attributing it to one who was known to use the phrase decades after Wallis Simpson.— sosueme
- sosueme: Check out the third reference in this link: http://www.answers.com/topic/babe-paley— carrierickey
- I think the movies need movie stars, and Julia Roberts is an excellent movie star. While I always appreciated that about her, I don't think I actively enjoyed one of her performances until "Notting Hill," where she managed to convey some of the undignified aspects of stardom, while avoiding the appearance of either self-pity or a too-hip knowingness. I'll be interested to see whether she can navigate a successful career into her 50s and 60s. Working for her is her shrewdness; working against her is the fact that some of her appeal remains rooted in her gamine quality, which isn't something that can, or should, be maintained into one's later years. As far as Clive owens, I think he should have been the latest Bond. Having missed (or turned down, depending on who tells the story) that brass ring, I don't know if he'll ever be a star - although he could be a working actor for a long time to come.— wwolfe
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