I've been watching that mathematician guy. Part 1.

By coincidence I got a peek of the latest Law & Order: Criminal Intent opening and recognized Jeff Goldblum as one of the detectives.
I had no idea the guy had ever been in a series so I took a look at his IMDB page. I then realized that I hadn't really watched many of his films at all. He kind of always stuck me as an eccentric supporting actor. To me he's best known as the mathematician guy Ian Malcom from Jurassic Park. 
So with that in mind it's time for me to take a deep dive into Jeff Goldblum's work, learn about his acting abilities and find my favourite characters, films and the answer to the question: "can he really act?"

First some general Goldblum knowledge:
He's known for his unusual speech pattern, pauses in funny places, stutters now and then, often puts "uhms" and "aaaahhs" in his sentences. He's known to play nerdy scientists but that is a small part of the types he has portrayed. He has, may I say, a beautifully  expressive face, almost to the extent of cartoony. This together with erratic behaviour, nervous rants, piano playing, hand waving and a soft voice is all known as.... 

And if you think he has attained this acting style by many years of increasing eccentricity......

....Wwwwwhat?! How dare you! My acting has always been this refined.

  

First I'll have a look at the characters.

"Aaaahh.... I'm too stoned to decipher that."

Bob in Dallas 362

I can't even try to imagine how tired and bored Scott Caan must have been when he came up with this character's name. It's so unsuitable, Goldblum doesn't look like a Bob, there's nothing Bob about him.

Why this guy?
Apart from the distraction of his name, Bob appears to be a very pleasant character. His situation is a bit awkward since he's the therapist for the troubled lead but also the lover of his client's mother. Funny thing is, everybody are okay with that.
Judging by his home his economy is good and he's well mannered, so he's like a safe haven. 

You know, when I entered your place I became instantly dizzy for some reason.

I felt like adding this snapshot.

Even though he's happily stoned and laid-back he's aware of his challenging situation in keeping confidentiality. He has only one little outburst and even then he comes off as nice. Bob is overall just a sweetie-pie with a very stable personality. He's like plush and the other characters are lucky to have him around. 

Very lucky indeed :)

The film Dallas 362 is okay. There's some neat stylistic choices in some scenes but the story itself about troubled friendship didn't really draw me in. 

"I've NEVER expected metal ships."   

 Jack Bellicec in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

A group of San Francisco resident friends discover that the world is in the process of being taken over by aliens. Every person in the city is duplicated by a new born alien copy, the original withers and crumbles to dust.

  
Why this guy?

His rant at a book party illustrates perfectly why I find this character a blast. 

Watch out, this one is bitter:

He is so bitter that tears flow from his eyes. 

It's awkward and childlike which make me 

wonder about his upbringing. 

I guess his dream wasn't to work at a mud-bath.

"Carl, go take a walk in the rain."

Agent Fulbright in Fay Grim.

Quite a humourless CIA agent, Fulbright, is on a constant hunt after a mysterious guy named Henry Fool. Latter wrote some books that functions as plot devices in a story about espionage. 

The film insists that there's something fishy about Fulbright, it comes down to the truth about the books and the fact that he was in Afghanistan at the same time as Henry. 

"Fay Grim" is a sequel to "Henry Fool" which was a different type of movie.

Well, what do I care what you think of me.

Why this guy?

Goldblum is acting serious and intense in a farce that plays out like a thriller but shows to be nothing but a farce. The plot is so messy to follow that I wonder if it was ever meant to be understood at all. 

Frankly I doubt that Goldblum had any idea of what half of the character's lines meant, but he is completely convincing as someone with knowledge and determination. He doesn't flinch away for a second from the deadpan act.  

He's all business, he's blatantly rude to his partner, he doesn't seem to like anybody, he get's easily annoyed and acts like he's under a lot of stress. 

At the end of the film I couldn't help feeling sad for him. He wasn't given any redeeming qualities but still I can't see that he deserved what was getting to him. It was like the writer didn't give him a chance.  

Did this man have a life at all?

Uptight and lonely.

"My way is simpler. I was just gonna shoot you once in the forehead and then go home. "

Mickey Holliday in Mad Dog Time.

Brass balls you say. Prove it!

Suave and swaggering, acting like he's at the top of the game. He knows he's in trouble because Vic's getting out of the loony bin, Mick has been entertaining the girlfriend of Vic and the whole mobster community can't wait for Mickey Holliday's demise.
Everyone seem to want him dead, one foe nuttier than the first one. Mickey has to constantly prove himself in duels and intrigues. They all have a hope that Vic will make sure Mickey will end up in an early grave but just to be sure they keep challenging him. Bullets flies and blood flow.
When it comes to Vic Mickey has an ace up his sleeve, only he knows where Vic's pregnant girlfriend Grace is.     

This room is very popular.

Why this guy?
This is one of the most controlled Goldblum performances I've seen and that's in a over-the-top parody of gangster movies. He could easily have done a classic nervous Goldblum in this film but clearly it's not what the director wanted. Mickey is the most normal character in a gallery of stereotypes. He does his best to keep an stern face but you can see underneath he's dead out scared. Goldblum acts carefully on a fine line opposite extremely caricatured characters.

Freshly out of the loony bin, yay.

It has gotten some beating from critics (yeah I'm looking at you Ebert) but from my point of view it's an entertaining film. Even though most of the characters are absurd it's not impossible to not care about some of them. The surroundings are few but rich. I love the Art Deco styled club and the mahogany furniture.

I dedicate this silver gun to Gabriel Byrne for the most ridiculous performance ever.

"I'm an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it. But now the dream is over... and the insect is awake."

Seth Brundle in The Fly.

David Cronenberg is known for his gory but elegant studies of the flesh (hey this sounds disgusting already). This is what the film is, disgusting but I love Cronenberg's nasty imagination. In his hands the gore turns poetic and interesting. The Fly has the themes that is well know material for Cronenberg fans, metamorphosis, horror that emerge from within, mutation, disintegration of the body and recreation. The film is a remake but it belongs to the rare collection of good remakes.

Seth Brundle has achieved what others have dreamt about, he has constructed teleportation devices. All they need is some tweaking to work properly..... uh oh.

Animal abuse, part of Seth's job.

Why this guy?

Seth Brundle has one sympathetic character trait, he's a brilliant scientist. Unfortunately for him his jealousy and impatience devours his ability to think rationally. One drunken hazed trip in the transporter together with a uninvited fly brings the result of..... something that wanna make me puke.   

Granted Seth goes through a slow metamorphosis after the insect fusions with him, so he's not hideous in the very beginning. It doesn't take long though before it's obvious his body has started to rot giving nutriment for what's developing underneath his skin. 

His reaction and feelings fluctuates from anger, persistence, fright, sadness to acceptance and excitement. "It wants to... turn me into something else. That's not too terrible is it? Most people would give anything to be turned into something else." 

It's sad, that is the film's intention. Between the gore it plays out as a tragedy as Seth's girlfriend has to witness his disintegration without being able to help him.       

Goldblum must have been a great sport for doing this, he doesn't only make Quasimodo look hot in comparison, but it must have been tiring sitting in the make-up chair for ages. Both physical and acting wise is he a catch for this part. He works perfectly in the role as a eager scientist who turns sexually aggressive and he's surprisingly insect like already early on.    

 

More to come....