Thursday Movie Picks: Actors in Multiple Roles

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This week's theme from Wandering Through The Shelves is working overtime. It's all about actors in multiple roles. I feel like there are more bad movies with actors in multiple roles then good ones. Here's what I came up with.

 1) Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

 Mike Myers plays a handful of roles in this objectively bad, yet hilarious film. I have no idea how this holds up but I laughed my ass off when I saw this in theaters. That dick joke at the end had my entire theater rolling. 

 2) Suspira (2019)

 The remake, aka Tilda Swinton's vanity project because why is she playing all these people?

 3) Monty Python and the Holy Grail

 Everyone in this film is playing everyone else. I enjoyed this, and I'm going to eventually watch more of their work. 

Comments

  1. Sonia CercaAugust 22, 2019 at 6:37 AM

    We share Suspiria :) I loved this version more than the original and Tilda was amazing!

    I haven't seen the Monty Python one but I did see Life of Brian and those guys are great at playing multiple roles.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamAugust 23, 2019 at 7:06 AM

      I'm glad it worked better for you. I was open to it, but I kept wishing Mia was the lead and not Dakota.

      Delete
  2. BirgitAugust 22, 2019 at 9:31 AM

    I love all the Austin Powers Movies and find them hilarious and I don't think they are bad. Woody Harrelson at the end was funny. I have not seen Suspiria but I love Monty Python and The Holy Grail is exceptional and many of the funny moments are based on some fact. The Knights who say Neigh...Apparently there is a medieval Old English word like this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamAugust 23, 2019 at 7:06 AM

      The original Suspiria is far better, IMO. Like, not even close.

      Delete
  3. s.August 22, 2019 at 10:07 AM

    Tilda in all those roles was so distracting. I kept waiting for all these people to be connected and then nothing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamAugust 23, 2019 at 7:05 AM

      I laughed so hard when we got to the sunglasses. It was ridiculous.

      Delete
  4. joel65913August 22, 2019 at 10:39 AM

    I can't say I'm a big fan of Austin Powers. The films are okay for one watch but I've never had any desire to return to them.

    I didn't bother with the new Suspiria, I didn't really care much for the first and that had Joan Bennett and Alida Valli as a pull Tilda doesn't compare.

    Monty Python & the Holy Grail is absurdist theatre of the highest kind. I have to be in the mood for them but when I am I laugh like a crazy person.

    My first two came to me right away and the next came pretty easily for a small theme within the theme.

    Dead Ringer (1964)-Bette Davis plays identical twin sisters, poor Edith Phillips and wealthy Margaret DeLorca who have been estranged for decades because Margaret married Edith’s boyfriend after stealing him from her. Reunited at the man’s funeral Edith discovers that Margaret manipulated the marriage years before and enraged kills her and takes her place. All seems well until Edith uncovers secrets that may prove fatal.

    Dead Ringers (1988)-Jeremy Irons plays Elliot (Jeremy Irons), a successful gynecologist, who works at the same practice as his identical twin, Beverly (Irons as well). Elliot is attracted to many of his patients and has affairs with them. When he inevitably loses interest, he will give the woman over to Beverly, the meeker of the two, without the woman knowing the difference. Beverly falls hard for one of the patients, Claire (Geneviève Bujold), but when she inadvertently deceives him, he slips into a state of madness. Strange, chilly film directed by David Cronenberg goes to several very dark places.

    Dead Again (1991)-A mute amnesiac (Emma Thompson) arrives at the gates of an old orphanage and private investigator Mike Church (Kenneth Branagh) is asked to find out who she is. With the help of a hypnotist (Derek Jacobi), the woman regains her voice and recalls vivid past memories of a couple (also played by Emma & Branagh) from the 1940s torn apart by murder. Church begins to develop feelings for the woman, whom he calls Grace then discovers he has a connection to the tragic couple from the 40s. Atmospheric noir shot at the time that the pair were married in real life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ted S. (Just a Cineast)August 22, 2019 at 2:46 PM

      I actually thought of Dead Again after I posted my picks. And I used Dead Ringer back in the "Doppelgangers" theme, I believe.

      Delete
    2. Brittani BurnhamAugust 23, 2019 at 7:05 AM

      I really need to see more Bette Davis movies. She's such an interesting actress.

      Delete
    3. joel65913August 23, 2019 at 12:24 PM

      Bette is always fascinating on screen, whether she is at her best or on those occasions when she went over the top. So intense but capable of great tenderness.

      Not being sure what you've seen here's a link to the ranking of her films I did on Letterboxd. It's just my opinion but it might help as a guide of where to start. She made many films but like all big studio stars she had to do many that were mandated by the head office.

      https://letterboxd.com/joelnox/list/ranking-bette-davis/

      Delete
    4. Brittani BurnhamAugust 24, 2019 at 10:30 AM

      Thank you! I didn't know you had a letterboxd, now I can follow you there. :)

      Delete
  5. Ronyell (a.k.a. Rabbitearsblog)August 22, 2019 at 1:15 PM

    I loved Monty Python and the Holy Grail! It was so hilarious! Great list!

    Here’s my Thursday Movie Picks!

    Ronyell @ The Surreal Movies and TV Blog

    ReplyDelete
  6. thevoid99August 22, 2019 at 1:47 PM

    Ah, 3 amazing films. My mom loves the 2nd Austin Powers film because she thought it was funny but also loved the music including the cameo from Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach. I still think it's the best Austin Powers film so far though I kind of hope we don't go for another one as I think Mike Myers should stick to supporting roles.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamAugust 23, 2019 at 7:04 AM

      I agree it's the best AP film. So many more memorable jokes.

      Delete
  7. m.brownAugust 22, 2019 at 5:58 PM

    Am I the only one hoping for an Austin Powers 4?



    *crickets*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DellAugust 22, 2019 at 9:49 PM

      NO! I've been hoping for one since the last one came out.

      Delete
    2. Brittani BurnhamAugust 23, 2019 at 7:03 AM

      If it's funny like the first two, I'd be open to it. lol

      Delete
  8. DellAugust 22, 2019 at 9:51 PM

    I don't think the Austin Powers movies are bad at all. I love the whole franchise. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is fantastic. It definitely deserves its status as a classic. Having worked myself into the Suspiria remake yet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamAugust 23, 2019 at 7:03 AM

      I really disliked the 3rd Austin Powers movie, it didn't capture near enough of the humor the first two had.

      Delete
  9. KatyAugust 25, 2019 at 11:25 PM

    Nice picks! I re-watched Austin Powers recently and couldn't believe my parents let me see it as a pre-teen. But it's still pretty hilarious and one of my low-key favorite franchises.

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamAugust 26, 2019 at 9:26 AM

      Oh I know. I went to the second one in theaters by myself with a friend. I was 12 in 1999 lol

      Delete
  10. GetterAugust 26, 2019 at 1:38 AM

    I did not know Swinton played so many roles in Suspiria. That serves me well for not looking into the movie after I saw it at a festival. I just.. well, probably didn't care for it that much. :D

    ReplyDelete
  11. LizzyAugust 26, 2019 at 5:58 AM

    I started watching Suspiria. It is a really captivating movie and Dakota shows how good of an actress she is in it. However, for some reason, I could not complete it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamAugust 26, 2019 at 9:25 AM

      I'm glad Dakota worked for you, Aside from her dancing, which I thought she was doing really well, she's just stiff as an actress.

      Delete
    2. LizzyAugust 30, 2019 at 7:36 AM

      Well, I must watch her in other films..

      Delete
  12. Alex WithrowAugust 27, 2019 at 10:21 AM

    Austin Powers is a great call here, one that I don't feel like gets mentioned enough in multiple roles.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamAugust 27, 2019 at 2:30 PM

      Definitely. Maybe they aren't as memorable anymore.

      Delete
  13. WandererAugust 29, 2019 at 1:37 PM

    I enjoyed the Austin Powers movies then, I don't know how well I would like them now. Anyway I've totally forgotten he played multiple roles.

    ReplyDelete

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