Sunday, November 20, 2011

Kudos to Jessica Lange in American Horror Story



'There's not going to be a swimming pool, you stupid slut'
Constance



In my last year in University I took this incredible course called 'The History of Mental Disorders'. The course was incredible as the professor didn't really teach much he just pressed play each week on VCR. Each week he played one movie after another about the history of every kind of mental disorder depicted in the movies. One of these movies was Jessica Lange's turn as Francis Farmer in Francis from 1982. Up until the point I had only seen Lange on television in King Kong and thought of her more as a sex symbol more than an actress. I of course was wrong. Lange has become a favorite of mine. I cannot believe I waited until just a few years ago to first watch Tootsie, but I have watched it twice since.



Lange is absolutely brilliant as Constance in American History Story and although I love entire show, Lange's scenes, and quotes are my favorite part of the 44 minutes. Lange's line delivery is incredible and she plays off each of the cast members equally well. I am going to miss her relationship with Ade, but given the dead seem never to actually die on this show hopefully there will be more.



'Do you know what they think when you walk down the street'
Constance

Some my favorite men who co-starred with Lange:

Chris O'Donnell in
Men Don't Leave


I have not really loved the trajectory of Chris O'Donnell's career but...as a teenager I loved Chris in his early films. I haven't seen Men Don't Leave in awhile and will have to track it down on Amazon to watch again.




Dennis Quaid in
Everybody's All-American


Dennis Quaid, Dennis Quaids butt, nuff said!




Jeff Bridges in
King Kong


I was just a kid when I saw the 76 version of King Kong on television during a Saturday afternoon matinee. From there I tried to watch it every time it came on tv until I finally managed to tape it on my VHS machine. The film is flawed but to me is so much more enjoyable than the recent Peter Jackson version. This King Kong has Jeff Bridges (with his long hair), Jessica, and an Ape whose emotions are far more real, even in an Ape Suit, than Jackson could digitally portray.




Jack Nicholson in
The Postman Always Rings Twice


I think the first time I saw Jack Nicholson on screen when I was about 10 or 11. I went with a friend and his family to see 'The Witches Of Eastwick'. I fell in love with two things during that movie, Michelle Pfieffer and Jack's acting. Jack's devil was brilliantly over the top and I have sought out most of Jack's work since.


2 comments:

Bobby F said...

I watch "American Horror Story" every week on the Time warner OnDemand channel for fx channel in HD. I don't have a dvr so I c an't see it when it airs on Wednesday nights since that is when "Reven8e" is on. Of course, with OnDemand, I am always a week behind. I love everyone on AHS.

Matt said...

Love Jessica Lange! And one of my all time favorite films is "Men Don't Leave". Also thanks for the reminder about "Everybody's All American". Is that a deleted scene of Dennis Quaid?