The Ways that an Acting Career Can Lead to Bad Movies and How A Crush On You (2011) Fits In There

Through my movie watching I have learned that very few actors have a spotless track record.  John Cazale is known for being in five films, each of which was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.  James Dean is known for the three movies that he made before his untimely death.  Each of his three movies are considered classics in their own right.  These actors are the exception to the thought that it is next to impossible for an actor to have a résumé of only good work.

In modern society, it is even more difficult for an actor to create a history of great film.  There are so many movies being made and so many people auditioning for the roles in the movies.  It makes it even more difficult to keep your career on a steady, artistically satisfying course.  Most, if not all actors in the modern day make lesser films.  These films could be a result of something behind the scenes not coming together the way that people had envisioned.  These films could be the result of an actor being too inexperienced.  These films could be the result of an actor being past his or her prime.  Or these films could be the result of an actor needing money.  Any way that you look at it, there are a lot of chances that an actor will be involved in something subpar.  It’s only a matter of time.

A career in film usually has the same arc as a story.  There are three parts to it.  There is a beginning, a middle, and an end.  In many cases, one or more of these parts contains bad movies.  In the beginning, an actor is just starting their career.  They are trying to build up a résumé.  It’s extremely challenging to get good work immediately, without dipping your toe in the acting water to see how it feels.  The actors who have their bad movies mostly located in the middle of their careers are the ones who started off strong, and then stardom led to a bunch of big budget, thoughtless films.  I might be exaggerating a little bit, but you’ll understand what I mean later on.  The actors with the end of their career being the lesser works are the ones who are past their prime but still want to be in the acting world.  They aren’t getting as many parts because studios and directors don’t feel as confident in having them as a part of their film.  Perhaps the actor has lost their way in terms of how they see themselves and end up not trying in the same way that they used to.  There are many reasons that the end of a career can taper off.

At the beginning of a career, actors are just starting off.  That makes sense, since it’s the beginning.  Many times, these actors cannot score big roles in big movies.  They settle for the smaller roles in smaller movies.  The movies might not be of a great quality, but they give the actor some experience.  They allow the actor to work and get something to show for it.  The beginning of the career is a testing ground where films of varying quality lay.  Take, for example, a movie from earlier in the Sunday “Bad” Movies.  Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers was that early career testing ground for Paul Rudd.  It was the first movie he filmed in his now blossomed film career.  It might be one of the worst movies in his career.  But he had to start somewhere, and he had to get experience.  The movie helped to raise awareness of him and his career only improved because of it.  This is the same with many other actors starting out their careers.  They are working toward being noticed.

Once an actor is known, they sometimes have a dip in the quality of their films during the mid-section of their career.  In most cases, this downturn is not entirely their fault.  Sure, they chose to be a part of the movies that they were in, but many times, it’s another part of the movies that brings the quality down.  It isn’t necessarily them causing the poor quality.  Although not yet featured in the Sunday “Bad” Movies, I think that Ben Affleck would be someone to look at for an example of this mid-career slump.  Affleck had come into popularity by being in movies such as Chasing Amy, Dazed and Confused, and Good Will Hunting.  He became a rather large star in the early 2000s.  This stardom lead to a bunch of movies where the quality is questionable.  After becoming a popular actor, Affleck starred in movies such as Paycheck, Jersey Girl, and Gigli.  These are considered some of the worst movies of his career and caused many people to grow a strong distaste for Affleck led movies.  He has since recovered with some fun supporting roles, and his directing work.  People like Ben Affleck once again now that he has moved beyond that stage of his career.

The later end of a career is the one that I’m more interested in when it comes to this post, though what I write about it will probably be about the same length as what I wrote about either of the other two parts of an actor’s career.  The later years in an acting career are the most intriguing.  Hollywood is a land of the young and beautiful.  It can become more difficult for an older actor to maintain a high profile career as they pass the prime age and physicality for leading roles.  This isn’t as big of a deal now with movies such as The Expendables, RED, and Last Vegas highlighting some of the older actors, but many actors fall by the wayside once they pass a certain age or physical requirement.  Take a look at Michael Clarke Duncan.  He was nominated for an Academy Award for his work in The Green Mile.  He was a part of well-known movies such as Sin City, Planet of the Apes, and Brother Bear.  However, his career, though still full of work, wasn’t as high profile nearing his death.  He was in Delgo, and animated film that not too many people know.  He was in The Finder, an unsuccessful spin-off of a hit FOX show.  He was also in A Crush on You, a Hallmark film (It inspired this post).  His late career didn’t have the punch that the earlier portion had.  This happens to a lot of actors.  They get a taste of success, then they taper off and disappear.  Only, many of them don’t disappear.  They are doing work for films and television of lesser quality than they had before.  They need money.  They can no longer land that starring or supporting role that made them famous, even if only for a small time.  Their career takes a downturn.

These three stages of a career are interesting to look at in terms of quality.  The beginning is usually about proving yourself to audiences and studios.  The middle is about trying to maintain what keeps an actor as a viable investment.  The end is about the actor doing whatever they can to keep acting.  Or, at least, that’s how it works in terms of bad movies.  Of course there are other ways that each of the three parts can go.  Of course there are.  I’d be lying if I said that these were the only ways that career trajectories could go.  But in terms of bad movies, it is important to look at career trajectories the way I just did.  Everyone makes bad movies eventually.  Well, not everyone, but most.  It’s tough to find long careers that don’t include dark spots.  And if those dark spots didn’t exist, neither would the Sunday “Bad” Movies.  Thank you for the dark spots, filmmakers.  Thank you.

There are a few notes to make before I finish this post:

• Here’s the post for Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.  I mentioned the movie earlier in this one.
• Gary Carlos Cervantes was in A Crush on You.  He was also in 30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
• If you have any ideas for what I should watch in later installments of the Sunday “Bad” Movies, feel free to comment, or tell me on Twitter.  I’ll consider any movie.  Low budget, foreign, big budget, Hollywood, television movie, direct-to-video… I don’t care.  If it’s bad, I’ll watch it.
• The poll for the one year anniversary repeat movie is over.  The winner, and the movie I will be watching again is… The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure.  Why you picked that, I will never know.  I know I will be rewatching it for the one-year anniversary in two weeks, so you have that to look forward to.