There was a time when John Cusack was a stable shortcut to a good movie for me. If he was in it, it was going to be pretty good.
He had a great run of playing offbeat characters. Not ‘offbeat’ like you’re pitching a feel-good indy picture.
Offbeat in a way that was actually off the beat. A little different. A little more interesting than they ought to be. His performances suggested layers of depth.
He had soul too. And he could carry a movie.
And darned if the ladies didn’t love him.
From the deep cut of Say Anything… to the suave hitman of Grosse Pointe Blank to the lovable man-child of High Fidelity, John Cusack set hearts aflutter.
But we care nothing of accumulated Hotness. No no.
If ever a star smouldered their whole career, it has be be Marisa Tomei. When someone asks me to define ‘lithe’ I say: ‘Marisa Tomei.’ And they get it.
She’s talented and hot, a deadly combination.
But when did that combo as manifest in Marisa Tomei reach its Zenith of Hotness?
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My Cousin Vinny (1992)
Only You (1994)
The Watcher (2000)
In the Bedroom (2001)
Someone Like You (2001)
The Guru (2002)
Alfie (2004)
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)
The Wrestler (2008)
(And yes, I’m aware Marisa was hot in Wild Hogs. But really. I have no knowledge of the film. I have a hunch it could claim the title as worst release in the 21 century.)
Ms. Keener rose to prominence at a relatively late age. She didn’t get regular film work until her late thirties. Before that, she worked as a casting agent–an odd transition, particularly for a woman over thirty in Hollywood.
She’s certainly managed to carve out a spot as a serious actor. She’s got an easy manner on-screen, a kind of laid-back charisma that’s really charming.
Plus, look at that list of movies. With the glaring exception of S1m0ne, she can really pick the off-beat (and often dark) comedies.
At the age of 50, has she reached her zenith? Or is it still to come?
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Your Friends & Neighbors (1998)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
S1m0ne (2002)
The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
Friends with Money (2006)
Capote (2007)
Hamlet 2 (2008)
Thanks to BlogTheCat for the suggestion of Ms. Keener.
Five years ago, I wrote a blog post in praise of this Ukranian born model-actress-singer-fashion designer quadruple-threat:
Then there’s her inexplicable choices of roles. She apparently was once quoted as saying ‘I’m still an artist. I’m never gonna do a shit movie, because I’ve got my modeling to support me.’ That doesn’t really explain much of her movie career, fraught as it is with flops and monster flicks . Surely she gets offered more average love-interest roles than a gun-wielding zombie killer. Yet, for reasons than aren’t apparent, she goes with the zombie killer.
She’s surely had one of the weirdest careers in Hollywood. Whether she’s playing a drugged-old high school girl or Joan of Arc, she’s feirce and lovely in every role.
Incidentally, Ms. Jovovich really started her movie career with Return to Blue Lagoon. Put she was only 15 years old when she shot it, so the Ghost World Rule applies. At 34, has she hit her peak yet?
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Dazed and Confused (1993)
The Fifth Element (1997)
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
Zoolander (2001)
Resident Evil (2002)
Ultraviolet (2006)
Thanks to Boris for the suggestion of Milla. He’s of Germanic descent, and thus has affection for Eastern European starlets.
From early appearances on CHiPS and Fantasy Island, Michelle Pfeiffer evolved into a beauty who packed everything from malice to innocence with her chiselled features.
It might hurt, but it hurt so good.
That edge helped her land her first big role as Elvira Hancock in Scarface. She matched Pacino’s energy and grandstanding and earned a succession of roles that packed more hotness into a few years than most have in a lifetime. Yowzer!
Pfeiffer’s sexiness was always her own and no one else’s. But we are her audience, we demand judgement!
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Scarface (1983)
The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
Tequila Sunrise (1988)
The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)
Batman Returns (1992)
Dangerous Minds (1995)
I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007)
Thanks to Derek K Miller for the Michelle Pfeiffer suggestion. Suppose he’s a Pfan.
Born Demetria Gene Guynes, Demi Moore hails from Roswell, New Mexico but has never played a hot alien.
A good proxy for her range of hotness may be her hair. From backcombed brat packer in St. Elmo’s Fire to shorn mushroom in Ghost to bald and bristly in G.I. Jane, Ms Moore seems determined to use her plumage to show her character.
But forget that and the odd names for her children (Rumer, Scout LaRue and Tallulah Belle) and lame jokes about her body of work speaking for itself. Because we’re here to handle the truth.
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St. Elmo’s Fire (1985)
About Last Night… (1986)
Ghost (1990)
A Few Good Men (1992)
Indecent Proposal (1993)
Striptease (1996)
G.I. Jane (1997)
Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003)
Thanks to Trevor O of Layerboom for the suggestion of doing Demi Moore. Don’t mind if I do.
He can play the hero. He can make the ladies swoon. He can play a room for laughs. He brought Jim Morrison back from the dead. He’s the Ice Man: Val Kilmer.
And his career has some outstanding cheesecake roles that take full advantage of those pouty lips and chiseled features.
So many moments of hotness, but what Zenith of Hotness?
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Top Secret! (1984)
Top Gun (1986)
Willow (1988)
Heat (1995)
Spartan (2004)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Credits and Suggestions
Thanks to Raul for the suggestion of doing Val Kilmer.
Have a suggestion of your own?
Hit us up with the hotness. Heck, even suggest the works and send us some images to put a heater on the hotness.
She’s been a princess, Jane Austen and a beard. She’s also the heir apparent to Julia Roberts for widest mouth in Hollywood. All before the age of thirty. Has she peaked, or is that still to come? The inclusion of that particular photo from Havoc may skew the results set unfairly.
Despite her Oscar, I don’t think she can act her way out of a wet paper bag. I don’t even think she could act her way out of an imaginary box into which she put herself during mime class.
However, acting ability doesn’t necessarily jibe with hotness (see also Steve Buscemi). So, pray tell, when did Ms. Berry achieve her maximum hotness?
No matter how you pronounce her last name, Kim Basinger is undeniably lovely.
She started her career as a model, made some cheesecake moves along the way, developed an amazing giggle and startled look and finally earned critical acclaim and an oscar for her role in L.A. Confidential.
Sure, that’s dandy. But: when did Kimila Ann Basinger reach her Zenith of Hotness?
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