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:

  1. 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.

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  2. 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.

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

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

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  5. 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.

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