One fateful night this past summer, I was furiously crocheting and realized I had no mindless television to overstimulate me. Recalling my tweenage Grey’s Anatomy obsession, I decided to give another classic medical-procedural drama a spin and put on the pilot of E.R.
In the opening scene, a nurse awakes Dr. Mark Greene from his mid-shift nap to put in a couple of stitches, a puzzling ask for a chief resident. The nurse tells Mark that the patient is not just any Joe Schmo; it’s Dr. Ross (we presume this is a big deal). As soon as thirtysomething George Clooney (Ross) came into frame, I just thought, “Oh.” Of course, this show catapulted Clooney to international fame; of course he went on to win two Oscars. In his breakout role, Clooney’s charisma emanates from the screen, and of course everyone who watched this procedural in real time knew he would be a star.
I think there is something special about watching a beloved actor in their early projects. Perhaps they didn’t know if anyone would ever watch that movie/show, perhaps they didn’t know if they were big enough to secure their next job or to pay their rent. For this week’s edition of Are You Still Watching? please enjoy my compilation of 1990s starmakers.
Ghost
Although Demi Moore had some previous box office and critical successes, to this day, Ghost is her highest grossing film. Moore is the artist girlfriend with Patrick Swayze as her finance boyfriend, which would be a stale dynamic if not for both of the actors playing it so earnestly. Even a romance hater must swoon! I am providing very little plot detail because it is a better watch if you know less.
There are, however, a few glaring things wrong with this film. The practical effects are extremely dated, Swayze’s performance is overly demonstrative. None of it matters, though, in the face of Moore’s performance, when the tears spring from her eyes at the police station or when she tells Swayze, “I’m gonna marry you Sam Wheat.”
Note: Do not Google this movie! This synopsis mistakenly contains a spoiler.
Party Girl
Some people will rightly balk at my inclusion of such an unknown and unwatched film, but this is my extremely specific column topic, and this movie absolutely did make Parker Posey a movie star, albeit an indie one.
A cult classic, Party Girl features the broke twentysomething Mary, whose party throwing career is ended once she is picked up by the police. To make ends meet, Mary begs her reluctant godmother for a job at the New York Public Library, where she must master the pesky Dewey Decimal system.
The music and the fashion are inspirational, Mary’s chemistry with her love interest is palpable, and there’s at least one joke that still makes me laugh out loud months after watching.
Especially in the preprofessional Cornell ecosystem, Party Girl is a reassuring reminder that lots of people have zero dollars when they are in their early twenties, although I am not advising that you aspire to have zero dollars. Party Girl is also available at the Cornell library. Three cheers for libraries!
The Birdcage
Although Nathan Lane had been making his way on Broadway and had voiced Timon in the commercially successful The Lion King, I think it’s fair to call The Birdcage his silver screen breakout, as I don’t imagine he was getting recognized after The Lion King, where he appears as an animated meerkat.
Lane is the histrionic and theatrical boyfriend of Robin Williams, with Lane playing a drag queen at Williams’ Miami nightclub. When Williams’ college-aged son becomes engaged to the privileged daughter of a Christian conservative politician, there is some mild shock. When the politician and his wife plan an impromptu trip down to Miami, chaos ensues.
To Die For
To Die For brought about Nicole Kidman’s first BAFTA, Critics’ Choice and lead Golden Globe nominations. She plays the ambitious and cunning Suzanne Stone, unsatisfied with her banal middle-class husband (Matt Dillon). As their marriage fails, she naturally decides to have him killed. It’s Kidman as you’ve never seen her before.
Jerry Maguire
Renee Zellweger makes her breakout as a young single mom who teams up with a sports agent (Tom Cruise) trying to start his own practice. I cannot say much about Jerry Maguire except that it's a genuinely funny film and there is ridiculous, palpable and moving chemistry between Zellweger and Cruise. According to a Business Insider article, Zellweger may have joked that she had to go to therapy after filming because Cruise was so convincingly in love. This may or may not be rooted in fact, but it is certainly rooted in Cruise’s smoldering performance. I really mean that.
‘Are You Still Watching?’ is a column spotlighting what the Cornell community has been streaming. It runs every Wednesday.
Chloe Asack is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at casack@cornellsun.com.
