To Michelle on her 50th Birthday

My personal screen goddess Michelle Pfeiffer turns the big 5-0 today. Though Julianne Moore is more directly responsible for the start of my film writing career and other favored greats like Daniel Day-Lewis and Uma Thurman also share this birthday, Michelle is the patron saint of my cinephilia. She led me to deep movie loving in the late 80s and in many ways I've never been able to let go of her or the cinema since. Two years back I hosted a blog-a-thon in her honor. This year I have to keep it simpler if not small. In lieu of the regularly scheduled "tuesday top ten" I thought I'd share 50 reasons why I love Michelle Pfeiffer and why you should to. How do we love her? Let us count the ways.

50 Reasons To Love Michelle Pfeiffer

Links to movie titles go to their Netflix page for this post. Queue them.

It's my way of saying: see all her damn movies you pfool

okay 53... I lied
53. That amazing accent in Russia House (1990)
52. She's always better than her films. Even when her films are good.
51. The best Pfeiffer website is probably The Face. That that title is not an overstatement is a testament to her legendary beauty. (Plus: I need to give them a shout out since I am away from my home computer and nearly all the pictures in this post are borrowed therefrom)

50. You can tell from her very first movie Falling in Love Again (1979) that she had greatness in her. It's difficult to spot (as it often is first time out) until you get to one completely ravishing eroticized closeup ---the eroticism coming only from her. "The Face", indeed. She was barely 21.

49. She's fierce. No, let's say "ferocious" (see previous article: The Ferocity of Pfeiffer)

48. A good sport: a voice cameo as "Mindy Simmons" in The Simpsons and a surprise cameo on Picket Fences for her husband, TV powerhouse David E Kelley

47. That time she hosted the Muppets Tonight.

46. Queen of the Fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999). Who else as magical could they have cast, really?

45. Val Kilmer once wrote a poem about her "The Pfeiffer Howls at the Moon" (previous post) and she's the type of woman one writes poems for, surely.

44. That hypnotic circling of the birdcage in Batman Returns (1992)

43. "Huge" Michelle gone blue in The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

42. We know she's perfection in Armani. But it doesn't matter what she wears. She looks great in everything from denim to drag.

Told ya so.

41. So fetching while brushing her teeth, newly aglow in Frankie & Johnny (1991)

40. For all her fame she's often a modest undervalued performer. Watch I Am Sam (2001) if you dare and notice how afterwards her performance is the only one that makes any sense or rings completely true. Naturally then, she's also the only actor among the leads who wasn't recognized for her work.
39. She can parody Hollywood bitch goddesses with the best of them: See Sweet Liberty (1986)

38. "I want a divorce!" -Married to the Mob (1988)

37. Visible nerves as she approaches a date with her estranged husband Bruce Willis in The Story of Us (1999)

36. She reliably adds a touch of reserved movie star glitter to the Emmy Awards, on her husband's arm while they're in his realm. Ocassionally she gifts other red carpets with her divine class.
35. That free range anger in A Thousand Acres (1997) and Scarface (1983) among several other films. It's a Pfeiffer specialty.
34. "So?" that unsophisticated inquiry puncturing the spell cast by her own audition in The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)

33. Boinked Mel Gibson in a hot tub in Tequila Sunrise (1988). Back when he was worth boinking.
32. Her paralyzed fear in the bathtub in What Lies Beneath (2000). She can act with her whole body but she really only needs her eyes. Bonus points: Gives credit where its due. Cited Drew Barrymore for inspiring her with her palpable terror in Scream (1996)

31. Made Claire Danes cry in To Gillian on her 37th Birthday. Claire Danes used to cry so well, don't you think?

30. Lacerating her family over the holidays in Deep End of the Ocean (1999)

29. She is a celebrity photographer's dream.


28. The way she spits out "Tracy" each time she has to use the name in Hairspray (2007)

27. She introduced Vonda Shephard to David E Kelley making Ally McBeal that much more memorable for having its own signature voice.

26. Her lovely breathy singing voice used to great effect in Fabulous Baker Boys, Hairspray, Grease 2, and The Prince of Egypt. We're not counting Up Close and Personal since it's terrible and because she sang off key on purpose.

25. That dripping wet swimming pool seduction with Jack Nicholson in The Witches of Eastwick (1987) or maybe the way she writhes on the bed in lingerie or eats cherries? So many choices when she's playing Sukie Ridgemont.

24. Her chiaroscuro cool in the video "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio. Yes, I prefer it to Dangerous Minds (1995). It's shorter.

23. Martin Scorsese, Jeff Bridges, Emma Thompson and Jonathan Demme all love her. That's good company to be in.

22. One could argue she's the American Deneuve.

21. The way she turns to the camera, her face bathed in moonlight, framed by a black hood in Ladyhawke (1985). Breathtaking.

20. Getting ready for her date with George Clooney in One Fine Day (1996). Yummy.

19. "Cool Rider" in Grease 2 (1982). Sheer guilty bliss. And also: tight tight pants.

18. Lurene Hallet in Love Field (1992). See previous guest post by Nick.

17. We imagine she's a great mom.

16. A recent triple comeback triumph: delicious comic evil in both Hairspray (2007) and Stardust (2007) and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Finally!

15. Her silly abandon on that first date with Matthew Modine in Married to the Mob (1988), her finest comedic performance.

14. Those bookish glasses she favors in real life. Endearing.

13. Reliably great chemistry with co-stars whether they're playing her children, siblings, friends, rivals or romantic interests.

12. "10 cents a dance, that's what they pay me..." Michelle rising from the cabaret floor after collecting herself and her cheat sheet song lyrics in the fabulous The Fabulous Baker Boys

11. Though her Hollywood persona often leans toward the ice goddess she's versatile. Watch those closeups in One Fine Day for a lesson in effortless movie star warmth.

10. "I am sorrow" as expressed in Ladyhawke. And amply prophesying many future roles.

09. Speaking of sorrow... Countess Ellen Olenska in The Age of Innocence (1993)

08. She's the very picture of erotic submission in Dangerous Liaisons (1988): "Her eyes are closing" ... indeed.

07. Making a glamorous entrance, back exposed, in the descending elevator in Scarface (1983)

06. Coke-addled Elvira telling Tony what's what in a swanky restaurant in Scarface (1983)

05. That unblinking predatory stare in White Oleander (2002). Spooky.

04. "Makin' Whoopee" and everything else about Susie Diamond in The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)

03. Those line readings in Batman Returns (1992) are to die for. Every last one of them. "meow"

02. The promise of new films. Personal Effects (2008) is next to be followed by a reunion with her Dangerous Liaisons director for the period romantic drama Cheri (2009). Cross your fingers and pray for more.

01. She's one of the most beautiful and talented women who ever lived. Still.


I left many things out. I wrote it quickly. The list is too short.
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