A very happy birthday to former Ruling Indie Queen Parker Posey. It's her 40th. When Parker first came to fame in the limited release scene in the mid 90s her domination was total. Consider that indelibly self-satisfied Party Girl (1995), the bitch-power tyrant in Dazed and Confused (1993), Dairy Queen loving Libbie Mae in Waiting For Guffman (1997) and demented poseur "Jackie-O" in House of Yes (1997). Posey had such a uniquely youthful fire, punk edge and rocking comic snark that it was vaguely impossible to predict how she might parlay her odd gifts into a steady or diverse career. How would that persona age?But a decade plus later, she's doing fine. Her filmography holds abundant variety and surprises --fringe cinema, comedic classics, mainstream hits, she's nearly done it all. I've been a bad fan and still haven't caught up with Broken English (2007), her most recent lead role, but she's been expanding her dramatic range (she's terrific and incisive in the otherwise middling Personal Velocity, 2002) and her comedy still works: she sure made for ample R.O.I. in Superman Returns (2006) considering she gobbled up far less than 1% of its gargantuan budget.
Next up for Parker: Co-starring with Demi Moore (as sisters!) in the drama Happy Tears from the director of neo-horror favorite Teeth.
What's your favorite Parker Posey screen moment? Share it in the comments. You'd better. Parker doesn't take prisoners.
Okay, girlies, it's hot out here and I'm really sick of looking at all of you, so let's just -- let's get out of here. What are you looking at? Wipe that face off your head, bitch!
Posts
27 comments:
Omg, I heart Parker Posey so much. I have seen her in the East Village a couple times, around St. Mark's Place, and I just wanted to run up to her and hug her.
I love her seething about Busy Bee in 'Best in Show,' and every scene in 'The House of Yes' was a show-stopper. I must also mention the number "Teacher's Pet" from 'Waiting for Guffman'...and her pushing around that sad, tiny piece of chicken on the grill! Hahahaha.
I adore everything she's done with Christopher Guest in particular. Her deleted monologue from 'Guffman' may be one of the funniest. I also lover her bit part in "Kicking and Screaming" where she breaks up with her boyfriend via notepad and frowny face.
If *I* ever get out of here, I'm getting my eyes. lasered.
Oh man, you can watch her playing “Jennifer” in SCREAM 3 over and over and over. One of my fav scenes:
(Posey is cornered… the masked killer slowly approaches)
“Ahhhhhh! No get away from me you asshole… you don’t scare me!”
Kills me everytime… loved her hyper-eyed ambition as well as working off Courtney Cox (“My Gail would be more aggressive!!! My Gail would suspect everyone!!!!! My Gail would...”).
Love her.
Her deleted audition scene from GUFFMAN will always be #1 in my book. It's pseudo-understandable why it got cut (it would be really long for someone not in on the joke) but I think it is the funniest scene in one of the funniest movies ever. But, basically anything Libby Mae Brown says is awesome...she's my hero.
"Who's lying in a hospital bed hooked up to a life support system? And who's wearing fine jewels and fancy clothes? (pulls plug) And Who's on top and who's on bottom now, HUH!? WHO'S ON TOP AND WHO'S ON BOTTOM NOW!?"
I think I have that whole monologue memorized. :)
A while back she came into Cleveland to film "The O in Ohio" and one of the local newscasts, desperate for a story ambushed her at the airport, and she was super gracious. And coming in early in the morning with minimal makeup she still looked cute as a button.
And she's the only thing that helped me get through Superman a dozen times (I work at an IMAX theater)
Actually, this is so random, but I'll never get over the moment in "You've Got Mail" when she falls asleep a half of a second after trying to get Tom Hanks to have sex with her. The automatic snoring was pure comedic genius and that was my very first introduction to Posey. Quite memorable.
Oh, by the way, the scene Adrian mentioned probably ties with what I just said. Effing hilarious.
I'm with James -- the flowers in the attic audition is to die for. It's my favorite scene in a movie with 100 good scenes and it's not even in the movie!
add me to that list of libby mae monologue lovers - "and made her do things she did NOT want to do"
i hope libby mae ended up meeting some italian guys and watching some tv...
i, of course, love parker's scenes with the lovely laura linney in 'tales of the city' - "fantabulous"
I think she is very underrated in 'Superman Returns', she steals every scene she is in. I love her monotonal delivery of "Wow Lex that's really something."
My best friend and I used to act out a bit of repartee between PP and Josh Hamilton from "House of Yes" during high school. Do I remember it? Let's find out:
J: Are you wise? I think you're being wise.
P: I knew it would happen, one day I'd just wake up wise.
J: One day I woke up stupid.
P: You did?
J: It was terrible.
P: What did you do?
J: I went back to sleep.
P: That was wise!
Not even that clever. But Parker sold it. Now imagine two skinny nerds doing that while walking down the hallway in XXL No Doubt t-shirts. Daily, to the utter bemusement of...everyone. Ahhh good times.
Broken English was great! Definitely worth watching... But then, just about everything she does is worth watching.
Her Best in Show performance in its entirety.
"Maryee Anne Singleton!"
Playing opposite Laura Linney in Tales of the City. My first exposure to both actresses back in the early-mid 90s and I loved them both.
"The Buccaneer!!!"
Oh, and Best in Show is another PP classic. She's a scream in it.
You know, this isn't her best performance at all, but the place I found myself appreciating her most was in the justly unseen adaptation of Dennis Cooper's "Frisk," which is full of such excreble acting that when Parker shows up as a bizarrely miscast amoral hitwoman, her sardonic line-readings make one exclaim loudly to one's empty apartment - "This! This! This is exaclty how the whole movie should have been!"
Otherwise, "The House of Yes" is still my favorite of her performances. "I don't recognize the past tense!"
Josie & The Pussycats isn't anyone's idea of a good film, but I love her in that.
Fiona: Oh I am starved!
[eats one potato chip]
Fiona: I'm such a pig!
I think she did her best work in "The House of Yes"...
"Yes! It was a pink hairbrush! IT WAS PINK AND NOW IT'S GONE!"
And she was Oscar-worthy in "Josie and the Pussycats", IMO. If the Academy could have nominated Carol Channing or Peggy Cass or Lotte Lenya way back when, they should have been able to nominate Parker Posey for this performance.
my take on her absolute best performances:
3 Personal Velocity
2 Waiting For Guffman ...#1 if you include the deleted scenes ;)
1 Best in Show
. . . talking about straight to video (Pfeiffer) . . . Demi Moore seems to be the kiss of death lately when it comes to missing out on the silver screen . . .
my favorite PP moment is in D&C. She is the background with Joey Lauren Adams. You're watching something else in the scene, but they're laughing falling down drunk.
I have to say I replayed the scene in Adam & Steve where she hypnotizes Chris Kattan's character with her feminine wiles.
oh yeah, that was a good moment. go Parker --especially for distraction against Kattan
Broken English is my favorite Parker Posey movie. That movie is full of indie charm.
NATARRRRSHAAAAAR
Post a Comment