CAN AMERICANS ACT?

You wouldn't think so if you watch the miserable offerings regurgitated up to us from Hollywood whether they are Oscar nominations or not. The 'machine' churns out egocentric drivel that are vehicles for the 'stars'.  An example of this is Valkerie the fascinating story of  one of the assassination plots against Adolph Hitler. This was covered extremely well by Operation Valkerie a German film that was well acted, paced and presented. It told the story well without sensationalising it. Recently Hollywood used the story for that crap actor Tom Cruise to peddle his wares. It was a disgraceful example of self-aggrandisement. Bloody egos! It would be easy to think that the Americans cannot act if you limit yourself to watching block-buster films or the usual television offerings. We didn't watch much television over the Christmas and New Year period and I've only just again been channel surfing. I found a programme on the Comedy Channel named The Green Room. It is a kind of panel show in front of a live audience that has actors and comedians discussing their craft in a humorous way. It is quite good but the host Paul Provenza hasn't got the wit and intelligence of say Stephen Fry who hosts the superb British panel show QI. Nevertheless the show I watched impressed me with the largely unknown actors who were guests. They weren't perfect but they were a hell of a lot better then the 'names' we are presented with in the top films and shows. So where do these actors act? Well. they turn up regularly in TV shows like Law & Order or sometimes as extras or in minor roles in films but mostly I guess they are still doing stand-up comedy or acting off-Broadway.

I saw an off-Broadway play a few years ago. It was A Moon for the Misbegotten (Eugene O'Neill) in a small and intimate theatre and it was excellent. It had some British actors in it (Colm Meaney and Eve Best) who were very accomplished but I was particularly impressed by Kevin Spacey playing the lead character. I'm not saying that Spacey was better than Best or Meaney but As I've seen Spacey in a few films (Hollywood) I guess I was expecting a 'going through the motions' approach. The difference was striking and I liked his acting. I must try to not be so fixed in my opinions in the future. (Yeah right - ed)