Kim Basinger, SO BAD! - Cellular (2004) Discussion

[–] andre_giao 14 years ago

Yeah, of course. You're kidnaped, then your child is also kidnaped, they try to kill your husband and you think her reactions are... overacting?! She protrayed a real woman in a real situation. I think people are sometimes confused by the Hollywood stereotype: a woman in a film shoud be a strong and manly one (just check the characters that made Charlize Theron or Hilary Swank get an Oscar) and everytime there's a genuine actress that delivers a vulnerable way of being feminin - like Kim Basinger - she's slammed.

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[–] ScorpionTDC 11 years ago

You're confusing writing with acting. While her character was fairly well written, Kim gave an awful performance. Watch some high quality horrors if you really want to see what acting scared should be like, because it's not what Kim did

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[–] TMC-4 (20258) 7 years ago

Can an actor give an awful performance even though their character is otherwise fairly well written?

https://www.quora.com/Can-an-actor-give-an-awful-performance-even-though-their-character-is-otherwise-fairly-well-written

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[–] windowview 14 years ago

What's with people criticizing her performance? It was great, and very credible.

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[–] michaelexarkun 14 years ago

I didn't think the performance was bad at all.

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[–] raceface 14 years ago

It was horrible! Her studdering nervousness was sooo over-the-top. She should have won a "razzie" for this performance!!

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[–] alekesam 13 years ago

I thought this was actually one of her better performances tho' as I'm partial to KB I'm biased so that my comment with a grain of salt.

Just my one cent since I can't afford two.

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[–] nginx 13 years ago

I actually found the acting realistic and honest given the situation she was in. I mean come on, she was held hostage along with her son and she knew her family would be shot dead as soon as the dirty cops got what they wanted. Anybody would be overwhelmed with nervousness and fear in that situation.

She actually controlled herself well. Most women would have died screaming in her position instead of using her brain to fix the telephone and ask for help.

He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither ~ B. Franklin

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[–] bluepolkadotsxo 13 years ago

She's very dramatic? Four men broke into her home, shot her housekeeper, put her in an attic, and her own life and the life of her 11 year old son and husband was in danger. Please. Like you wouldn't be flipping *beep*

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[–] gljbradley 13 years ago

No way. She was incredible in this. Her actions as Jessica in this film were understandable. Her life and the lives of her son and husband were in serious danger. How else was she suppose to act?

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[–] Lucky-Dollar 11 years ago

She was extremely bad in this film. So bad that I was shocked. I find it funny that so many people actually thought her performance was solid. First of all, a solid performance is never forced. This was forced with a big F.

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[–] chuko3 11 years ago

She was extremely good in this film reacting to a very extreme situation. I don't understand what you mean by "forced." Her performance appeared convincing to me.

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[–] bh110027 11 years ago

Its like people expected her to either A: go commando and kick butt or B: curl up into a ball and wait to die. It was refreshing to see C: Frightened, scared, emotionally distressed but still able to use her brain to get help and try to escape with her son. And to top it off she didn't trip or fall or do something stupid in her escape attempt, it was only after her husband was thrust in front of the car at gunpoint that she stopped.

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[–] TMC-4 (20258) 7 years ago

http://siouxcityjournal.com/entertainment/movies/drama-isn-t-put-on-hold-in-cellular/article_9eceb206-cc3c-5861-b069-aa76b33b41b8.html

Basinger is far too dramatic for her own good. She's pitched so high there's nowhere for her performance to go. As a result, she's worked up into a frenzy throughout, smiling only in the film's very last minutes.

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2006/01/the-movie-review-red-eye-and-flightplan/69417/

Cellular (2004). Kim Basinger seems to me a meta-actress: She knows there's a craft called acting and she's seen it up close enough times that she can manage a reasonable facsimile. In Cellular, her typically mannered performance as a kidnapped high-school teacher is a little off-putting.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2004/09/16/cellular_2004_review.shtml

Sometimes the humour is unintentional: Basinger's guffaw-ful performance is so breathlessly OTT it's like watching Bette Davis having an asthma attack.

https://yts.yt/reviews/cellular-2004-720p

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[–] GordonsGekko 11 years ago

I agree, She was AWFUL. It was almost comical.

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[–] Sidewindr 9 years ago

Her performance was actually laughable. Me and a friend watched it and thought "How has she won an Oscar!?" She's very dramatic in this film and not in a good way!!

Your grammar is actually laughable, I suggest you fix that before critiquing people's acting abilities..

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[–] TMC-4 8 years ago

I don’t know what the hell Kim was thinking when she decided she wanted to do that type of movie? It seemed like this was her own type of “female empowerment” (like that While She Was Out movie) as means of getting revenge so to speak against people in her past like Alec Baldwin.

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