By Chris Barrymore
[Disclaimer: While some of the movies here are just plain bad (Full Throttle), most are okay to good, and in a few cases, very good. Disregarding the quality of the films themselves, all of these contain what I feel are some of Drew Barrymore’s finest moments on screen, for one reason or another.]
I should also mention, for legal purposes, that I am not a Barrymore stalker. I am happily married with 2 young sons, and am not going to leave my wife to pursue Drew Barrymore all around the globe in hopes of a chance meeting that turns into a blissful and glitzy Hollywood lifestyle for both of us (instead of just her). However, if Drew Barrymore showed up on my doorstep and asked me to do that, then all bets are off.
Although I was able to narrow down these selections enough to choose the number one performance (Charlie’s Angels), I could not bring myself to rank the other nine films, so once again I present to you The Top Ten List of Drew Barrymore films and/or movie moments, in chronological order:
Bad Girls (1994) co-starring Madeleine Stowe, Mary Stuart Masterson, Andie MacDowell - Set in Colorado during the Wild West era, the plot follows four former prostitutes on the run following a justifiable homicide and a prison escape, who later encounter difficulties involving bank robbery and Pinkerton detectives. Makes me wish I was born 100 years earlier and living in Colorado.
Scream (1996) co-starring Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Courteney Cox, Rose McGowan, David Arquette - Drew's part only lasts a few minutes in the opening scene, but a shocking and stunning end. Poor Drew.
The Wedding Singer (1998) co-starring Adam Sandler - Since the last List contained so many Roger Ebert reviews, I thought I'd toss in some Leonard Klady for a little Variety: "Barrymore also covers new ground as a light comic actress, making the most of the opportunity to play a vulnerable and appealing character."
Never Been Kissed (1999) co-starring David Arquette - Hey, whaddya know? Friend of the blog, Roger Ebert, showed up after all and had this to say: "Never Been Kissed is not deep or sophisticated, but it's funny and big-hearted and it wins us over. The credit goes to Barrymore. In this movie and Ever After (and in The Wedding Singer, where I liked her a lot more than the movie), she emerges as a real star. An actor whose personality and charisma are the real subject of the story. Never Been Kissed ends in a scene that, in any other movie, I would have hooted at. Without revealing it, I'll identify it as the five-minute wait. This scene is so contrived and artificial, it could be subtitled Shameless Audience Manipulation. But you know what? Because the wait involved Barrymore, I actually cared. Yes, I did."
Charlie’s Angels (2000) co-starring Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, Bill Murray, Crispin Glover, Matt LeBlanc - Good, all around wholesome entertainment. The best Barrymore scene has got to be when the Angels are at the race track and she’s got to distract the driver while Lucy Liu breaks into the trunk. Although a clip with the actual dialogue from the film would probably better illustrate the point, this clip is fine by me:
Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003) co-starring Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, Bernie Mack, Crispin Glover, Matt LeBlanc, Demi Moore – I remember this as a pretty bad movie and missing many of the elements that made the first one so enjoyable. But it still makes The Top Ten List.
50 First Dates (2004) co-starring Adam Sandler - Ebert reminds us that Adam Sandler's career arc is mimicking Bill Murray's, from slapstick clown to leading man: "The movie doesn't have the complexity and depth of Groundhog Day (which I recently saw described as 'the most spiritual film of our time'), but as entertainment it's ingratiating and lovable."
My Date With Drew (2004) co-starring Brian Herzlinger - The guy in this movie has serious issues with his Drew Barrymore obsession. He needs help.
Music and Lyrics (2007) co-starring Hugh Grant - Ebert's partner (now former?), Richard Roeper, said this: "It’s more fun than a Spandau Ballet/Tears for Fears concert circa 1985, and I mean that in a good way."
Whip It (2009) directed by Drew Barrymore co-starring Ellen Page – Drew Barrymore as a tough and rugged Rollergirl? Believe it.
Yes, I know she was in E.T. also, and that it was her first major role and everyone remembers that movie. I was going to include E.T. (1982) in this list, but given the nature of the list and the fact that Drew Barrymore was only 7 at the time, it just seemed too wrong and too creepy to include it with the others. It would have been out of place, and is therefore excluded.
E.T. may have been her first major role, but two years earlier she debuted in what, until this morning, I had not realized was my fav Drew Barrymore film of all time - Altered States (1980).
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, I never knew she played the little girl in that film until clicking on some of these links, but just like Gertie, that role doesn't exactly fit with the theme here, so forget I said anything.
What about her appearance in Rolling Stone Magazine?
ReplyDeleteHello!?! Pouring milk over her tatas?
One obviously cannot object to the quality of the Rolling Stone photo. Perhaps I should delve into that as a subcategory. Or perhaps not, as it may draw undue suspicion from my wife and my boss (two different people, by the way. Or maybe I really have two bosses, now that I think about it...either way, my wife is not my boss at work is what I am trying to say. Although I don't want to imply that she is necessarily my boss at home either. At least not all the time. I make decisions too. Whatever.)
ReplyDeleteI thought I remembered at least four pics from that shoot, though I may have simply imagined that there were several.
ReplyDeleteThis here is the only other one I can find right now.
Earlier today I found the set of 4 pics from that shoot. So you're not imagining.
ReplyDelete