MovieChat Forums > Grand Canyon (1992) Discussion > Steve Martin

Steve Martin

posted 19 years ago by ijonesiii
14 replies | jump to latest

Just had to start a thread regarding Steve Martin's performance in this film. I think he was a real standout in this film, giving his best performance since ROXANNE. Anyone agree?

[–] ksooby 19 years ago

Yes... outstanding!

What a magnificent film! Truly one of the best of the 1990s. God I wish Lawrance Kasdan would make still make them like this.. we sure need it!

[–] ijonesiii 19 years ago

Yeah, Lawrence Kasdan was the man back in the 1980's...what happened to him? He was building an impressive body of work and then kind of disappeared.

[–] stevenackerman69 17 years ago

Kasdan's last film was Mumford in 1999. That film and this one didn't do well box office wise so when that happens you sort of lose your standing in Hollywood community.

[–] gray_epl 18 years ago

Quite possibly my favourite Steve Martin performance ever. Not that I don't like his comedy material, some of it is pure genious, but he has made some pretty bad unfunny movies. This was the first time I saw a "serious" Steve, and I really liked it. And, perhaps, LA Story.

[–] Isaac5855 17 years ago

This is the only Steve Martin performance that tops ROXANNE...I agree wholeheartedly. For me, this is still Steve Martin's best performance.

[–] Sonovaphuk 17 years ago

Steve Martin is excellent in this movie. But to be fair, take a look at his other dramatic roles such as A Simple Twist of Fate and Shopgirl. He has been a quality actor for years. And this movie was one of his first cracks at real drama. Not to break up this Steve Martin lovefest. Admit it, everyone's dark side got a chuckle out of his going into shock after getting shot in the holdup; twitching in a pool of his own blood, vomit and urine.

[–] Isaac5855 17 years ago

I didn't see SHOPGIRL, but he was excellent in A SIMPLE TWIST OF FATE. I still say GRAND CANYON was his best performance though.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] stevenackerman69 17 years ago

Yes, especially when we see him at the screening of that violent film he is producing and smiling at all the carnage and then protests about some shot missing. Martin's character is typical of many producers out there who are on automatic pilot and throwing sick crap at us. Too bad this film didn't do well in its initial release.

[–] starry42 12 years ago

If I'm not mistaken, his character in this film was based on producer Joel Silver. While I do prefer the comical Steve Martin, he did a damn good job in this film. I enjoyed every moment he appeared on screen, especially the scene you were referring to.

[–] stevenackerman69 16 years ago

Another good performance he gave where he should've gotten an Oscar nod was Parenthood in 1989. He made me laugh out loud with tears coming out of my eyes when he sang that Diarhhea song in the nightmare sequence.

[–] vinidici 12 years ago

Another good performance he gave where he should've gotten an Oscar nod was Parenthood in 1989.

Yes, I enjoyed Martin in that. I didn't view it as a comedic role; more like a dramatic role with comic relief moments or Martin's character having an exuberant sense of humor (especially when playing with his young children.)

Okay folks, show's over, nothing to see here!

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] HarveyManfredSinJohn 10 years ago

I think Martin was at his best in 'Parenthood'. Even though I'm not a parent, and probably never will be, I find his character there very relatable, and much of that has to do with Martin's sensitive, empathetic performance. In fact, Martin only had his first child a few years ago, so he certainly had no personal experience of fatherhood when he made that film.

He's also brilliant in 'Roxanne', but I must admit I was a tad disappointed by his presence in 'Grand Canyon'. I like this film a lot, but I was a huge Steve Martin fan when it first came out and was expecting him to feature more prominently during the film, but his screen-time is fairly minimal. Also, whilst I appreciated the dramatic aspects of the movie I guess I was hoping for some comedy work from Martin having adored his 1980s comedy movies.

Ultimately, I thought Danny Glover gave the best male performance in this film.