TOP 100 ACTOR SITES
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| Leap Year: The Worst Film of 2010 What do romantic comedies have against women? In Leap Year, it's Amy Adams' turn to get hazed feedproxy.google.com |
Stiller, Hilton, other celebs urge quake relief NEW YORK (AP) -- Paris Hilton, Ben Stiller and Lindsay Lohan are among the celebrities and artists urging support for victims of the earthquake in Haiti.... hosted.ap.org |
Denzel surprised by screen success Denzel Washington never set out to be a movie star. breakingnews.ie |
Suspect in celeb burglary case faces new charges LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A woman accused of burglarizing Paris Hilton's house faces new charges after appearing in court wearing a necklace belonging to Lindsay Lohan.... hosted.ap.org |
What to say about ... The Little Dog Laughed The critics find this satire on Hollywood sexual hypocrisy rather chilly, but there's one thing they agree on: Tamsin Greig is brilliantThis is what people mean when they talk about someone stealing the show. While opinions differ on the overall success of Douglas Carter Beane's imported comedy of Hollywood manners, on one subject all critical voices sing in unison: Tamsin Greig, as the witty, scheming agent Diane, is fabulous."Greig is phenomenal as corrupt Hollywood ambition incarnate," says Paul Taylor in the Independent. Michael Billington agrees: "The play belongs to Diane," he writes. And so does Henry Hitchings: "Her diction and poise are razor-sharp," he says. "When she's offstage, the audience longs to have her back." And here's Charles Spencer in the Telegraph: "A thrilling star turn," he says. "This is high-definition comic acting at its finest.""If Miss Greig was not present," Quentin Letts ungrammatically implores Daily Mail readers, "would anyone return for the second half?"Personally, I think quite a funny little drama could be written about the awkward scene that must have played out in the Garrick dressing rooms as Greig read all these notices with her neglected co-stars, and struggled to conceal her delight.But then surely they all knew that this was going to happen? A big success on Broadway, The Little Dog Laughed centres on the story of a secretly gay actor, Mitchell (Rupert Friend), whose agent wants him to star in a movie adaption of a play about two gay men. In order to make him a hit, however, she needs to give the play a nice straight ending, while also keeping Mitchell's real sexuality a secret – a feat that becomes more difficult when he falls in love with a bisexual rent boy called Alex (Harry Lloyd), who happens to have a girlfriend (Gemma Arterton). And in such stories, which pit a ruthless charmer against some amiable saps (ie Dangerous Liaisons, Entourage, Paradise Lost …), the audience's affection is only ever going to go one way.What they'll think of the whole play, however, is another matter. "Everyone looks good, talks fast and lives life in extremis," says Sarah Hemming, who must be used to that sort of thing at the FT. "[But] the high-octane style stands in the way of subtle or convincing emotional work, so you can't feel much for the characters," she complains. And Hitchings agrees. "There is a lack of resonance, warmth and depth," he reckons. "The play is smart, but clever-clever rather than intelligent." While in Christopher Hart, the Sunday Times reviewer, all this superciliousness seems to have provoked something close to rage. "This is woefully lame," he cries. "As satire, The Little Dog Laughed is toothless, and as a love story, it is utterly unengaging. Jamie Lloyd's direction is dull except when it's being contrived, and the set is tedious and repetitive."And yet, such quibbles aside, Billington and Spencer did manage to enjoy themselves. "The play may be too showbizzy for some tastes," Billington accepts, "but, behind its Manhattan waspishness, lurks a general truth: while Hollywood may be the global dream-factory, it still lies about its operatives' sex-lives." And Spencer detects some wisdom too. "There is a terrific scene," he enthuses, "in which agent, actor, rent-boy and the rent-boy's girlfriend come together and the show moves off in a splendidly cynical, entirely unexpected direction that offers sharp satire on our inane, dishonest, celebrity-fixated culture." Mmm. No doubt TV's Greig and Lloyd, Arterton the Bond girl, and Keira Knightley's boyfriend would agree.Do say: My client "suffers from a slight recurring case of homosexuality" (then wait for laughter to die down).Don't say: Yes, but there have been several gay(ish) female leads, haven't there? Lindsay Lohan, Anne Heche … and er … some other ones. Maybe.The reviews reviewed: Tamsin Greig! Whoo! Yeah! Whoop!TheatreWest EndGemma ArtertonLeo Benedictusguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |