This is the ninth in the "Bitches and Blaggards" series; posts devoted to my favorite movie bad girls and rogues. A bitch is a selfish, malicious woman. A blaggard is a villain, a rogue and a black-hearted man. Both are bad, both are devastatingly alluring.
October's B&B are Michael Douglas and Glenn Close. I must say it feels a bit strange to be writing about people who still walk among us, but I shall press on.
Glenn Close
Fatal Attraction
Is Alex really a bitch? Well, she was to the bunny, I admit. And she is generally viewed as every man’s nightmare of the woman scorned, but I think she just lacks self-control and self-esteem. After all, look at her: she is attractive and successful. Obviously something is missing, but the pregnancy, well, maybe it was the hormones? Was Michael Douglas a victim here? Oh, I could go on for days, but see below.
Dangerous Liaisons
As the manipulative and bitter Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil, Glenn is a menace! She and Valmont (played with equal bile by John Malkovich) play their little cold-hearted games of seduction and ruination. Merteuil shows she has nerves of steel at the end of the game, but even cracked ice melts. Glenn is truly brilliant when she comes face to face with herself.
101 Dalmatians
Add these to her sizzling (like in the fires of hell) performance in the TV series “Damages,” and Glenn’s body of wicked work places her front and center among those we’d like to see in the bitch hall of fame.
Michael Douglas
Wall Street
A Perfect Murder
Why can't Mike just love Gwen and why can't Gwen stop fooling around with her murderous lover? They have a great life and a great apartment. Mike - just ask Gwen for the money - she has it. But no, more fun to have her killed - by her boyfriend (talk about having your cake and eating it, too). You're a twisted fellow, but my, you look good in a $4,000 suit.
Fatal Attraction
While the focus is on Glenn Close's out of control Alex, let's look at the creep she latched on to: great life great wife, great kid. But, oh, he's lonely because wifey left him on his own for a while. So, he picks up what he thinks is a tissue he can blow his nose in and discard and - oops - not so fast - she demands attention. Douglas is great as the bastard with a victim complex. He and Close do a dangerous dance that is unforgettable and unsolvable (until wifey appears with a gun). Hey, all the guy wanted was a little cheap sex for free.
Both Glenn Close and Michael Douglas are two actors whose films I would go to see just because they are in them. Now, that's a star!
Both Glenn Close and Michael Douglas are two actors whose films I would go to see just because they are in them. Now, that's a star!
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