There are some actors whose mere presence on the bill puts you in a good mood. Patricia Clarkson does this for me. Joan Cusack, Judy Greer, Ben Shenkman, Harry Dean Stanton. Steve Zahn owns this territory. From Reality Bites to Joy Ride, I’ll watch just about any movie this guy shows up in. Many I’m willing to wait for the DVD. Management (what kind of movie title is that?), I’m looking at you.
So it was with gusto that I hauled my ass out of the heat and caught the 10 a.m. showing of A Perfect Getaway, which incidentally is a great fun piece of air-conditioned throwaway about a couple on their Hawaii hiking trip who run into fingerprint-shaving murderers. There were three people in the theater, which might account for its modest $5+ million opening. But I got my Zahn fix. And I’ve got a new girl crush on Samantha Who? alum Kiele Sanchez, who plays a Georgia girl who can disembowel a goat.
Now, A Perfect Getaway was made for $14 million. It’ll play well on DVD. I say it’s a nifty B movie. (Our Lisa Schwarzbaum says B-.) But what’s remarkable is that it is essentially a Steve Zahn vehicle. He’s the biggest star. His wife is played by former supermodel Milla Jovovich who tells Zahn’s character that “I’ll give you a B.J. in the car.” How does Zahn do it? He’s a character actor who gets to play the romantic lead in a Jennifer Aniston movie. Granted, I heard it sucked. But Hollywood gives him genuine opportunities. So what is it going to take to convince someone to give Cusack or Greer a similarly front and center role. I don’t want to see Greer playing second banana to a blown-out bigger star for the rest of her career. I want her to get some Zahn action.
Here he is kicking genial ass back in 1998 promoting the underrated John Hamburg movie Safe Men on Conan. Nice biceps, man.
Any fellow Steve Zahn fans out there? What actors will you stick around to watch even if they’re in a so-so movie? What character actor do you wish could snag onto some starring roles?
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I loved him in Rescue Dawn. Such a good movie.
I was going to write the same thing. I cannot believe that he was getting more dramatic or even bigger supporting parts after that. The man more than proved that he can hold his own against marque( did I spell that right?)
actors
I like all the people you listed.
Steve Zahn is deserving of bigger (or better) roles. He’s charming, funny and-based on how he was rocking that black T-shirt, kinda hot.
Sahara, a totally underrated movie. Does the plot make much sense? No not really, but who cares? It’s a lot of fun to watch, mainly because of Steve.
Love Steve Zahn. I’ll watch him in anything.
I was also one of the few who saw “A Perfect Getaway” this weekend, and I was also pleasantly surprised by it. Pretty good movie! Nothing mind-blowing, but well-made, fun B-movie suspense.
Yes! And if you feel the way I do, RUN, don’t walk, and rent HAPPY, TEXAS. Awesome comedy with Zahn pretending to be lovers with Jeremy Northam and instead being courted by actually-gay cop William H. MAcy.
Actually, it was Jeremy Northam’s character who was courted by Macy. Steve strikes up a romance with Illeana Douglas.
So in one movie, we’ve got Zahn, Douglas, Northam and Macy. That’s FOUR underrated actors right there. (It also features Paul Dooley, Mo Gaffney and Ally Walker.)
Happy, Texas is one of my favorite movies! So good!!! Everyone is great in it!
SAVING SILVERMEN!!!!!!!!
a totally underrated comedy.
I hate to say that the only movie I remember seeing Steve Zahn in is “That Thing You Do.” Sorry. But I did like his character and how he performed in it.
I will always watch Alan Rickman in movies, even those duds he puts out. I got through Bottle Shock and enjoyed it mostly thanks to him. Also, love love love Steve Zahn in Joy Ride. And A Perfect Getaway is a perfect getaway for the summer. It’s a nice thriller with some twists and turns and it’s great to get out of the heat with.
me too!
I love Steve Zahn, even in Stuart Little 2.
I’ve been a Steve Zahn fan since he played Phoebe’s formerly gay ice dancer husband on Friends, and a Judy Greer fan since What Women Want (in which she was the only redeeming feature). She always seems to get stuck in the “quirky best friend” role that Joan Cusack once owned. I’d love to see Judy Greer and Steve Zahn team up for a movie! It would be guaranteed to be hilarious and well acted.
Steve Zahn is a great actor and I’m glad he’s given a chance in hollywood. I do wish he would get some better scripts more often but at the same time he’s always working without all the negative press that follows most celebrities around. It would be nice to be a celebrity and actually have privacy.
I too love Steve Zahn, he was great in “That Thing You Do!” As for Judy Greer, love her too! She did have a starring vehicle recently, didn’t you watch “Mis-Guided”? It was so funny and it was great seeing her get her own show.
I freaking LOVED Miss Guided. Thanks, ABC, for screwing up that one, too!
I totally agree. “Mis-Guided” was sooo funny. Especially the episode with Jamie-Lynn Spears playing a hot-to-trot high schooler when at the same time her real life drama was unfolding.
Dear Karen Valby, I don’t recognize your name and have a feeling you might be a new writer at EW (?). If you are new . . welcome! EW needs more charming, gutsy and most importantly, nEW ideas like this article. You and I have the same taste. I mean, Judy Greer, get out of my head!
Welcome! (?) So which TV show are you gonna be recapping come fall?