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Matt Dillon

posted 4 years ago by ShogunofYonkers (71626)
16 replies | jump to latest

I've always admired this guy's acting chops, he can handle comedy, drama and romance with the best of them and his screen presence is undeniable

What are some of his best performances in no particular order?

The Outsiders - quintessential Dillon right here, scared witless but too tough to admit it, too bold by half and one of the coolest guys in a room full of cool guys

The House That Jack Built - not a highly received movie but whatever, Dillon can 'out crazy' nearly anyone with this surreal mad killer performance...
He's scary!

Drugstore Cowboy - desperate, addicted, on the run from the law and succumbing to his poor life choices...great performance

The Flamingo Kid - fish out of water story about a Brooklyn kid coming of age at a swank Country club as a Cabana Boy
Nice performance, Dillon can do 'good kid' just as well as 'violent lunatic'

What do you think?

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[–] Vastuntitled (5460) 4 years ago

Never watched the The House That Jack Built, but the other three were solid turns, with a special nod to Drugstore Cowboy.... when I look back I’d have thought at that time in his career he wouldn’t be able to pull it off, but Van Sant brought it out of him and Dillon gave arguably his greatest career performance to date....

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[–] ShogunofYonkers (71626) 4 years ago

Was he in full-on party mode in the late 80s? I can't recall

That is a surprise about Van Sant reeling him in if so
Van Sant was fairly unseasoned and Dillon was already a recognizable guy with a good resume

Could have been a train wreck

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[–] Knish (1721) 4 years ago

Factotum is my favourite.

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[–] ShogunofYonkers (71626) 4 years ago

Looks interesting, my eye is out

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[–] FredBurroughs (19699) 4 years ago

It's weird that Dillon's career spans five decades. Some standout work that comes to mind:

Beautiful Girls - Great central performance alongside a stacked cast.

Rumble Fish - One of his earlier roles as a troubled young man, based on another Hinton novel.

There's Something About Mary - Clearly having a great time playing a sleazy PI.

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[–] ShogunofYonkers (71626) 4 years ago

He did three Hinton movies in two years
He had that 'young tough' thing nailed

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[–] CKid (3816) 4 years ago

I absolutely loved The Flamingo Kid.

I still remember the first time I saw him. The film was Over the Edge (1979), which was his very first film.

My other favorites of Matt's are ...
Singles (1992)
Mr. Wonderful (1993)
Beautiful Girls (1996)
Wild Things (1998)

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[–] Kowalski (57833) 4 years ago

MR.WONDERFUL & BEAUTIFUL GIRLS....YOU HAVE GOOD TASTE.

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[–] ShogunofYonkers (71626) 4 years ago

Love The Flamingo Kid
The amusement park scenes were filmed at a long gone fun park in Yonkers which us kids went to a lot

My first Dillon Pic was My Bodyguard where he plays an asshole bully...
A really good natured 'growing up' story with some nice relationships and a humdinger of a showdown finale (Dillon nailed the part)

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[–] mikethemartian (6061) 4 years ago

He kept Dodge City safe. :-)

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[–] ShogunofYonkers (71626) 4 years ago

Busy guy!

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[–] captainbucky (15252) 4 years ago

You mean Damon

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[–] captainbucky (15252) 4 years ago

Outsiders and cowboy were both awesome

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[–] Padeen (6459) 4 years ago

My favorite Matt Dillon movie is "City of Ghosts" which he also directed.

His performances in Drugstore Cowboy, Wild Things and There's Something About Mary were all stellar.

Haven't seen The House That Jack Built yet. I find myself watching less fucked up movies nowadays, but its still something I want to see.

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