All about Alec
2 comments September 3rd, 2008
Very interesting– if not overly cheery — profile of Alec Baldwin over at the New Yorker. Sure, these days he’s best known for his excellent comedy work on 30 ROCK, but the man has a movie resume few actors can rival. However, he’s had his rough spots, too. Here’s his own summary of his work after starring in THE MARRYING MAN with future wife (and ex wife) Kim Basinger…
“After that, I did ‘Glengarry Glen Ross,’ where I only had a very small role, regardless of how appreciative people are of it. Then I did ‘Prelude to a Kiss’ ”—based on a very successful theatrical production, in which Baldwin starred—“and that was a bomb. In 1992, I did ‘Malice,’ with Nicole Kidman. And that movie was a very cookie-cutter thriller. It did pretty well. In ’93, I did the remake of ‘The Getaway,’ with my wife. That was a bomb. I did ‘The Shadow.’ That was a bomb. In ’94, I did ‘Heaven’s Prisoners.’ That was a bomb. In ’95, I did ‘The Juror.’ That was a bomb. In ’96, I did ‘The Edge’ and ‘Ghosts of Mississippi.’ And that’s when you hear the sound of the wheels of the train screeching to a halt. “
Like every other guy my age, I love Baldwin’s performance as Mitch and Murray’s axe man in GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, and I actually thought he was good in THE SHADOW and very good in MALICE . His speech in that movie, where he explains that, as a surgeon, he is God, is the film’s highlight. Here it is …
In fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a movie — even a bad one — that wasn’ t improved by having Baldwin in it. One of my favorite Baldwin bits is from the little-seen David Mamet comedy STATE & MAIN where he gets in a wild car accident, climbs out and says “Then THAT happened.”
Trust me. It’s hilarious.
