I think I know why some people did not "feel" anything from Val's personality. When you've got two really experienced actors like Williams and Lane, someone like
Dan is going to appear to be a little flat or the weak link. Williams and Lane are just to dynamic to make Val's character any MORE than what it was. That's just my opinion.
"Self-reflection is the hardest thing for SOME people to do!"
And I for one wouldn't disagree with you, fpgirl.
To add to what you said, though, I think it's fair to say the role of the son is pretty weak, regardless of who plays it (and it was perhaps the weakest part of the original French movie, as well). He's really there to act as a catalyst for the plot; and since it's a farce, the action doesn't stop very much to explore who he is or how he feels about any of this.
I personally think Dan Futterman does a good job in this version, albeit in a role that doesn't really give him a lot to do, and I'm not inclined to blame him for any perceived weakness in the portrayal of Val.
You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.
I agree with you, puirt-a-buel
"Self-reflection is the hardest thing for SOME people to do!"
IMO Val acted like a complete ass during the entire film.
shareVal acted like a complete ass through the film...but at the end of the day he had to. he loved his mother and father dearly but at the end of the day it was a strange set up for him to be meeting the respective families. i loved it at the end when he realised that he has enough and introduced, Nathan Lane's character as his true mother.
Thunderbirds Aren't Slow
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I think you guys are missing the point here. If Val had "behaved decently" there wouldn't have been a story ..
Louise, is the reverend hard to please ..?share
He and the daughter were written pretty flat anyways. The least-developed of the characters.
The movie isn't really even about them. Their marriage is just the back-drop. Its all about the two gay guys trying to disguise their homosexuality from this tight-assed, upper-class Right-wing conservatives. Them getting married is only there to make that situation happen.
Like somebody else said, too, when you're acting alongside Robin Williams and Nathan Lane... of course you'll get drown out.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljtz63RIMq1qhcd6po1_500.gif
I love the point that you made: that "the movie isn't really even about them". For real. It's definitely not.
**Michael.JACKSON**
In the one scene where he was allowed to be funny, the actor playing Val was funny.
That was the scene where he went after Robin Williams, who'd just screamed at Hank Azaria about peasant soup as the entree, to tell him to get back out there because things weren't going well. In that scene, he had a bit of a panic attack and chugged champagne directly from the bottle.