Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Won't you come back, Billy Bob?


Pipes and I had a nice talk about the groundswell of appreciation for Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. Mickey’s comeback has ignited a critical firestorm of fondness for his past performances in movies like Diner, Rumble Fish, Body Heat, Pope of Greenwich Village and Barfly. He's a genius in the rearview mirror.

So Pipes and I started wondering what other actor has left us standing at the cinematic altar. Billy Bob Thornton. He had an amazing run between 1996 and 2001. He created a slow, homicidal original in Sling Blade, a whip smart political strategist in Primary Colors, a dimwit who can’t get out of his own way in A Simple Plan and a racist prison guard in Monster’s Ball.

One minute he’s drinking Angelina’s blood out of the bottle, the next minute he’s a 140-pound singer in The Boxmasters. Come back, Billy Bob. Make us proud again. Play a washed up country singer who used to be a great actor. You’ll get an Oscar nod for sure.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Okay....

PIPER said...

Oh MISA, you're so funny. I see in your picture that you're sleepy. Time to wake up MISA. Time to wake up and make some sense.

I personally give Billy Bob five more years and then he'll be ripe for a comeback of Oscar proportions.

Fletch said...

He also made a number of shitters, from Mr. Woodcock to Pushing Tin, though at least the latter gave us a topless Jolie scene. :D

It'd be nice for him to find his way and be a good actor again. If not, I might have to place him alongside Nic Cage as hated actors-turned-dancing-monkeys-for-paychecks.

Emily Blake said...

Bad Santa, dude. Bad Santa was the awesome sauce.

bryce j renninger said...

He has a film at sundance...Manure.

DirtyRobot said...

Yes, BAD SANTA is awesomesauce, and yes, THE INFORMERS is pretty awful. :(

PIPER said...

Emily and DirtyRobot,

I have yet to see Bad Santa but I will do it soon and place that awesomesauce over a nice set of ribs and eat those suckers up.

Bryce,

I thought you were saying that Thorton's movie was shit. But indeed, he has a movie out called Manure.