Sunday, July 15, 2007

LOOK ME IN THE EYE, HENRY, AND TELL ME YOU DON'T WANT TO BE A PART OF IT: A feature in today's NYT regarding his acting choices in Hairspray raises the interesting question of just how good of an actor John Travolta is.

By my math, he's had three great performances (as opposed to great roles -- a longer list) in his thirty-year career: Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever, about which I don't need to say anything; Gov. Jack Stanton in Primary Colors, in which he goes beyond mere impersonation to channeling both the charisma and the weaknesses of a certain Southern governor; and as Sean Archer/Castor Troy in the awesome popcorn movie Face/Off, where his bad-guy-with-the-good-guy's-face performance is a wonderfully over-the-top hoot. It's not a long list, but it's a list, alright.

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