Most Overrated/Underrated Movie Star- Page 2

[Weez]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 9:17am

I'd say Keanu Reeves is underrated. Everyone's so busy berating him for being rubbish that you miss out on when he's appropriate or even *gasp!* good! See, blank-faced pretty boy is exactly what Ted and Neo need, so there's some good casting going on there. And I just watched 'My Own Private Idaho' again last night, and he wasn't terrible. I'd very much say he's underrated. After all, NO ONE rates him as an actor. :P

[Roscoe]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 9:18am

Right, no one rates Keanu as an actor, the way no one rates Dick Cheney as a ballet dancer.

He has been vaguely competent in a couple of things, to be fair. I seem to remember an amusing moment in I LOVE YOU TO DEATH where he out-stupids William Hurt in a moment of stoner navel-gazing, but that's about it. The higher his character's I.Q., the less convincing he is.

Updated On: 4/28/08 at 09:18 AM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 9:56am

OVERRATED: Gregory Peck...indistinguishable from driftwood in most, but not all, of his performances.

UNDERRATED: Montgomery Clift....shaped modern acting as much if not more than Brando did.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 10:20am

Well, I'm not about to get into a defense of Keanu Reeves, becuase I really don't care; but, I have found him quite good in certain things. I find he brings a sincerity to roles that I often find lacking in other screen personalities (see how I avoided the use of the word, actor?) Anyway, I'm not bothered by him. Then again, I haven't seen everything he's ever done, either.

[Jane2]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 10:27am

I have to agree with Scarlett Johannsen being overrated. Although she's interesting to look at, I find her acting skill extremely weak.

Underrated-Lily Taylor.

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 10:37am

Over-rated: Cameron Diaz
SHE'S HORRIBLE!!!!!! If you don't believe me, watch "The Holiday". Cameron juxtaposed against the likes of Kate Winslet and Jude Law in a movie that by all means should be HER GENRE more than theirs is a good indicator of her forced emotions and choppy line readings.


Under-rated: Alanna Ubach
She played the 50-something Spanish maid in "Meet the Fockers" when she was in her twenties. She was also in "Sister Act II" and "Legally Blonde". She's really got something, but she hasn't gotten much recognition for some reason.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 10:40am

I LOVE Alanna Ubach! Don't forget her sweet, funny, scene stealing turn as Marcia's lesbian friend in THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE.

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 10:41am

Also, NATALIE PORTMAN = over-rated.
She was good in "Garden State", but she's not good in anything else. She RUINED "Closer" for me. I hated her in "V for Vendetta". And seriously bad in "Anywhere But Here" and "Where the Heart Is" (in which she has what should have been a really powerful speech, but it left me wanting to correct her).

Ooh, and I'd like to agree with all the "Scarlett Johanson is over-rated" comments.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 11:30am

OVERRATED: Will Ferrell. Other than Stranger Then Fiction, I haven't seen him really break out of his SNL bag of tricks, which I never found funny in the least.

UNDERRATED: Franka Potente. Brilliant, beautiful and very natural. If she could get more attention in Hollywood, she could become the next Meryl Streep. She has managed to completely captivate me in every film I've seen her in.

[Sirius Black]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 11:46am

Underrated: Doris Day

Overrated: Almost anyone working today.

[*brina-doll*]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 11:50am

Overrated: Way to many to count.

Underrated: I may be in the minority on this one, but think Jeffrey Wright, Jim Broadbent, and Charlie Hunham are grossly underrated. Just my two cents though

[blueroses]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 12:42pm

Jane, I LOVE Lili Taylor! I also am crazy for Debi Mazar.

[mateo]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 12:46pm

Debi Mazar is a goddess.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 2:59pm

I'll second Jeffrey Wright, one of the best actors we have.

[roquat]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 3:07pm

Alanna Ubach is marvellous in CLOCKWATCHERS, a funny and heartbreaking picture starring a quartet of underused actresses--Ubach, Toni Collette, Lisa Kudrow, and Parker Posey (in reverse order of "under-ration"). It's about temp workers, and anyone who has had to work in menial, unrewarding jobs to get by (i.e., everyone in show business) should take a look.

Sorry for the pitch. Okay, back on track--if we're getting into Classic Hollywood, Gary Cooper and John Wayne were overrated throughout their lives. Yes, that was a different era of movie stardom, but it's almost shocking to watch them today--neither one has an ounce of range; they recycle the same poses and line readings over and over. (This was thrown into sharp relief when Wayne attempted to "stretch" as Genghis Khan in THE CONQUEROR.)

[Roscoe]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 3:14pm

John Wayne at least got it right once, in STAGECOACH, where he's really excellent: intelligent, funny, and even sexy. Everything in fact that he never managed to be again.

And I like Cooper mostly in MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN. He's got a couple of really lovely moments, and well, he's just gorgeous.

[Liverpool]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 3:18pm

Julia Roberts needs to be added to the overrated list. Another actress that i just can't understand the appeal of. Now granted, she's not NEARLY as irritating as Nicole Kidman.



oh, and i actually CANT watch Katherine Heigl.

[DG]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 3:18pm

I wish Jeff Bridges had been more solidly recognized as a 'serious' actor. He's given a couple of my favorite performances (with THE FISHER KING being at the top of the list.)

[Roscoe]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 3:22pm

Classical Hollywood Over-rated: Rosalind Russell, especially in THE WOMEN. Pure torture to sit through.

Current Over-rated: the horrific Robin Williams, pure torture to sit through. Downhill since the appallingly smug DEAD POETS SOCIETY.

[elphabelle07]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 3:37pm

I think Bruce Willis is extremely overrated.

Robin Wright Penn is pretty underrated in my opinion


and i love alanna ubach! she's hilarious!

[mc1227]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 4:33pm

Roscoe, I am no lover of John Wayne. But "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" is my favorite western ever. He was really good in that.

[Kasie]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 4:35pm

roses and jane, I love Lili Taylor. I almost forgot about her. I think the last thing I saw her in was Six Feet Under.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 4:36pm

Yeah, I've heard that about MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, I should check it out sometime.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 5:12pm

Classical Hollywood Over-rated: Rosalind Russell, especially in THE WOMEN. Pure torture to sit through.

Every single George Cukor film is overrated. The only person not overrated in The Women, is Joan Crawford.

[*brina-doll*]

Posted: 4/28/08 at 9:29pm

I just remembered the two ladies I wanted to add: Imelda Staunton and Rachel Dratch. I wish Staunton would have won the Oscar for Vera Drake, that was such an incredible performance.

Also I'm glad someone agrees with me on Jeffrey Wright!

Edit: also thought of another under-rated performer: Emma Thompson.

Updated On: 4/28/08 at 09:29 PM