Jeff Who? Why I think Jeff Goldblum is the most under-rated actor of the 20th Century.
Adam Dalton-Wyatt
Issue date: 1/6/09 Section: Marginalia
Jeff Goldblum is the biggest drawing event movie star of all time. I know, a statement like that is a hard one to swallow. It either causes you to stare at the page, mouth agape in disbelief or raise an eyebrow in confusion - the name "Jeff Goldblum" having long ago slipped your mind.
And that's the mystery of Mr. Goldblum: all signs point to him having been the biggest star of the 90s, charming millions with his eccentric, staccato method of delivery (if you've truly forgotten him, imagine Shatner as a stereotypical Jewish man) . And yet his time on top clings to people's memories like the sheerest gossamer. All pretension aside, it is no coincidence that the biggest movies of both 1993 and 1996 featured Goldblum in a starring role.
To trace the beginning of his drawing power you need look no further than 1986's The Fly. As with all his popular roles, The Fly saw Goldblum playing a scientist in a world of science gone mad. Making a mere fraction of his future films' gross at $60 million, The Fly might not seem to be a huge success, but when judging it one must keep in mind just where it was made. Unlike his future blockbusters The Fly was not shot in America, land of huge movie attendance, but was instead a humble Canadian film. 'Nuff said.
As alluded to earlier, Jurassic Park and Independence Day were the highest grossing films of their respective years, and both featured Goldblum in prominent roles. The next "event" movie to be released was 1998's Godzilla, a movie with more publicity than God and one that proved to be an impressive flop. Fresh off the success of Independence Day (then known by the incredibly hip acronym "ID4"), Godzilla's producers decided they would one-up themselves. It must have seemed so simple: combine the monument destroying action of Independence Day with the loose dinosaur thrills of Jurassic Park, add a recognizable name brand to taste and you've got cinematic prime rib. Ten years later it is obvious what Jurassic Park and Independence Day had that Godzilla lacked: Goldblum.
And that's the mystery of Mr. Goldblum: all signs point to him having been the biggest star of the 90s, charming millions with his eccentric, staccato method of delivery (if you've truly forgotten him, imagine Shatner as a stereotypical Jewish man) . And yet his time on top clings to people's memories like the sheerest gossamer. All pretension aside, it is no coincidence that the biggest movies of both 1993 and 1996 featured Goldblum in a starring role.
To trace the beginning of his drawing power you need look no further than 1986's The Fly. As with all his popular roles, The Fly saw Goldblum playing a scientist in a world of science gone mad. Making a mere fraction of his future films' gross at $60 million, The Fly might not seem to be a huge success, but when judging it one must keep in mind just where it was made. Unlike his future blockbusters The Fly was not shot in America, land of huge movie attendance, but was instead a humble Canadian film. 'Nuff said.
As alluded to earlier, Jurassic Park and Independence Day were the highest grossing films of their respective years, and both featured Goldblum in prominent roles. The next "event" movie to be released was 1998's Godzilla, a movie with more publicity than God and one that proved to be an impressive flop. Fresh off the success of Independence Day (then known by the incredibly hip acronym "ID4"), Godzilla's producers decided they would one-up themselves. It must have seemed so simple: combine the monument destroying action of Independence Day with the loose dinosaur thrills of Jurassic Park, add a recognizable name brand to taste and you've got cinematic prime rib. Ten years later it is obvious what Jurassic Park and Independence Day had that Godzilla lacked: Goldblum.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Joyce
posted 1/06/09 @ 3:54 PM EST
Hey great article! :) I hope you don't mind, I posted this to my website. I gave you full credit! Thanks in advance! <3
Ida
posted 1/06/09 @ 6:25 PM EST
Great article. Still can't get my head around why so many hate The Lost World though. I thought it was great.
kricket
posted 1/11/09 @ 12:16 AM EST
good job adam!!
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