Beauty vs Beast: Grit's the Word
Monday, December 4, 2017 at 12:08PM Jason from MNPP here wishing the actor Jeff Bridges a happy 68th birthday today with this week's "Beauty vs Beast" poll. What's your favorite performance from Bridges? Mine is far and away his performance in Peter Weir's wildly underrated 1993 plane-crash survivor drama Fearless, but that movie doesn't lend itself well to this series. So instead we'll go with something more recent, namely his turn as "Rooster Cogburn" in the Coens' 2010 update of True Grit. Don't you wish he'd won his Oscar for this rather than Crazy Heart? And we'll pit him against his fine co-star and co-nominee Hailee Steinfeld. Good luck with this one!
PREVIOUSLY Last week twas everybody's current favorite momma drama Lady Bird's turn in the hot seat, and daughter came out victorious - Saorsie Ronan went all Baller / Anarchist and took 55% of your vote. Said chasm301, giving me a good chuckle:
"Lady Bird is basically the most instantly iconic teen movie character since Cher in Clueless. (Ok maybe Regina George or Tracy Flick). She gave this victory to herself. It was given to her by her and me too."
Reader Comments (9)
Geez this is a tough one both between Rooster and Mattie-both admirable characters and what would be my favorite Jeff performance-there are so many!
I voted for Jeff it being his birthday and all but this isn't one of those weeks where there's a clear choice.
As far as favorite performance his work in Fearless is brilliant but I've always had a soft spot for Starman.
That movie was kinda enh, everything about it was enh, but for Bridges having a hell of a time as Rooster Cogburn so...
@joel6: agreed that Jeff B in Fearless is just brilliant, I think his best most moving performance ever. How it largely escaped any awards attention I will never know.
I'm team Maddie all the way. No one screws with that girl
Also, my favorite Bridges performance is The Fisher King.
I go Jeff but he has been basically riffing for about 20 years on the character he played in The Coens 98 movie I never saw.
Neither really, but if I have to pick, then it's both Rooster and Jeff Bridges because at least they seem to be having fun. Mattie is a drag, and Hailee Steinfeld doesn't do her a lot of favors.
Steinfeld is B R I L L I A N T in this. "The soul already fled the body" or something like that. She reminded me a young Jodie Foster in the way she is fierce above all things, without even realizing she isn't that strong. That category fraud still stings.
Best Bridges: Starman
Who'd'a thunk she'd become a pop star?
Steinfeld is flat out great in Edge of Seventeen.