Picnic: Josh Brolin

'No need to ogle girls, you'll make him self conscious'

Flo Owens

This version of Picnic, and this casting of Hal was new to me.  It wasn't until researching productions that I noticed that Josh Brolin played Hal in an April 2000 CBS Sunday night movie.  This version isn't a staging of the play, but a movie 'based' on the play.  The cast was promising with Brolin starring alongside Bonnie Bedelia, Mary Steenburgen, Gretchen Mol and Ben Caswell as Alan.

Brolin looks great as Hal, but this version certainly cut down on the shirtlessness.  Yes, Brolin is shirtless in his first couple of scenes, but then covers up for the remainder of the movie.  The film didn't seem to make much of an impact, which is possibly why I'd never heard of it.  The LA Times, as you can read below, also wasn't thrilled with the film's take on the original. 

'Seeing merely the onion skin, not the layers underneath, producer Blue Andre, screenwriter Shelly Evans and director Ivan Passer not only water down a terrific, Pulitzer Prize-winning story, but squander a cast that includes revered veterans Mary Steenburgen and Bonnie Bedelia as well as emerging talents Josh Brolin and Gretchen Mol.'