It's interesting to see how many comedians are actually very serious in person and in real life. Case in point: Rowan Atkinson (hello, Mr Bean/Johnny English), Steve Martin. I'm thus not surprised to see the serious side of Stiller.
In times like ours when human drama seems to have no place in Hollywood and big screen, the interesting work seems to be all coming from cable and independent providers like amazon/netflix. The trailer looks interesting. I really look forward to watching this mini-series. (I hope it's as good as The Night Of, Sharp Objects, and True Detectives.)
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....and Adam Sandler in Punch-Drunk Love . Sometimes , it goes the other way , such as when long-standing drama greats , like De Niro , branch out to comedy. Midnight Run, Analyze This and Meet the Parents are 3 of his best.
The region is known as the North Country, not upstate New York. Upstate seems to be pretty far south of here.
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"Flesh impact" was a term used for the screen presence of an actor. Marilyn Monroe is a good example. Mel Gibson had in his youth. Denzel Washington, for sure. Actors use to be standouts, with a special quality that captured an audience - there are exceptions today - Charlize Theron has it. You fall in love with Melissa McCarthy the moment she's on screen. Unfortunately, most working actors today look their audience.
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Ben Stiller is a unique talent and he has an excellent cast to tell the story with depth and humanity. I will certainly watch the series.
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I clearly recall the summer that we were all on edge, waiting days for the escapees to be captured. Living in Upstate, not far from the prison, we knew that anyone who was familiar with living in those woods could survive for days, hidden by the thick woods. One detail: it was the black flies that drove him from that trailer.... no deet? Then no one could survive Upstate black fly season. Running barefoot, with fly bite scabs over his body, he was shot. Note: if they don't give Arquette the glasses and bangs, then they don't capture a true image of the Upstate woman.
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A good story--but 7 hours seems a bit much--would you rather watch this or 4 good movies?
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Let' not forget Stiller in Dodgeball: A true underdog story, where he delivers the line "Nobody makes me bleed my own blood." An underrated comedy and performance.
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I read this entire article waiting for any mention of the most nuanced ,cerebral and heart rending motion picture of all time : "Mitty". starring Ben Stiller
Am I the only one who recognized the genius at work?
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@mwalling
No...I don't even always like Ben Stiller--he undermines himself sometimes--but he was BRILLIANT in Walter Mitty. That was simply a beautiful, surprising film.
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@mwwalling. I love that movie. And you’re right.
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If it has Del Toro, I'm in. The guy is great in everything he does. I really like Ben Stiller, too, and believe he most likely has done a outstanding job here.
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I am looking forward to watching this if only to learn what the reviewer means by Ms. Arquette's "upstate NY accent". I have lived in Brooklyn, Binghamton, Cortland, Rochester, Gloversville and Hornell, NY. My experience is that there is no single upstate accent. I especially like the Midwestern flatness of the western part of the Empire State. My favorite? I lived in Maryland and can say that there is nuthin like the speech of Bawlmer. A shame that this production is not going to be screened in theeyaters.
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@Paul Schatz There is a very distinctive -- and peculiar, to outsiders -- accent in the far reaches of the North Country. When I first heard it, as a college student in Plattsburgh 40 years ago, I could barely believe I was still in New York.
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I don't share the writer's surprise at Stiller's dramatic chops. He's always showed himself to be a very good actor.
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Ben Stiller and Steve Carrell are one of the most under-utilized and under-appreciated talent in Hollywood.
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@Meghna
Couldn't agree more. Drama is easy comedy i shard. Carrell did a dark turn in Foxcatcher. Saw Stiller in his Off Broadway debut in House of Blue Leaves many years ago, left an impression on me then. Still does. Looking forward to seeing this.
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@Meghna if i'm thinking about actors who don't get enough work or appreciation, Ben Stiller and Steve Carrell don't come to mind. I like them too. But they get plenty of love and face time.
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@Meghna, Agree. Carrell gave an amazing and creepy performance in Foxcatcher. And while Stiller is known for his comedy work, I never doubt his serious side of things.
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I've always like Ben Stiller and he certainly has spent his entire life around films or making films, and this was a story that captivated many of us -- can't wait to watch. And I do like Arquette, but if I recall, she already had the weight, but hey, we all love a good excuse!
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@Andy it takes about a year to safely gain forty pounds. You may have seen a picture of her that was part of the process, but even if you didn't, no need to waste a good body-shaming in a NYT comment. In lieu of not doing it at all, go find your audience somewhere else.
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@Maureen Basedow
Why is the world so overly sensitive to almost any and every comment these days?? Really, we all need to relax and take chill pills.
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@SDF
Do you really think Andy’s weight comment was necessary?
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Shawshank Redemption, Escape from Alcatraz, The Bird Man of Alcatraz, Cool Hand Luke, The Green Mile....are the go to movies for prison escape movie aficionados. Maybe this one will make it onto the list. If you spend any time at all in a prison or jail you'll find ample reason to want out. The food is third world, the smells linger for days...and the noise is deafening. There is absolutely nothing to do that amounts to anything more than killing time....As Red said in Shawshank..."I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I? don't wanna know. I would like to think they were singing about some thing was so beautiful it cant be expressed in words and make your heart ache because of it.I tell you this voice soared higher and farther than anybody in a Gray place dares to dream it is like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away. For the briefest moment every last man in Shawshank felt free."
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@Harley Leiber
Ah Shawshank, one of my favorite Stephen King Novellas brought to the big screen. From beginning to the end still gripping and entertaining. Great performances all around.
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@Harley Leiber You are dissing third world food by comparing it to prison food. RIce and beans or dal would be an improvement over the western-diet highly processed prison fare.
Ben Stiller like Adam Sandler has something mean at the core of his "talent". Not interested.
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@Bruce Savin
Actually that meanness, was you call it, works perfectly for such a story. I am VERY interested.
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@Bruce Savin Do you know him personally? What is this People Magazine?
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I would say that he has a dark sense of humor, which is also very intelligent/laser-sharp. But I wouldn't call him or Sandler mean. And if anything, he's been squandering his talent. There's a sketch he did on his old 'Ben Stiller Show' where he and Andy Dick do the classic Marshall Brickman-Woody Allen "walk 'n' talk" -- only with Andy Dick as Frankenstein's monster. It was so spot-on and accurate I can't even do it justice. You can't pull off a scene like that without knowing exactly what you're doing!
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Sweat conducted his exhausting nightly labor with a sledgehammer, not a "sledge." A "sledge" is a sled or sleigh.
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From Merriam-Webster (merriam-webster.com):
sledge noun (1)
\ˈslej \
Definition of sledge (Entry 1 of 4)
: SLEDGEHAMMER
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