Melanie as a Detective - A Stranger Among Us (1992) Discussion

[–] snoopysgirl 19 years ago

I agree. She was horribly miscast as Emily. Her arrest scene in the jewely shop was laughable at best,and she had ZERO chemistry with Eric Thal. Good premise tho- just needed a better lead actress.

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[–] Spudette 19 years ago

This movie would have been excellent if it weren't for her. She sucked. She make a good movie horrible.

"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers". Homer J. Simpson

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[–] Pimpo_Disney 18 years ago

This movie would be a stinker whomever played lead. Would take a change of half th cast and a major rewrite to make this come close to a passing grade.

Too much focus on tidbits about this cult, not enough focus on characters and a story. - And the strange undercover thing. Cant see her getting police funding for that.

"Swear you wont tell anyone" - "we are not allowed to swear" "we can promise"
what policeman/woman of sound mind would ask people to swear not to blow their cover ? just another silly buildup to another tidbit "fact" about this cult.
I rate this movie somewhere below mediocre and boring. 4/10

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[–] skay_baltimore 14 years ago

This movie would be a stinker whomever played lead. Would take a change of half th cast and a major rewrite to make this come close to a passing grade.

Too much focus on tidbits about this cult, not enough focus on characters and a story. - And the strange undercover thing. Cant see her getting police funding for that.

"Swear you wont tell anyone" - "we are not allowed to swear" "we can promise"
what policeman/woman of sound mind would ask people to swear not to blow their cover ? just another silly buildup to another tidbit "fact" about this cult.
I rate this movie somewhere below mediocre and boring. 4/10

Hmmmmm...you're real big on the "cult" angle, huh?

"Blah Blah...Vampire Emergency...Blah" -- Pam

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[–] jamesbrandenstein_1900 14 years ago

Melanie should stick to playing prostitutes ( with a heart of gold ) .

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[–] rwsmith29456 13 years ago

I had a few problems with the movie but she was the worst.

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[–] franzkabuki 11 years ago

Casting Griffith as a gritty cop didn´t look like a particularly good idea on paper and fared little better on screen. An accident that was all but guaranteed to happen. Getting excellent performances out of his actors always was one of Lumet´s main fortes, but I guess it´s only so much you can do with a cast like this.

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

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[–] beetiesmom 10 years ago

...was probably the worst piece of casting EVER! Melanie Griffith has the acting ability of a brick. Or as Dorothy Parker said, her ability ran the gamut "from A to B". And that voice....didn't anybody in Hollywood think to suggest some speech lessons, a voice-ectomy or something? Oh, yeah, and that was smart of her character, going after a Hasidic man. Made so much sense... This movie gets a D in my book.

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[–] HarveyManfredSinJohn 10 years ago

No, the worst piece of casting EVER is Melanie Griffith as a plucky half-Jewish undercover spy in the same year's 'Shining Through'. This comes close though.

Griffith, to my mind, belongs to the wrong era. She would have been great as ditsy madcap heiresses in 1930/40s screwball comedies. However, gritty and authentic is beyond her capabilities.

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[–] Danespina 9 years ago

Everything about her casting was awkward, but in some weird way I got enjoyment from it.

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[–] Yorke71 7 years ago

She was also cast as a World War II spy in "Shining Through" that year, another casting blunder. I wouldn't say she's a bad actor as other people are. The problem is, with that little-girl voice she sounds ditsy and it's impossible to take her seriously as a smart, tough NY City policewoman. Even though both of those films had interesting stories, every time she speaks it takes you out of the movie as you think about the mismatch between voice and character.

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[–] strangenstein (683) 3 years ago

I like Melanie Griffith, and I think she’s a really good actress - in the right role. I just couldn’t buy her as a detective in this one.

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