Friday, December 21, 2007

Jane Fonda: Awesome Then, Awesome Now

Happy birthday to the "Arguably Most Deserving Actual Double Best Actress Oscar® Winner Ever "


whew, that's quite a title. But it's so (maybe) true. I mean I love Bette Davis, Liz Taylor, Olivia DeHavilland, Ingrid Bergman, etcetera... Oh, yes. OK, OK. Vivien Leigh trumps her... Gone With the Wind and Streetcar Named Desire = probably impossible to beat from here until the apocalypse. But still... Coming Home and Klute? Yes please!

Jane, enough with the Georgias and Monster In-Laws. Please go win #3. You know you have (at least) one more classic in you.
*

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm going to have to see Coming Home again (which I would want to anyway, because Jon Voigt was awesome in it.) That said, for me Jane Fonda's acting in it left me...meph *shrugs* - except when she and Voigt were onscreen together. They had a very powerful and palpable chemistry from the moment their characters lock eyes for the first time, I knew they just "had to be lovers".

Overall, for me she tends to be less of an actor than "Jane Fonda playing herself" so many times. the characters are in service of the "important ideas" rather than the other way around - the ideas being illuminated through characterization. That said, she was terrific in "The Morning After" (at least the first 2/3'rds) and I'd gladly take more of those sorts of perfs any day.

RedSatinDoll

Anonymous said...

Yep, Jane Fonda did indeed deserve both her Oscars. I mean, Swank didn't deserve that second one; Foster shouldn't have won for The Accused; Field, again the second one was one too many; Jackson's second is the most mindboggling: A Touch of Class is the jokesiest movie ever! And Taylor's first for Butterfield 8 definitely wasn't for her acting.

If Christie were too win again this year, both of hers would be deserving. I'd add Bergman to that too.

Haven't seen de Havilland or Rainer in their films, and only seen Davis in Jezebel.

Unknown said...

No love for Katharine Hepburn?

Jane Fonda is great, anyway. I find it fun to watch her in some of her crappier, recent movies. She runs right over both J.Lo (well... who wouldn't?) and Lindsay Lohan.

Anonymous said...

Too bad Julia didn't come out in a year other than 1977. It's her greatest achievement!

John T said...

Yeah, Fonda's best perf, imho, would be in Julia, though is it possible to beat Keaton that year? Actually, I don't know if I would have ever given Fonda an Oscar for any of her nom'd perfs-I liked Smith better than she in 1969 and Christie better than she in 1971. That said, she's a great actress and I wish she'd return to the Kodak as a nominee soon.

Also, you're right about Leigh-is anyone ever going to be able to beat her as the double winner Best Actress? If you added in the men, you could argue that Brando could, but that's about it.

adam k. said...

I'd think Nat would hold it against Liegh that her Gone With the Wind oscar truly belongs to Judy Garland for The Wizard of Oz. But I guess the Grace Kelly thing is a battle more worth fighting.

Also, I think Streep will very much deserve both of hers when she finally wins again. Although I really don't want her to beat Kate Winslet for Revolutionary Road. I'm ALREADY dreading next year.

NATHANIEL R said...

adam, please do not dread a year which could conceivably give us a contest between two people wherein whoever wins, we win!

NATHANIEL R said...

adam, please do not dread a year which could conceivably give us a contest between two people wherein whoever wins, we win!

Andy Scott said...

Oh, yay. Jane Fonda is probably my favorite actress after Diane Keaton. Her performance in "Klute" is one of the all time greats.

Does she have any big projects coming up? I agree that she really needs to stay away from crap like "Georgia Rule," especially since it gave her nothing to do.

Although I did love "Monster-in-Law" for its camptastic qualities.

Anonymous said...

off topic- the utah film critics made their picks. casey affleck for assassination of jesse james by the coward robert ford was picked runner-up. for best actor, not supporting actor. i just thought it was worth pointing out that apparently the critics in utah were the only ones who actually watched the assassination of jesse james by the coward robert ford.

http://www.moviecitynews.com/awards/2008/critics/utah.htm

Anonymous said...

Lol! I see you didn't mention Hilary Swank as a double Best Actress Winner! too funny

Kamila said...

I can't believe Jane Fonda is 70.

Happy birthday to her!

And have a nice weekend, Nathaniel.

Brian said...

did anyone see this story? http://www.villagevoice.com/nyclife/0746,musto,78358,15.html -- it's in the last paragraph.

i wish I had been there!

NATHANIEL R said...

bam 34, a longtime film experience reader was actually there. HE DANCED WITH HER. he sent me an email privately to tell me about it. isn't that crazy? god i love the fonda.

Sam Brooks said...

I've never been overly wowed by her performance in Coming Home. But her performance is Klute is really one of the all-timers in my opinion.

Vivien Leigh is still the person who deserved both of her Oscars the most, though.

Anonymous said...

Oh, next year...

Streep - Doubt
Kidman - The Reader
Winslet - Revolutionary Road
Moore - Blindness

+
Theron - the burning plain
jolie - the changeling

It's gonna be ugly

Anonymous said...

I know this has NOTHING to do with Jane Fonda, but about the imitating and mimicking guess who some critics are saying is doing that this year....AMY ADAMS.


I thought it was just me, she's basically imitating a Disney Princess or a fair maiden. ( Snow White & Cinderella).lmao

On reelz channel they were talking about her performance although they say it's brilliant they feel like it's just an imitation of Snow White.LMAO

I agree and I adore Amy Adams. Amy also said in an interview that she based her character on Snow White.lol. SO wouldn't that be mimicking???

Anonymous said...

Weezer half of those films will most likely FLOP.

Glenn Dunks said...

Can we keep the discussion to The Fonda, please? Jane is, perhaps, my favourite actress ever. I just love her so much.

I'd put her Klute and They Shoot Horses, Don't They perfs at the top though. Man, I love her so much. I even got a hoot out of watching her out-diva JLo in Monster-in-Law (even if the movie was a load of tosh).

Has anyone heard the song "Gym Tonic" but Bob Sinclar? It samples her 1980s workout videos!

Anonymous said...

Bam34, yes, as Nat says, I was there. I seemed to be the first person who noticed her. I was dancing RIGHT next to her and when I realized who it was, I started flipping LOL. I told her I loved her, but she politely ignored me, lol, then we were sitting with Michael Musto in a back area when she waved to him on her way out.

Anonymous said...

I thought Doubt wasn't coming out until 2009?

On topic: Jane Fonda in Klute and Julia rocks

Catherine said...

My greatest ever bargain was finding the double-sided LP of Jane Fonda's workout for only 2 euro.

Anonymous said...

actually my favorite jane fonda performance (and I think it was also hers) was in the TV movie "The Dollmaker." OMG....rent it / buy it if you haven't seen it, look it up on imdb. Heartbreaking / wonderful. Plus she looks just like her dad. i met her back in the 1980's when she came to a local TV station I worked at - very nice. nice to everyone. her only demand - no limo to get me!

Anonymous said...

btw - jane did a full hour w/ robert osborne about a year or so ago - talk was just about show biz & her movies. too bad tcm doesn't show those on-line.

Anonymous said...

Fond'a such a bitch. She dated my grandpa and dumped him when she found out he had voted for Bush. How liberal is that !

NATHANIEL R said...

hell, i'd dump someone for that too :)

RJ said...

I LOOOOOVE La Fonda

Anonymous said...

It's kinda crazy that Jane Fonda's 70. At least she's aging well (the exercise tapes weren't all in vain!). I'd love to see her in one more "classic" role -- doing stints like "Georgia Rule" and "Monster-in-Law" are almost unforgivable given her talents. She still wouldn't be my choice for most deserving two-time Oscar winner (that's Vivien Leigh's mantle), but I like Jane Fonda's presence and intelligence, and I wish her the best regardless, especially when people still give her shit about Hanoi Jane.

I can see where AdamK's coming from about the upcoming Kate/Meryl battle next year. "Doubt" is a brilliant play and I'm sure Meryl will work wonders with it, but to see Kate Winslet lose for a sixth time when Meryl already has two is harsh, especially when she already has two (I've never seen the need to rush to give her a third when plenty of people are desperately waiting on their first win). But then both films could flop hard, Mischa Barton could deglam as a lesbian hooker schizo with a limp and wow critics and win the Oscar to the dismay of film snobs everywhere. LOL.