MovieChat Forums > Frantic (1988) Discussion > Harrison Ford horribly miscast in this m...

Harrison Ford horribly miscast in this movie

posted 16 years ago by jgroub
29 replies | jump to latest

Here he is, the action hero, having just come off of making 5 of the 6 biggest movies of all time - the Star Wars and Raiders franchises - not to mention Blade Runner, Witness, and even the Frisco Kid. In all of these movies, he plays the bold dashing strong protagonist, capable of meeting any challenge thrust in his way.

Here, he practically kills himself a couple of times crawling along that roof. I'm sorry, I know this is casting against type, but no one's gonna believe that Han Solo/Indiana Jones/Matt Deckard can't get across that roof! I was laughing at the silliness of this scene.

Look, they showed his body when he was stripping down for the shower, and he still had that toned Indiana Jones body. To me, it just wasn't believable that a guy in this shape would be slipping off of a roof.

So, Ford was trying to get away from the action hero role he has come to be typecast in. But the combination of the shower scene with the roof scene made it all too unbelievable for me.

They needed to get someone much more nebbishy to play this role, like Woody Allen. All right, of course I'm kidding, but you get the point.

I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

[–] astat-2 16 years ago

You couldn't be more wrong. Ford made this movie.

[–] jgroub 16 years ago

Made the movie awful, that's for sure.

I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

[–] pmdawn 15 years ago

Wrong. It's one of his best roles. If anyone was miscast, that would be his wife.

[–] surte 15 years ago

There's no miscasting at all of ANY charachter within this movie. Just because he didn't play the type you're used to see him playing it doesn't mean he didn't play his charachter in the most rightful way. He's not meant to be an hero at all in this movie, maybe that's what driven yourself to this wrong conclusion about his acting in this movie. He's an american doctor, doing a 2nd honey moon in Paris with his wife, which then sees himself forced into very akward circumstances and has to start figuring it all up by himself since the help at his disposal wasn't very good. Taking all of these things into account you can't still think Mr. Ford played his charachter wrongly. Maybe you're upset your big hero didn't "made the movie" this time around but that's in no way his fault. He played the charachter decently. You need to improve the way you see actors and their roles.

[–] princeofnewyork 15 years ago

Agree with Surte. Ford character was a doctor and not action hero. He was a guy who was seeking his wife, unfamiliar with the city, and stubling throughout the movie realistically(as realistic a movie like this could get). Polanski could had thrown in scenes where Ford could've kick ass but wisely didn't and that what made the movie great.

Sorry OP but you were looking for one type of movie and found something different.

[–] sporthub 14 years ago

No, Ford was perfect. You think he wasn't b/c for some reason your thinking Han Solo while watching the movie. You usually don't do that unless its some awful music star trying to act. Ford=gold.

But the wife was soooooo miscast. The 1st thing I thought was he looks way to good for her. Shoot I would have been happier if somehow she would have gotten knocked off an Ford could have hooked up w/ Michelle.

They had chemistry, don't act like yall didn't feel it.

[–] ohmixmaster 14 years ago

"Made the movie awful, that's for sure."

This coming from someone who is deeply engrossed in "The Real Housewives Of New Jersey"

Frantic was a great film. No generic fluff here, just plain fun. Emmanuelle in that biker jacket is a bonus for all of the children of the 80's.......YOWZA!

"Religion is the opiate of the people" - Karl Marx

[–] jgroub 14 years ago

Touche. I'll agree to disagree, though.

(And I think I'm more engrossed in Bethenny Gets Married, thank you very much!)

I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

[–] ohmixmaster 13 years ago

"Touche. I'll agree to disagree, though."

And that's what makes (or should anyways) us all good at the end of the day. Big smiles!

"Religion is the opiate of the people" - Karl Marx

[–] SeisCinemaSeis 14 years ago

You couldn't be more wrong. Ford made this movie.

Agree. The movie was good but Harrison Ford mere on-screen presence made it even better.
Emmanuelle Seigner was never so hot. However Harrison alone carries the weight of the movie.

BTW I dunno how come Harrison Ford was "miscast"? His best roles have always been in thrillers, action and/or adventure movies. IMO this role was tailor made for him.
Can you imagine Harrison Ford playing Hamlet or working in a Wong Kar-wai movie? I can't.

[–] Binkconn 14 years ago

I'd say the bald guy at the US Consulate was the most miscast; looked like he should be in some Billy Bob Thornton movie playing an assistant football coach or something.

[–] Thomas_S 14 years ago

I'd say jgroub is miscast ...

[–] jgroub 14 years ago

Oh ho ho! That's witty! How long did it take for you to come up with that one, chief?

I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

[–] djb1203 14 years ago

i can see your point about being an action hero but harrison is an excellant actor and after making those movies he obviously wanted a chance to show his acting talent. i cant imagine this film without him, his performance was excellant. i must admit the scene in the apartment where he pretends to be michelles boyfriend and scare off the two israelis always dissapoints me because i hope he will kick their ass! lol. but maybe thats the point, it adds extra surprise when the israeli attacks him.

the fugitive and presumed innocent are a couple more great films where he proves he can act and not just be an action hero.

[–] jgroub 14 years ago

Well, with all due respect, at least in The Fugitive, he still was an action hero, evading the police, spectacular jumps off of waterfalls, car chases, etc. Presumed Innocent, I'll definitely grant you he's not an action hero, but at least he's a powerful leading man type.

For me, casting Harrison Ford in this film is like casting Woody Allen as the President in Air Force One. It's soooo against type that it's not believable. But hey, maybe that's just me.

I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

[–] mrkpnkrs 14 years ago

jgroub-He's an actor! Not Han Solo. He was excellent in this movie. He doesn't always have to play the same type of character just to satisfy your idea of type casting. And for the record his character's name in "Bladerunner" is RICK Deckard not Matt Deckard.

[–] jgroub 14 years ago

No, actually, he does always have to play the same type of character just to satisfy my idea of type casting. It's in my services contract with him. He also has to service the pool, service my wife, and perform a whole lot of other services just because I say so.

If I knew how to insert the smiley face with the eyes that are looking up, I would do that right here.

I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

[–] christomacin 14 years ago

no, not at all. Ford isn't a particuarly wide ranging actor, but he does have an "everyman" appeal. What about Witness, or his later Jack Ryan films? I think his post Lucas/Spielberg movies were pretty much all exploiting his common man appeal to one extent or another. His role in this disgracefully undervalued film was that of the average guy (a doctor! Richard Kimball? Hello?) who finds himself in an incredible situation and has to deal with it. Hell, was Firewall decades later essentially the same character? So how is this not exactly the screen persona Ford has honed over the years? So, don't follow your logic.

[–] Niki_Catalina 14 years ago

Perfectly cast, as was James Stewart in The Man Who Knew Too Much. Kind of a mild mannered everyman. It's called acting; and Ford did it well.

"When people run in circles its a very very - Mad World"

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[–] teck76 14 years ago

Ridiculous. Just because you're not used to seeing him in that role doesn't mean he was miscast—you wouldn't say anything if you'd seen Frantic prior to other movies starring Harrison Ford.

[–] Giobea 14 years ago

He wasn't miscast at all.I think it's one of his best performances and he got away from his usual type casted rolls.That's your problem if you think he was.

[–] IceboxMovies 14 years ago

I'm still thinking about it, but I think this might even be Ford's greatest performance. It's even better than his work in Weir's Witness, which he got an Oscar nomination for. A nod for this performance would have been even more deserved.

"What I don't understand is how we're going to stay alive this winter."

[–] DeuceWild_77 14 years ago

Ford's greatest performance was in "The Mosquito Coast",he shoulda have been nominated for it too.

[–] knifeparty2004 12 years ago

I thought Ford was good. I thought the wife was miscast, like an earlier poster said, she was nowhere near as attractive as Ford. A little bit of an unrealistic match, a bit like Bruce Willis and Bonnie Bedelia in Die Hard. Perhaps, it was an intentional move by Polanski to build the sexual chemistry between Michelle and Walker.