Glen and Garry and Glen and Ross

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The best trailer mash I've seen in months -- Glen and Garry and Glen and Ross. Four sad, desperate men with Tourette's Syndrome -- Al Pacino, Alan Arkin, Ed Harris, Jack Lemmon -- who receive a spirit-lifting Stand and Deliver wake-up from a gifted visitor, played by Alec Baldwin, who cuts right to the chase and doesn't mince words. Such as: "Only one thing counts is this life...are you hearing me, you fucking faggots?"

No offense to the guys in the film or its director, James Foley, but I saw these actors perform Glengarry Glen Ross on the B'way stage in '84, and nobody could have ever been better. Particularly Mantegna as Rick Roma -- he owned that role the way Marlon Brando owned Stanley Kowalski and Humphrey Bogart owned Duke Mantee.

It's hilarious to me, but you need to have seen the film and know the kind of guy Baldwin played in it or it won't work. Hearty congrats to narrator David Bret Egen, co-creator, producer and editor Mike Dow, and co-creators Ari Eisner.

"Mimzy" is dead<< previous | next >>Nobody trusts their eyes

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on March 7, 2007 at 12:51 PM

comment #1

jeffmcm says ...

Who's Duke Mantee? What movie is that?

Posted by jeffmcm at March 7, 2007 1:27 PM

comment #2

Eddie says ...

It's very funny, I agree. But I think the critic blurbs kill the joke.

Posted by Eddie at March 7, 2007 1:30 PM

comment #3

lesterg says ...

Not bad at all, but a little over-the-top in places.

The best mash-ups are the ones that play it straight.

Posted by lesterg at March 7, 2007 1:32 PM

comment #4

rocco says ...

...and I thought my buddy and I were the only ones who still talked about Glengarry Glenross...

Posted by rocco at March 7, 2007 1:47 PM

comment #5

Mr. Muckle says ...

Any more of your shit and I'm putting in a call to Mitch and Murray uptown.

I've often thought Glengarry Glen Ross is the most violent film I've ever seen. Friggin caustic.

Posted by Mr. Muckle at March 7, 2007 1:53 PM

comment #6

ArchiveGuy says ...

The payoff title is lame, but on the whole, this recut is even better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmq1mo6lI8w&mode=related&search=

Posted by ArchiveGuy at March 7, 2007 2:03 PM

comment #7

ArchiveGuy says ...

It's also impressive to think that when it was filmed, only one of the castmembers had an Oscar. Now, 4 of them do (and at least one more is fairly assured of getting one eventually).

Posted by ArchiveGuy at March 7, 2007 2:10 PM

comment #8

gruver1 says ...

Wells to Jeffmcm: Bogart played a psycho-killer named Duke Mantee on the B'way stage in "The Petrified Forest" -- the role that made him a name. The other thing was Leslie Howard's insistence that the producers of the film version cast Bogart in the 1936 film version.

Posted by gruver1 at March 7, 2007 2:27 PM

comment #9

ratskiwatski says ...

"2 thumbs up - way the fuck up!" Not bad at all...

And thank you very, er, fucking much, Wells, for the screenshot, damn your black soul. I saw the touring company in LA when I was a kid ('86?) with Mantegna and most everyone else from the Broadway cast. Peter Falk played the Machine, and he was pretty good, but I've always totally envious of anyone who got to see Robert Prosky, a guy I always loved; his Leo in "Thief" is one of the great movie bastards, a stunner. I always imagined him just *owning* the Machine. I roll it around in my head... the speech he gives over the whipped Caan... add desperation to those chops and I can't imagine Falk, Lemmon, or anyone else coming close... thus endeth another episode of Geek Envy.

Posted by ratskiwatski at March 7, 2007 3:54 PM

comment #10

jjgittes says ...

I saw the Broadway cast - and I'll respectfully dissent and take the film version cast.

Pacino in particular has made a career out of taking an acclaimed existing theatrical performance and upping the ante on it (arguably), be it onstage in a revival like :

"American Buffalo" (following Duvall's original); "Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel" (William Atherton's original), "Hughie" (Jason Robards original), etc.

Or on film :

"Angels in America", "Insomnia" .....

To me Pacino's Roma was more rounded than Mantegna's and Schrieber's for that that matter. Those guys just played it like sharks - Pacino showed you the wheels clicking in the characters head.

Posted by jjgittes at March 7, 2007 4:51 PM

comment #11

ratskiwatski says ...

Hey, Mr. ...Gitts, is it? (Sorry, channeling John Huston for a sec, just came over me) I was talking only about Prosky, because I'm so gone on him, just one of my favorite character guys. Mantegna, to be honest, kinda had the end-of-the-run cutes, too big, gave a big cartoony pearly whites freeze at the curtain when he puts it to Lingk. My admiration for Pacino's take is immense. Don't know if I can roll with you on "Hughie." Al was beautiful, but he doesn't own it - he just borrowed the star it from Robards for awhile. The little Robards/Jack Dodson production on video is amazing, and my allegiance will always be with that.

Posted by ratskiwatski at March 7, 2007 5:04 PM

comment #12

jjgittes says ...

Yeah, I'm not even sure I'd even take Pacino's "Hughie" over Robards - just sorta meant he put his own spin on it. I only saw Robards work on the video you mentioned and it's like a mini master class in acting no question.

I also saw Gazzara do it quite well. Missed Dennehy doing it. Not sure why I missed it, but I did.....still kicking myself about that.

Posted by jjgittes at March 7, 2007 5:14 PM

comment #13

ratskiwatski says ...

Gittes - And Jack Dodson, too! That part is a bitch, can't upstage, can't be totally recessive, and then you gotta suddenly come alive in the last three minutes. O'Neill was a sadist.

And Dennehy - also one of my guys... I'm working on this script and one of the characters is so *that guy* I can't get him out of my head... It's great that he's doing so much great stage work - I wonder if he's even juiced by movies anymore?

Posted by ratskiwatski at March 7, 2007 5:37 PM

comment #14

malibugigolo says ...

Pacino's Ricky Roma was the only one that seemed to own the words to me and made it his own, the others (in the film) they all sound like the same person.

Al is God.

Posted by malibugigolo at March 7, 2007 8:50 PM

comment #15