I thought Rob Lowe did his job well. He played Alex with the perfect mixture of attraction and menace. Why did this surprise me? Where do these low expectations come from regarding some actors? With Lowe, I can't remember being disappointed by a certain performance of his. (to be fair, I also can't remember loving his work. But I guess that just adds to my point) Why was I gearing up for some schlocky work? (Is it really about the 'Rat Pack' or the sex tape? Is that shit still in my mind? How did it even get in there?) I don't like having these unconscious feelings or prejudices going into a viewing. Makes me wonder what other unconscious attitudes potentially affect my first intake of a film.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Alex Lies and Videotapes
I thought Rob Lowe did his job well. He played Alex with the perfect mixture of attraction and menace. Why did this surprise me? Where do these low expectations come from regarding some actors? With Lowe, I can't remember being disappointed by a certain performance of his. (to be fair, I also can't remember loving his work. But I guess that just adds to my point) Why was I gearing up for some schlocky work? (Is it really about the 'Rat Pack' or the sex tape? Is that shit still in my mind? How did it even get in there?) I don't like having these unconscious feelings or prejudices going into a viewing. Makes me wonder what other unconscious attitudes potentially affect my first intake of a film.
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3 comments:
Of course what I love is how the film plays of the then newly scandal-tarnished Rob Lowe star image. So, yes I'd say, Alex/Lowe = the Brat Pack + the sex tape. While it's laudable to try to watch a film with as open a mind as possible, those preconceptions we carry about star image are part of the raw material of the film.
You'll never watch Brothers and Sisters the same way again, that is if anyone does.
I wondered if the use of the videotape wasn't Hanson playing some "meta" game with his audience, riffing off the personae of both his male leads. (Lowe with the 1988 sex tape and Spader with the 1989 success of Sex, Lies and Videotape.) For Lowe, the sex tape promised to be a career-killer while for Spader broke him from supporting player to leading man. I'm not sure what to make of it, but the use of videotape seemed to be a curious little inside joke within the film.
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