Frank Longo Member since Nov 18th 2003 86670 posts
Tue Oct-23-07 04:21 PM
"The "Let's Make a Beautiful Woman Ugly and Make Her Suffer" Films"
Charlize Theron in Monster Nicole Kidman in The Hours Salma Hayek in Frida Felicity Huffman in Transamerica Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry
Also, there's the "Let's Make a Beautiful Woman Look Like She's Poor/Working Class and Make Her Suffer" Films.
Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby Halle Berry in Monster's Ball Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich (yes, they talked about it back then) Holly Hunter in Thirteen
Add on to these, I guess. This also highlights the odd spike in the trend of women getting noticed in the Academy for "ugly roles". Does this reflect something in society? Was the Academy trying to seem more daring/independent-film minded by beginning to reward these risks with increased frequency? Is it just all politics and why the hell would I try to make sense of the Academy Awards anyway?
Just some thoughts.
NOTE: This is not meant to criticize ALL of these performances. Charlize Theron was extraordinary, I thought Hayek showed chops she'd never shown before, and Swank was the best part of Million Dollar Baby. But some of them (*ahem*NICOLE*ahem*) are clearly exercises in begging to the Academy, "Please! Just because I'm beautiful doesn't mean I'm not a serious actress!"
1. "Kim Basinger in 8 Mile" In response to Reply # 0
Now perhaps Kim is just experiencing the gradual detorioration in beauty that afflicts most Hollywood white women, but 1992's "Cool World provided my then 7 year old dreams with its first true "experience"
*ahem*
So seeing her utterly downtrodden, greasy, swollen eyed and titty sagged as Eminems mother was a sobering experience.
The other glaringly Obvious choice would be America Farrera of "Ugly Betty who is actually *stunning* in everyday atire and consistenty draws me to light night talk shows that normally get shafted in favor of late night retro-plex.
What? The *african american* in the avatar is *me*, Grandfather is native america, while grandmother is bi-racial, no Hatian anywhere that I know of...
True beauty is never questionable but immediately realized upon experience...
And there are a handful of actresses with better bodies and faces that have gotten dirrty (c) X-tina to cause my disinterest in Hillary.
We are not talking best performances or mediocre looking actresses who gave the best dirty performances, we're talkin STUNNINGLY beautiful actresses that have completely transformed into slovenly whores, unkept bag ladies, or other otherwise eccentric female character that plays on our acclimation to their glamourous former selves.
Introduction to Charlize Theron was the nude playboy centerfold layout that I stole from Crown Books during 7th grade recess in 1998, so excuse me for being *biased*.
I dont doubt your experiece though ( although this could just be symptomatic of your contrarian disease )
Orfeo_Negro Member since Oct 24th 2004 20923 posts
Wed Oct-24-07 08:21 AM
38. "i would disagree with this statement." In response to Reply # 12
>True beauty is never questionable but immediately realized >upon experience...
mainly because it makes little sense.
"upon experience"? what does that mean?
sometimes beauty reveals itself upon meditation. think about how many people think that someone like Alek Wek is beautiful now... i can assure you most folks did not think so when she first came on the scene 10 years ago.
>And there are a handful of actresses with better bodies and >faces that have gotten dirrty (c) X-tina to cause my >disinterest in Hillary.
so it's a competition now? are you grading her as "beautiful" or "not beautiful" or are you doing "more beautifuller" and "most beautifullest"?
45. "The most beautifullest things in this" In response to Reply # 38 Wed Oct-24-07 10:47 AM by TheRemedy
world, are just like that (c) Mr. Murray
Im talking the type of striking physical beauty that immediately takes your breath away and renders inward reflection unecessary, makes outward speech rather difficult, and demands the viewers full undivided attention. Specimens that are universally admired for their ability to UNITE the opinions of a divergent group of people: the beauty of Vanessa L Williams in her heyday, the natural beauty of Niagara Falls, the carnal beauty of African Elephants in their Native Habitats, or the cosmic beauty of Meteor Showers.
I realize that beauty is highly subjective, but there is still, I believe, an *apriori* understanding of objective physical beauty that we attempt to extricate from the subconscious and glorify through the celebrity, photo journalism, and model industries.
This is what I mean when i stated that true beauty is realized upon *experience*. And I was referring to the visual sense, the most superficial strand of beauty, which was the topic of this post ( no ones meditating at home about the possible prettiness of Hillary Swank).
She's prettier than those characters she plays. She glams it up for the red carpet. Just because we see those gigantic picket-fence teeth doesn't mean Hollywood doesn't dig her ability to ugly it up.
11. "RE: The "Let's Make a Beautiful Woman Ugly and Make Her Suffer" Films" In response to Reply # 0
For Charlize and Salma, and maybe Nicole, it was more a case of "I'm Gonna Make Myself Ugly So People Will Realize I Can Act."
It was very much a deliberate choice on their part, rather than someone trying to stick them in the role and make them suffer. And they are usually very quick to follow that role up with something ultra glam.
18. "Farrah Fawcett, The Burning Bed" In response to Reply # 0
Wasn't she still considered to be a hottie around the time this aired (1984)? ______________________________________________________________________ I have no remorse So check me out in The Source
30. "that movie made Monster's Ball look like Citizen Kane" In response to Reply # 24
and Meg Ryan had pretty much already shook the 'America's Sweetheart' tag that would have made it more enticing by that point because: a) there was the perception that she broke up her marriage to be the latest notch on Russell Crowe's bedpost a year or so earlier & b) she had hit a wall to some degree and the body didn't look as good as you thought it might've.
Lastly, any movie with Mark Ruffalo as the lead actor is doomed to be awful.
25. "When Cameron goes from" In response to Reply # 23
normal subpar-ness to super hot with make up and high heels ( The Mask, that movie where she played the stupid Ho opposite Toni Collete) it is an event....
46. "Unibrow aside, was Salma really supposed to be "ugly" as Frida?" In response to Reply # 0
The unibrow was really just a defining characteristic or quirk. Cause damn, i still wanted to skewer her.
Salma worked very hard to get that film to the screen, displayed some fine acting, and brought in some great folks to get the job done. So I can't really say she falls into the same category as the other films. ------------------------------------------- Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaidealo/
51. "Charlize should've made your list twice" In response to Reply # 0
>Charlize Theron in Monster
>Also, there's the "Let's Make a Beautiful Woman Look Like >She's Poor/Working Class and Make Her Suffer" Films. > >Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby >Halle Berry in Monster's Ball >Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich (yes, they talked about it >back then) >Holly Hunter in Thirteen
*Adds Charlize Theron in North Country*
I guess the omission is understandable considering no one saw it
53. "Make that 3 times" In response to Reply # 51 Wed Oct-24-07 03:39 PM by ZooTown74
*adds In the Valley of Elah to the list*
No makeup
Still bad
Which led to my fantasy Q & A in post 29 ______________________________________________________________________ I have no remorse So check me out in The Source
Frank Longo Member since Nov 18th 2003 86670 posts
Wed Oct-24-07 05:10 PM
54. "LMAO @ you bastards. I don't think Hilary's hot either!" In response to Reply # 0
But she looks better on the red carpet than she does as a white-trash boxer or as a man. That's the point she's trying to make, and it's what Hollywood has rewarded.
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