In hindsight, Kim Basinger really isn't that good of an actress. Sure she has an Oscar to her name but this really struck me when I came across this review for My Stepmother is an Alien:
http://phubb.blogspot.com/2019/01/my-stepmother-is-alien-1988.html
This movie came along one year before Tim Burton's Batman so Kim Basinger was still technically small fry. She was mainly known for her steamy antics with Mickey Rourke in '9½ Weeks' so this goofball family comedy seemed like an odd choice. Who else would you cast as a super sexy blonde bombshell at this point? So Basinger naturally fits the part of the sexy alien, but anything else? Not really no. I have always thought Basinger was all looks and not much else (even in Batman 89) and this doesn't sway me. She really cannot act at all. She has no comic timing, looks uncomfortable in many scenes, and isn't funny. Unsurprisingly the only scene where she does come to life is where she has to strip for Aykroyd's character. It's plainly obvious they stuck that sequence in because that's all she could do and what she was known for.
Even in Batman her acting is often left to be desired. I'm not going to talk about her penchant for screaming because that has been discussed to death. But remember the controversial scene in which Alfred escorts Vicki into the Batcave without informing Bruce first? I recall Roger Ebert himself complaining about this scene, but Kim doesn't seem at all astonished at the fact that the guy that she has been dating is Batman. Now, I don't know if that's entirely on Kim herself or Tim Burton, but either way, the scene really sticks out like a sore thumb.
Kim Basinger throughout her career has seemingly been dogged by accusations that she's a wooden actress:
https://www.datalounge.com/thread/25968944-kim-basinger-s-acting
http://whatculture.com/film/the-nice-guys-10-reasons-its-the-most-overrated-film-of-the-year?page=5
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bigbadwolf666 (4707)
3 years ago
She always seemed wooden to me. Relaying solely on her appearance.
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Cognoscente (2463)
a year ago
There may have been a casting couch used. In this interview, the main producer claimed to have been in an affair with her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J17H6X5tBwQ
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TMC-4 (19392)
a year ago
Yeah, Jon Peters also claimed that he got into a legit fight with Kim's husband (yes, Kim Basinger was married to somebody else before she hooked up with Alec Baldwin) when they were in England filming Batman. He claimed that her husband, Ron Britton was being abusive towards her at I think, a restaurant, and Peters essentially, stood up for Kim.
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