Six Essential Performances by … Stanley Tucci
Our newest feature salutes some of the great character actors with a primer on their greatest performances. In our first, we saluted the outstanding performances of recently deceased actor Bob Hoskins with Six Essential Performances. This week, a look at six brilliant, and sometimes overlooked roles of Stanley Tucci.
Despite getting some really, really bad reviews, if there is one person who comes out of Transformers: Age of Extinction, relatively unscathed, it’s Stanley Tucci, who might be giving more in his performance than the Michael Bay film really deserves. But it can never be said that Tucci phones it in when he works in movies. One of the best of his generation, he is as skilled in comedy as he is in drama, always giving roles that little something extra that only he can provide. Besides being one of those infinitely charming public personalities (just listen to his interview from a few years ago), and being a talented theater and film director, as a performer he’s the perfect balance of leading man individuality and chameleon-like character actor. And the simple variety of genres and characters he can play, it’s no surprise that he’s the one bright spot in a pretty dim movie this week.
You can almost feel his frustrations festering just under his charismatic, salesman smile, as if any minute he could erupt in fits of rage
Considering how modern and understated Tucci’s performance was in Big Night, the ease in which he takes on Puck in Midsummer’s Night Dream (1999), the mischievous elf, is almost impossible to compare. For whatever reason, it can be a considerable challenge for Americans to play Shakespeare (there is a tendency to overplay everything) and that complaint is very noticeable in this “less-than” production of the classic comedy. But somehow, along with Kevin Kline (they received highest praise for the film), Tucci isn’t only satisfactory as impish Puck, but excels in the role. He finds moments of pathos and darkness to play, and even suggests a needy romantic relationship with his cruel master that adds layers to an otherwise playful character. But the character is, and should be, primarily playful, and the delight Tucci seems to have in playing the role shines through, so the period language never restricts his expressive performance, so it is nothingless than a pleasure to see his performance.
If you want to see how dark and contained he can be, his role in the television movie Conspiracy is as disturbing and impressive a performance as you could ask for.
Tucci is great at playing villains, but in 2009, when he finally got an Oscar nomination for playing a murderer in The Lovely Bones, his better performance was his most lovable role to date, as Paul Child in Julie & Julia. Paired with Meryl Streep’s Julia Child, they turn what could have been cringe-worthy, cartoonish, middle-aged couple into living, breathing people. You don’t just believe they existed, you want to be their friends, playing the best married partners since Nick and Nora. Tucci’s practically glows with pride when Streep’s Julia succeeds, especially when Tucci delivers a toast to her on a Valentine’s Day which will win over even the biggest cynics.
Recently, Tucci has begun appearing in more and more “popcorn movies” such as the The Hunger Games franchise, Jack the Giant Slayer, Percy Jackson franchise, and this week’s Transformers: Age of Extinction. Of these big budget films, his best performance is undeniably as the scientist in Captain America: First Avenger. Funny, perhaps just on the edge of being a little too broad, German Dr. Erskine still feels like a very real character who provides weight to a big superhero film. Tucci’s late night drinking scene with his human experiment provides the best scene in the film, and punctuates it with the funniest scene in the movie. As the greatest Dr. Frankenstein ever, the only problem is how relatively small the role is.
One of the performances you may have missed which is more than deserving of note, specifically because of the performances, is his two character film Some Velvet Morning (2013) by Neil LaBute. The film received the typical complaints that LaBute’s films get (and deserve) and is like most, Some Velvet Morning is ultimately characteristically cruel to the audience. But Tucci’s performance is undeniably brilliant, even while being frightening and uncomfortable to watch. From pathetic married man having an affair, to abusive ex, and finally chilling threat, his real time transition is disturbingly realistic…and the last moments proof why he’s becoming a secret weapon in movies.
What is Stanley Tucci’s greatest performance?
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