, a film based on the play, both written by David Mamet, about a group of real estate salesmen in Chicago. The bulk of the movie takes place in the nondescript sales office where the stellar cast of characters, including Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Jack Lemon and Kevin Spacey, struggle to make sales, close the deal and earn a living. Enter Alec Baldwin, who plays Blake, a man sent by "Mitch and Murray" from the downtown office to motivate the crew. I use the word "motivate" loosely, it's more like he berates them mercilessly for 7 minutes, then walks out as quickly as he came in. It's Baldwin's only appearance in the film, in a role that was written specifically for the movie and wasn't in the play, and it almost won him an Oscar. It's because of this monologue that I decided to do a tribute to some of the best monologues ever delivered on film. So, here it is, pure bad assery...A - Always, B - Be, C - Closing. Always be closing! Alec's monologue and this movie are so great and powerful that 8 years later they inspired a critically-panned knockoff called Boiler Room
. I personally like Boiler Room, even though it is basically a shameless ripoff of both Glengarry Glen Ross and Wall Street
, and pays copious homage to both films throughout, because even though Ben Affleck doesn't deliver his take on Blake with half the "brass balls" Baldwin does, just trying to do it makes for better dramatic dialogue than 90% of the films put out there.Ironically, in those last couple paragraphs, I referenced a few actors who, themselves, have incredible monologue performances and another film - Wall Street - which itself has a great, legendary monologue - Michael Douglas's "Greed is Good" speech as Gordon Gekko:
This is the 1-minute monologue that defined the greed and excess of the 80's. The notion that worshiping at the altar of unbridled excess would save our country. It's both the manifesto of the quintessential monopolistic capitalist and the call to arms for his detractors, and the best (or worst) thing about it is how relevant this speech still is nearly 25 years later.
Also starring in Glengarry Glen Ross was Al Pacino. Dude has probably forgotten more of his most memorable on-screen deliveries than most actors will ever have in their entire career. I could pick out an amazing monologue of his from every decade he's been acting. The easy move is to throw up something he did from Scarface
- probably the most quoted movie in history, or one of the many montages of epic quotable scenes from The Godfather
, but fuck all that, I liked him as Satan himself in The Devil's Advocate
!Oh, and for the record, he absolutely kills it in Glengarry Glen Ross as Ricky Roma. Seriously, I can't say enough what a great movie that is. If you want to see basically a who's-who of bad ass leading men just acting their dicks off with nothing but raw emotion, a shitty office and sheets of pouring rain all around them, rent this fucker. Oh, and get The Devil's Advocate too. Yes, it has Keanu Reeves in it, but it also has hot and naked Charlize Theron too, and Al Pacino is like... ok, if the devil could pick who would play him in a movie, it would be Al Pacino.
Then there's good ol' Jack:
This is what I'm talking about. When a guy can just sit there and do more with a handful of sentences and a single camera in his face than Michael Bay can do with all the special effects in the CGI universe. Jack kills it in A Few Good Men
. Of course, he's got tons of great deliveries in his career too, but this is definitely one of the most quoted, imitated and best remembered. Although, this one is pretty great too...Honorable mention to Ann Margret's cans.
It's not surprising that every movie with an epic monologue showcase by it's lead actor also happens to be an overall bad ass movie in it's own right. All of these movies are films that I could watch over and over, and have. I'm not done yet, bitches, how about a little Bobby D fo that a$$?
See what I mean? Awesome monologues = awesome movies. Shit is getting me fired up! Also, Taxi Driver
is so insanely good, and I mean insanely - it's a crazy fucking movie. Hey, these guys didn't become legendary actors for no reason, De Niro kills it, like he always does in basically every movie that doesn't have "Focker" in the title.One of the greatest movies ever made in the history of cinema right here. The Godfather is so perfect in every way. It's one of the few, true masterpieces ever created. The combination of talent, writing, acting, directing, even lighting, wardrobe and locations are just flawless. Michael Corleone might be one of the smoothest motherfuckers ever put on celluloid. However, this opening scene with Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone at his daughter's wedding is really all it takes to let you know you're watching a work of art. Not having seen The Godfather is like not ever haven eaten a cheeseburger or listened to rock n roll or seen a naked titty.
Oh, and in another "Six Degrees of Glengarry Glen Ross," I don't want to forget Kevin Spacey's most gangster ass role ever...
Daniel Day Lewis won an Oscar in 2007 for his role in There Will Be Blood
. This movie absolutely owns. Here are two scenes that perfectly sum up why he deserved that Oscar win:Ok, I could sit here and do this all day, but I have to go throw a pizza in the oven or something so I have something to eat when American Idol comes on. You get the idea though, like the title says, a bunch of fucking bad asses right here. Rent these movies if you haven't seen them yet. Rent these movies and watch them again if you've already seen them before. Yes, I talk about movies a lot, I love movies, I love good acting and great stories and all that shit. I'm a movie fan. I also have excellent taste in movies, just like I have excellent taste in all things, so when I tell you that a movie is bad ass, you can take that shit to the bank... the money bank. I don't even know what else to say. Oh, wait, yes I do. I'm sure I've forgotten some amazing scenes and monologues, but if I think of enough of them, I'll just make a part 2 and include them there. Also, assume that pretty much every movie these guys have been in is good, so just because I didn't post every bad ass thing Al Pacino ever said in all his movies doesn't mean I'm ignoring them. I am, however, ignoring the Fockers because that shit sucks my dick, and not in the good way. Alright then, until next time!
No comments:
Post a Comment