Saturday, March 20, 2010

Original Movie. Ok, Not Original, but Potentially Amusing

New Gilligan's Island?  I must have missed this in my trip prep, but we have multiple outlets recommending a cast.  Too bad they did not consult an expert like myself, given the hours I put in a long time ago.
  • Gilligan:
    • EW:  Andy Samberg.  Samberg would be fine if it was pure silly over-the-top, perhaps too old.
    • NYT: Michael Cera.  Not bad, but I prefer bumbling to awkward.
    • People: Justin Long
    • SPEW: Jesse Eisenberg of Zombieland or Justin Long.
  •  Skipper:
    • EW/People: Philip Seymour Hoffman.  Inspired choice.
    • NYT: Nick Offerman of Parks and Rec.  He might be good, but I don't know his stuff that well.
    • SPEW: Hoffman.  Inspired, as Hoffman has all the pitches, and throw inside and outside.  John Goodman can also rock here.  A potentially odd but interesting choice would be Jeff Bridges.
  • Mr. Howell
    • EW: Stanley Tucci.  Again, inspired
    • NYT: Michael Duncan Clarke?  
    • People: George Clooney.  Sorry, the lead is Gilligan. Clooney would distract too much.
    • SPEW: Tucci.  He, like Hoffman, can do it all.  Pathos, humor, etc.
  • Mrs. Howell
    • EW: Christine Baranski
    • NYT: Jennifer Lopez
    • People: Susan Sarandon.
    • SPEW: Any of these would be good.
  • The Professor
    • EW: Greg Kinnear
    • NYT: Robert Downey, Jr.  
    • People: John Krasinski.  Not bad.
    • SPEW: Either Kinnear or RD, Jr. are good choices.  Having just watched Tropic Thunder on NZ TV again, I would have to go with Downey.  He just owns it.
  • Ginger:
    • EW/NYT vote for Christina Hendricks.  Cannot argue with that, but Debra Messing would also work--strong comic chops.  Still Christina has more oomph.
    • People: Beyonce.  Oh my.  Done and done.
  • Mary Ann (and, of course, I was a Mary Ann guy):
    • EW: Anna Kendrick.  Not a bad choice.
    • NYT: Zooey Deschanel.  
    • People: Ginnifer Goodwin.  Sorry, she could not carry "He's Not that Into You".
    • SPEW:  I was thinking Rachel Bilson to bring the kids in despite being a big Zooey fan.  If they want to go younger still, then Miley Cyrus.  
Lots of options in each position.  It really depends on what mix of over-the-top spoof/clever parody they are going for.

    1 comment:

    Jacob T. Levy said...

    Hoffman and Tucci in a Gilligan's Island movie would be *serious* acting chops overkill. The handful of minutes I saw of the Flintstones movie on an airplane convinced me that putting a Goodman-caliber actor in place does not necessarily elevate the material...