MovieChat Forums > 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997) Discussion > Kristy Swanson's appearance in this movi...

Kristy Swanson's appearance in this movie compared to today


Has anyone ever noticed how impossibly skinny the Kristy Swanson character in this movie was? She was a toothpick! She looked as if you could've flossed your teeth with one of her fingers. Now, I remember the 1990s decade and I recall that being borderline anorexic was fashionable for some odd reason back then, but I'm going to refrain from the cynicism of guessing that was the sole reason for "Laurie Bennett's" appearance. Still, food for thought...

This wouldn't be all that remarkable if you haven't kept up to speed on what Swanson looks like nowadays. That being said, go ahead and have a look at the photos on her IMDB profile. In some of those photos - not all of them, but some - she couldn't look any more different. I wouldn't say she's "fat", because in my opinion she's in decent shape for an average American woman. But there are parts of her that just look...flabby. Her forearms are larger than I remember from the '90s, and her face has started to resemble that of a basset hound. True, she did have a baby boy at age 37, but there have been other actresses who have given birth at around that age (Kim Basinger, for example) and then have slimmed down fairly quickly. Comparing Swanson's appearance in 1997 and in 2013, it's almost impossible not to believe those are two different people.

I'm not trying to be mean here. I'm bringing this up only because I think, Sarah Michelle Gellar having stolen practically all of her BUFFY thunder, Kristy Swanson deserves another action-heroine role, one she can call her very own this time - and in order to win such a role, she needs to get back into shape. She needs once again to be thin - not Laurie Bennett-thin, but the ripped, muscular kind of thin that female athletes have. You might remember that, when she was Buffy, Swanson didn't have a perfect physique, but she definitely looked like she could beat somebody up.

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I agree on her appearance. Personally, I thought she looked good as Buffy, but I think she looked really good in 8 Heads in a Duffel bag. I kept thinking what a lucky guy the character Charlie was.

I loved her in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was the original and way better than Sarah Michelle Gellar. I always thought Kristy was way more attractive, in great shape, great in the action scenes, and funny. The sad part is, I was talking to a co-worker about the movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and another co-worker of mine overheard and said, "Sarah Michelle Gellar." I said, "No, the original Buffy and he said, "Oh, Kristy Swanson." It's sad that most people think of Sarah Michelle Gellar when Buffy comes up and not the original and better Kristy Swanson.

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