Jim Carrey as Applegate sinks this one out of the gate for me...even as I believe it is "expected" -- and unfortunate -- casting for a key reason.
Jerry Lewis -- Carrey's face-making over-acting geek of a predecessor -- played Broadway and toured around the US in this part on stage about a decade ago, and thus likely "set the stage" for Carrey's getting cast.
But the role of Applegate was played to a sly and witty "T" by Ray Walston on Broadway the first time, and in the 1958 film, and though Walston was no star, his acerbic and sophisticated take on the part really sets the standard. No less a sophisticate than Cary Grant took a good look at playing Applegate in 1958.
Some years ago, when this "Damn Yankees" remake was announced, Kevin Spacey was rumored as Applegate, and THAT would have been the ticket -- Spacey even kind of looks like Ray Walston did, at least in hairstyle, head shape and slight size.
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Catherine Zeta-Jones, Oscar-hot off of "Chicago" back when the new "Damn Yankees" was announced, seemed perfect at the time(she sings! she dances!), but she's been pretty low profile in recent years, evidently content to be the very wealthy Mrs. Michael Douglas and to do phone ads. But this would be a nice "comeback" as Lola.
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Jake Gylenhaal is a star of sorts right now, roughly equivalent to Tab Hunter in 1958. Hunter, however, was a real revelation in "Damn Yankees," playing his regular-guy baseball phenom with a grace and charm and shy boyishness that made you want to hug him. Jake's up against more here than he may have thought.
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Anyway, the Carrey casting kills it for me -- I hate the guy(as a comic actor), and isn't his career kinda on the downswing, anyway? Maybe they'll reconsider; Carrey's casting turns a sophisticated vehicle into a joke for the moron trade.
The one "silver lining": in 1958, movie censorship forced the producers to cut the song "The Game," which was about players trying to turn their attention from sex ("And then we thought abou the game, the game...") The instrumental melody played over the opening credits, but the suggestive lyrics were verboten.
I guess we'll at least get that back.
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