Burn Notice and B Movie Actors

Just another quick jaunt through my mind. So I've finally gotten into the show Burn Notice. It's taken me time though. I couldn't quite put my finger on it until recently.

Typically, I love a good B movie. They're campy, cheep, fun. And ultimately you see hungry up-and-comers that are really putting themselves on the line to make it or break it. Which leads to what caught my initial interest in the show, Bruce Campbell. I've been a huge fan of his for years. The initial ads for the show didn't win me over. Instead I was looking at it as a cheap, American knock-off of Mission Impossible. But with Bruce being cast, I felt it would only be right to give it a shot.

So I tried, failed. Tried again, and failed again. I just couldn't figure out what was throwing it. The dialogue was good, the filming was good, effects great, there's some good acting here. And it hit me, it's the acting of the main character. He's good with voices and accents, but ultimately he's just walking in, chin high, and delivering lines. I don't feel him. Not only that, but watching his movement kills me. He doesn't seem like a spy, or that he's even trying to play one. The most honest acting he does is when he's putting on a "please don't hit me" act for the bad guys. He just strikes me as a straight up sissy.

Now, I've watched all the way up through the end of season 4. It's steadily gotten better. The other actors are great, and the story has stayed true. I'm not seeing Michael Weston as much of an act now because Jeffrey Donovan has finally gotten comfortable (though not entirely connected) with the character. But it's evolving quicker and quicker, and I have hope to actually be pulled in completely fairly soon. I'm really liking it now. 

This is really why I don't care much for many well established actors. For instance Tom Cruise. Back in his early days he had emotion, and something tangible. Today, it doesn't matter if he's a spy, or Jerry Maguire, he plays it all the same. It makes him just another over paid actor, but once in a while, he breaks away from his norm and shows us he still has a little gas in the trunk. Such as when he portrayed Les Grossman.Then you have the likes of Nic Cage, who also has fallen in the rut of different characters generally being the same. What makes him different is when he tries to do something different, he comes across as freakin NUTS!

But when you get a B movie actor, you know it's truly for the love of film. That's probably why the Bruce Campbell's, Roddy Piper's, and Adrian Paul's keep their magic. They've seen glory, utter crap, risen again just to find they're standing knee deep in the sewer, and they keep coming back for more.

Hail to the B actor actor baby. And here's to Burn Notice getting better.