Tom Hanks Syndrome: Difference between revisions
m
no edit summary
m (revise quote template spacing) |
mNo edit summary |
||
| (7 intermediate revisions by 6 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"Every comedian wants to play ''[[Hamlet]]''."''|'''Showbiz proverb'''}}
Line 17:
== Specific Examples ==
* [[Tom Hanks]] first rose to fame with a series of comedies in the 1980s. Then, in 1993, he won critical praise and a Best Actor Oscar for his dramatic turn in ''[[Philadelphia (film)|Philadelphia]]''; the following year he won again for ''[[Forrest Gump]]''. Since then his stock in trade has largely been in dramatic roles with a comedic bent. The trope was hilariously [[Lampshaded]] in [[Real Life]] on his ''Inside The Actors Studio'' appearance when he spent 45 minutes discussing his art, only for a fan to gush that ''[[Turner And Hooch]]'' was her favorite movie ever!!! during the Q&A period. During a "Year In Review" for 2009, MSN [https://web.archive.org/web/20120503060004/http://movies.msn.com/movies/year-in-review/bummers/?photoidx=3 stated] how much they miss the funny Tom Hanks.
** ''[[Family Guy]]'' hit the nail on the head in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb497jSCyaI its first episode], when Peter mistakenly assumes that ''[[Philadelphia (film)|Philadelphia]]'' is in the same vein as Hanks' earlier work and laughs uncontrollably at the line "I have AIDS".
** Hanks tried to return to comedy with the [[Coen Brothers]]' remake of ''[[The Lady Killers]]'' and, years later, ''[[Larry Crowne]]'', but neither film was very successful critically or financially.
* [[Adam Sandler]] was first known for his run on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' and early comedies. His comic persona relied on flipping rapidly between "raging asshole" and "[[The Woobie]]." When Paul Thomas Anderson wrote ''[[Punch
* Alan Arkin was one of the founding members of Second City before playing a sadistic villain in ''[[Wait Until Dark]]''.
* [[Anne Hathaway]], another Disney veteran, successfully made the jump from ''[[The Princess Diaries]]'', ''[[Hoodwinked]]'' and ''[[Ella Enchanted]]'' to ''[[Rachel Getting Married]]'', ''[[Becoming Jane]]'', ''[[Havoc]]'', ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'', and ''[[The Devil Wears Prada]]''. She has slightly returned to Disney with [[Tim Burton]]'s ''[[Alice in Wonderland (film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' remake as the White Queen. She has also performed as Viola in ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' with the New York Shakespeare Festival in 2009 in Central Park, almost a literal example of the above quote.
* Anthony Anderson is starting down this road as well. First in straight comedies, then comic relief in action flicks, and most recently, he's been doing work as a cop on ''[[K-Ville]]'' and ''[[Law and Order]]'', and as a villain on ''[[The Shield]]''.
* Ashton Kutcher gained big fame for playing the resident [[The Ditz|ditz]], Michael Kelso, on ''[[That '70s Show]]''. During his run on the show, he was also known for other roles such as one of the leads in ''[[Dude, Where's My Car?]]'' and ''Punk'd''. His career took a turn so sharp it got whiplash when he starred in ''[[The Butterfly Effect]]'', a psychological thriller, then followed it up in 2006 with the noticeably more light-hearted, but still quite dramatic ''The Guardian''. Since then, however he has mostly returned to comedy.
* [[Bill Murray]] first attempted it early in his career with ''The Razor's Edge'', but quickly returned to comedy when the film was a critical and financial disaster. He tried again later with dramedies, first ''[[Rushmore]]'', then his Oscar-nominated turn in ''[[Lost in Translation (film)|Lost in Translation]]'' and later in ''Broken Flowers'' and ''The Lost City''.
** His SNL castmate [[Dan Aykroyd]] has had less success with this.
*** Not
* Another British example is Bill Oddie, formerly one third of [[wikipedia:The Goodies|The Goodies]], was also a member of the Cambridge Footlights. Now he's known for presenting [[wikipedia:Springwatch with Bill Oddie|Springwatch]] and other nature shows.
* Bryan Cranston. [[Malcolm in the Middle|Neurotic, bumbling father]]. [[Breaking Bad|High school chemistry teacher and methamphetamine cook]].
* [[Chris Farley]] of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' fame, after playing the fatty for laughs for several years, was itching to try dramatic
* Dave Gorman ''attempted'' to do this by writing a book. [[Hilarity Ensues|Hilarity Ensued]].
* Multiple Oscar winner and A-list actor [[Denzel Washington]] got his first Hollywoood gig in 1981 racial comedy ''[[Carbon Copy]]''.
Line 40:
** He had a key role as an investigative reporter in the sports drama ''Blue Chips''.
*** And Angelina Jolie's boss as well as [[Da Chief]] in ''The Bone Collector''.
* Starting his career as a street busker, [[Eddie Izzard]] always maintained that his ambition was to be an actor, not a comedian, but it was his stand-up comedy that first opened the doors to stardom. Since that time, he has begun taking more dramatic roles, such as starring in ''[[The Riches]]'' and playing resistance fighter Erich Fellgiebel in ''[[Valkyrie (film)|Valkyrie]]''.
* Eric Bana got his start as a stand-up comedian, with appearances on ''Full Frontal'' and his own show ''Eric'', and has a small role in ''The Castle'' before playing notorious criminal Chopper Read in ''[[Chopper]]'' and became better known for serious roles.
** Averted for American audiences; he didn't gain fame in the United States until ''[[Hulk (film)|Hulk]]'' and [[Troy]] came out, so many had no idea that he was a comedian in the first place.
* Fred MacMurray was mostly known for comic roles until Billy Wilder cast him against type in ''[[Double Indemnity]]'' and ''[[The Apartment]]''. MacMurray reckoned these were his best performances.
* Onetime ''[[Talk Soup]]'' host Greg Kinnear has trended more towards serious film roles, including murdered comic Bob Crane as a troubled sex addict in ''Autofocus.'' Even in ''[[Little Miss Sunshine]]'' he was somewhat pathological. He has always retained his comedic edge, however. He hilariously spoofed his Oscar-nominated performance in ''As Good As It Gets'' on [[David Letterman]] by claiming he lost the actual Oscar win because of a breakfast scene where he "uses the wrong hand" to eat his breakfast. If he had used the other hand, he would have won.
* From Fred Stone's dramatic performance in ''Alice Adams'' (though not in a starring role), one might not suspect that he had been famous for starring in a long series of musical extravaganzas (a forgotten genre of shows very similar to English [[
* Ginger Rogers tried to remake herself in the 1940s as a serious actress. Her 1940s dramatic roles are largely ignored today, including ''Kitty Foyle'', for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress.
* Hilary "[[Lizzie McGuire]]" Duff seems to be trying her hand at this. After the show ended, she was type-cast in her typical tween-appealing roles before venturing for slightly more dramatic territory in ''[[Raise Your Voice]]'' and ''The Perfect Man'' (the latter somewhat less serious than the former). In both cases, it backfired when the films bombed at the box office and critics slammed not only the films, but also her performance. Whether or not her latest attempts with the ''Bonnie and Clyde'' re-make will be successful has yet to be known.
Line 53:
* Jackie Gleason, famous from ''[[The Honeymooners]]'' gave a widely acclaimed performance in the drama ''The Hustler'', and was nominated for an Oscar. He was also praised for ''Requiem for a Heavyweight''.
* Jamie Foxx got his start on ''[[In Living Color]]'' and was best known for his comedic film roles, though he also had several dramatic supporting roles as well. Then in 2003, he starred in the very successful ''[[Collateral]]'' and followed up with an Oscar-winning role in ''Ray'', turning him into a bona-fide dramatic movie star.
* [[Jerry Lewis]] appeared in ''[[Wiseguy]]'' as rag trade businessman Eli Sternberg in the "Garment Industry" story arc. Before that, he appeared in the infamous Holocaust drama ''[[The Day the Clown Cried]]'', which was never released. He did better in Martin Scorsese's ''[[The King Of Comedy]]'', in a part which was less of a stretch for him. He also [[Adam Westing|Adam Wested]] his own deteriorating mental state in what was debatedly the best episode of ''[[Law
* [[Jim Carrey]] began his career in a variety of small roles, but rose to fame as a comedic actor in ''[[In Living Color]]'' before breaking out in ''[[Ace Ventura]]'' as a spastic clown. He went on to a variety of other comedic roles before earnestly pursuing [[Oscar Bait]] such as ''[[The Truman Show]]'' and ''[[Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind]]'', though he always kept his comic edge. He lampshaded the trope in his first Golden Globe acceptance speech:
{{quote|Wow... it's gonna be so hard to talk out of my ass after this. ''(audience laughter)'' But I'll manage.}}
* John C Reilly did an inverse of this trope. He was known for having a long career of acclaimed supporting roles in serious films, but was also known for being too unattractive to be a leading man. He found a way around this by starting a successful comedy career, first in ''Talladega Nights'' and later in such films as ''Step Brothers'' and ''[[Walk Hard]]''.
* Early in his career, John Cho was an inversion: a would-be dramatic actor who ended up making his name as [[One-Scene Wonder|the MILF Guy]] in ''[[American Pie]]'', the wacky friend Chau in ''[[Off Centre]]'', and most famously one half of ''[[Harold
* Jonathan Demme used to do comedies in the 80's, such as ''[[Melvin And Howard]]'' and ''[[Married to the Mob]]'' before moving on the Oscar-winning ''[[Silence of the Lambs]]'' and ''[[Philadelphia (film)|Philadelphia]]''. Did Tom Hanks learn something from Demme?
** Maybe Demme learned from Martin Brest. Brest hit big with the 80's landmark comedy ''[[Beverly Hills Cop]]'' with [[Eddie Murphy]]. He then got an Oscar nomination in 1992 for ''[[Scent of a Woman]]'' with [[Al Pacino]].
** Demme started out by subverting the [[Girls Behind Bars|Women In Prison]] films he made for [[Roger Corman]], raising their standard by introducing intelligent and artistic elements. These weren't comedies, but were far from what would be considered "serious". ''[[Caged Heat]]'' actually has quite a bit in common with ''[[Silence of the Lambs]]'': a thriller with strong feminist overtones, that features a prison break and an apparent distrust of the medical establishment.
* [[Joss Whedon]] likes to cast according to this trope; his justification is that it's harder to be convincingly funny than it is to be convincingly un-funny.
* Kal Penn also rose to fame through ''[[Harold
* [[Keanu Reeves]] was mostly known for playing [[Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure|Theodore "Ted" Logan]] before 1995. Nobody, and I mean nobody saw his future as an action star in films such as ''[[Speed]]'', ''[[The Matrix]]'', and ''[[Constantine]]'' coming.
* The career of the Turkish actor Kemal Sunal was an evolving version of this trope. He started in the 1970s, playing the [[Butt Monkey]] [[Idiot Hero]]. Over the years, his characters became less idiotic and more [[Skilled but Naive]]. By the time the 1990s arrived, his characters [[Lonely
* Stand up comedian and actor Kevin Pollak has several comedy movies and shows under his belt, but the roles he is perhaps best known for are as Lt. Weinberg in the suspenseful drama ''[[A Few Good Men]]'', and Todd Hockney in thriller ''[[The Usual Suspects]]''.
** He has arguably come full circle since then, appearing in The Whole Nine Yards and its less-successful sequel The Whole Ten Yards amongst others.
Line 74:
** Her earlier starring roles tended to be in films that were not just serious, but rather dark, as in ''Niagara'' and ''Don't Bother to Knock''. [[The Ditz]] came later.
* Comediennes Mary Lynn Rajskub and Camryn Manheim are best known for their dramatic roles in ''[[24]]'' and ''[[The Practice]]'', respectively.
* Matthew McConaughey is something of an inverter. He was in fairly serious films such as ''[[A Time to Kill]]'', ''[[Amistad]]'', and ''[[Contact (film)|Contact]]'', before cementing himself as the go-to leading man for romantic comedies and [[Shirtless Scene
** He seems to be playing it straight (or possibly [[Zig-Zagging Trope|Zig Zagging it]]) now, because his acclaimed performance in ''[[The Lincoln Lawyer]]'' seems to have opened up a plethora of new dramatic roles, including a hitman in [[The French Connection|William]] [[The Exorcist|Friedkin's]] ''Killer Joe'', an ex-stripper in [[Steven Soderbergh]]'s ''Magic Mike'', and other dramatic films by Jeff Nichols and [[Precious|Lee Daniels]].
* Max Wall was a famous music hall (vaudeville) comedian and dancer who later in his life became a leading interpreter of Samuel Beckett's plays. Not totally surprising because Beckett's plays, despite their nihilistic absurdity, were influenced by music hall comedy.
Line 86:
* Red Buttons was an early role model for this. He started out as one of the most popular [[Borscht Belt]] comedians, then won an Oscar for a serious role in ''Sayonara'', then mostly did drama for the rest of his career.
* [[Rick Moranis]] did this once for the action-packed ''[[Streets of Fire]]'', but he hated his experience doing the movie because he wasn't allowed to improvise, so he goes back to doing funny movies. However, 5 years later, he did appear in the hilarious and heartwarming dramedy ''[[Parenthood (film)|Parenthood]]'' with [[Steve Martin]].
* Robbie Coltrane was primarily known as a comedic
* Although [[Robin Williams]] went to Juliard for four years and trained with John Houseman, he became famous as a high-energy clown, first starting in ''[[Mork and Mindy]]''. He started turning his comedic talents toward more dramatic subjects in ''[[Good Morning Vietnam]]'' and ''[[Dead Poets Society]]'', to critical acclaim and an Oscar win for ''[[Good Will Hunting]]''. Since then, he freely bounces between straight comedies, dramedies, and outright dark dramatic roles such as ''[[Insomnia (film)|Insomnia]]'' and ''[[One Hour Photo]]''. He claimed to never want to do a "funny" movie again after ''[[Patch Adams]]'', but that didn't last, either.
* Roy Hudd, a British comedian best known for his radio work, went on to do dark and seedy performances in Dennis Potter dramas.
Line 93:
* Directing example: [[Steven Spielberg]]. Before 1993, people asked, "what the hell is the director of lighthearted family films and popcorn blockbusters doing making [[Schindler's List|a dark drama about the Holocaust]]?" And then, just to prove that ''Schindler's List'' wasn't a fluke, he went and made ''[[Saving Private Ryan]]''. Sure, he still makes lighthearted family films and popcorn blockbusters, but those two movies established him as an auteur who could also do "serious" films.
* Takeshi Kitano was first known as a comedian. He went on to appear in a number of dramatic films playing [[Badass]] yakuza characters and became a sort of Japanese Charles Bronson, though he occasionally inserted dark comedy into his roles. Western audiences who were first exposed to his yakuza films were quite surprised to see him in old reruns of the loopy game show ''[[Takeshi's Castle]]''.
* [[Terry Gilliam]] started off doing comedies such as ''[[Time Bandits]]'' and ''[[Monty Python and
* [[Monty Python]] alum Terry Jones is a noted history enthusiast. He's hosted a compelling three-part documentary series called ''The Crusades'', about, well, [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|the Crusades]]. Like his compatriot Palin, his sense of humor makes the subject matter more entertaining. At one point he compares the original cult of Assassins to the ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' sketch "Kamikaze Highlanders". He also attempted to stage an interview with a goose, supposedly the direct descendant of a divinely inspired goose that served as the mascot for a crusader band. The really sad part is, that divinely inspired goose actually existed.
* Will Ferrell branched out to more dramatic roles, such as ''[[Stranger Than Fiction]]'' and ''Winter Passing'', but has continued to focus on comedy.
Line 103:
* [[Bruce Willis]] started off as a comedic actor in shows such as ''[[Moonlighting]]'' and movies like ''Blind Date''. The studio fought the decision to have him star in the first ''[[Die Hard]]'' flick since they were sure a comedic actor could never play an action hero. He finally got the part and soon became one of America's most famous action stars.
** And then proved in ''[[The Sixth Sense]]'' that he could handle non-action dramatic roles just as well.
* Bryan Cranston got his start as a [[Bumbling Dad]] on ''[[Malcolm in the Middle]]'' and a recurring role on ''[[Seinfeld]]'' before he was cast as Walter White, the tragic and complex [[Villain Protagonist]] of ''[[Breaking Bad]]''.
== General Examples ==
* Several
** It should be noted here that Andy and Tony first got into show business as part of a [[Five-Man Band]] of ''teen idols'', while Alfred... let's just say he's got the [[Plucky Comic Relief]] look down pat.
*
* Many of the best-known actors from Spanish 60's comedies (José Luis López Vázquez, Alfredo Landa, Concha Velasco, José Sacristan et al.) started sweeping awards and praise when they played breakthrough dramatic roles in the 70's, with audiences not having noticed until then they were pretty good actors.
* This went as far back as the movie ''Show People'' about a silent film actress who wanted to be taken seriously but instead got her start as a comedienne.
* Meta example: The classic movie ''[[To Be or Not to Be]]'' (both versions) is a dramedy about a comedian who wants to play Hamlet who is actually played by "a comedian who wants to play Hamlet"
* Referenced in ''[[30 Rock|Thirty Rock]]''. Tracy is afraid of losing his youthful edge because "do you know what happens to a comedian when he gets old and loses his audience? He starts getting ''offered serious roles''!"
** Also parodied after Tracey wins an Oscar. He gets sick of being viewed as a serious actor and wants to be seen as a crazy comedian again, so he tries to lose the respect of the media. It backfires when all of his crazy antics are misinterpreted as insightful commentaries on society.
Line 120:
[[Category:Index Syndrome]]
[[Category:Trivia Trope]]
[[Category:
| |||