The Patrick Swayze love affair was probably going to end at some point but he had a nice little string of films in the late ’80s, early ’90s which included Dirty Dancing, Road House (a TNT classic!), the huge blockbuster that was Ghost and Point Break. He had a couple of flops after Point Break that were well before Too Wong Foo but I think Too Wong Foo was the last straw. Unlike previous box office busts, City of Joy and Fatherhood, Too Wong Foo got a ton of media attention. Remember, co-star Wesley Snipes was another big star on the rise (he just missed making this list) and people were expecting this one to be a big hit (believe it or not).
Of course, it wasn’t and Swayze has mostly disappeared.
This is Barry Levinson’s filmography from 1982 to 1991:
- Diner, The Natural
- Young Sherlock Holmes
- Tin Men
- Good Morning Vietnam
- Rain Man
- Avalon
- Bugsy
Every single one of those movies listed is a good-to-great film and almost all of them were at least moderate (for their time) hits, the one possible exception being Avalon which was more of a critical favorite than anything else. But even that film was one of those movies nobody expected to be a hit. It had no real stars and it was a period piece made relatively cheap. It’s also a really good movie. But my biggest issue with Levinson isn’t his box office takes, its the quality films he use to make and the quality of his films today. In the above nine year span, every single one of this films – with the exception of Tin Men (which isn’t an Oscar-type anyway) – was nominated for an Academy Award and his films totaled 29 nominations during this period. 29 nominations! He was clearly one of the very best – top 5 even – directors working during this period. And no one even gives him much thought these days
His artistic and box office failings truly began with Toys which was a huge bomb when it was released in 1992. It isn’t like the man didn’t have success afterwards. Disclosure and Sleepers were hits and Wag the Dog (the only really good movie he’s made since) was a critic favorite. But the guy who had that impressive nine-year run would never have made the truly awful movies that were Jimmy Hollywood, Sphere and Envy, Wow. That’s 5 total Academy Award nominations for his films in the following 16 years. and only 2 of those (the Best Actor and Adapted Screenplay for Wag The Dog) were for major awards.
I’m not sure we’ll ever see the old Barry Levinson again. He slummed it and never completely came back. But I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed anyway.
Turner was one of, if not the, biggest female star of the ’80s. She starred in Body Heat, Romancing the Stone (and it’s sequel, Jewel of the Nile), Prizzi’s Honor, Peggy Sue Got Married, The Accidental Tourist and The War of the Roses.
Two things happened when she made the forgettable (only, not really) V.I. Warshawski:
- She broke her nose because she was insistent on doing so many of her stunts and…
- Her busted face and box office flop meant the end of her career as we knew it.
Turner was one of my favorite actresses and she used to be unbelievably hot. But I really think that broken nose – and bad movie – did her in for good. We’re talking about one of the biggest stars – female or male – in Hollywood at the time. After that, it was tripe like Baby Geniuses for her. This was one of the biggest giants to fall on this list.
Here’s my take on what happened to Demi Moore.
She was getting close to becoming a “beloved” actress. Against all odds, she escaped the Brat Pack. She was in hits like About Last Night and borderline hits like The Seventh Sign. She showed range and next thing you know she’s starring with De Niro and Penn in We’re No Angels. The film bombed but she got a little respect. Then Ghost happened and she was a star, a name. She had a girl next door quality to her and I think women responded to it. She almost killed her career when she signed onto Nothing But Trouble (one of the worst movies I have ever seen) but bounced back with a well-received performance in Mortal Thoughts and box office success in the form of A Few Good Men. Indecent Proposal and Disclosure soon followed. Both hits. She tanked big with an ill-advised take on The Scarlet Letter, which I would have marked as the turning point were it not for the hype and subsequent failure of Striptease a year later.
Striptease was promoted everywhere. It was controversial and Demi was uber-hot. It opened okay but it completely tanked afterwards. One of the biggest bombs of that summer. But it wasn’t just the financial hit the movie took that I think killed her career. It was something that I think actually started with Disclosure but solidified with Striptease … women couldn’t identify with her anymore. She wasn’t the girl next door anymore. She was the stripping, adultering, corporate hellraising G.I. Jane.
