Goot Tells It
"About two years ago, Steve Guttenberg walked into the showbiz haunt Crustacean on Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills. 'I walked in and the maitre d' made a big deal for me,' said Mr. Guttenberg. The Goot -- as he's known to his friends -- appreciated the show. To hear him tell it, eating in public in Los Angeles is a dangerous business for an actor whose last box office hit was Three Men and a Baby in 1987.
"All of a sudden, the maitre d' says, `Get out of the way!'" said Mr. Guttenberg. "And they literally threw me to the side and Tom Cruise came in. And he sat Tom Cruise and said, `I'm so sorry, but you know, Tom Cruise.' And I'm like, `Holy fuck.'
"So after three decades in L.A., he bought a place on the Upper West Side. 'I came to New York to find a better life,' he said. Uprooting took some time. The 15-year-old golden retriever he loved dearly was old and sick; the golden died a month ago. So two weeks ago, the wavy-haired, Brooklyn-born 49-year-old actor, who describes his career as a '32-year-overnight success,' finally made it back to New York City.
"'In L.A., I think about what I don't have,' he told me. 'In New York, I think about what I do have. And I'm really tired of comparing myself to Tom Cruise." -- from Spencer Morgan's 7.15 N.Y. Observer article, "Look Out, New York Ladies -- The Goot Is Loose."
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 16, 2008 at 3:11 PM
comment #1
MikeSchaeferSF
says ...
Steve Guttenberg is straight??? Live'n'learn!
Posted by MikeSchaeferSF
at July 16, 2008 3:50 PM
comment #2
CinemaPhreek
says ...
He had a nice run on "Veronica Mars" which sorta took his nice guy image and flipped it around.
Wonder who will be feeding the homeless in Santa Monica now? And I don't actually mean that sarcastically. He also used to do that great riff on his expected career arc:
Who is Steve Guttenburg?
Get me Steve Guttenburg.
Get me a young Steve Guttenburg.
Posted by CinemaPhreek
at July 16, 2008 4:37 PM
comment #3
The Bandsaw Vigilante
says ...
He just needs another THE DAY AFTER, and he'll be Young Steve Guttenberg once again.
Posted by The Bandsaw Vigilante
at July 16, 2008 5:17 PM
comment #4
BurmaShave
says ...
I think he'd actually be great on the stage. Wonder if he's looking into it. Smart move.
Posted by BurmaShave
at July 16, 2008 5:56 PM
comment #5
Malone
says ...
Best movie Guttenberg ever did was his first:
THE CHICKEN CHRONICLES.
Hard to find, but check it out. Set in 1969, Beverly Hills, high school comedy with a brain.
Posted by Malone
at July 16, 2008 6:42 PM
comment #6
LexG
says ...
CHICKEN CHRONICLES, surprisingly, makes the pay cable rounds with some frequency; I can't say I've ever sat down to the whole thing, but it definitely looks like a fascinating relic.
He was absolutely excellent by any standard in DINER, and though we either dog the Police Academy movies today (or view them through rose-colored glasses if we're younger), his Mahoney was a pretty cool comedy antihero in the Hanks/Chase/Murray mode.
And THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE IN 3-D (1983) *needs* to see the light of DVD.
Posted by LexG
at July 16, 2008 6:48 PM
comment #7
The Bandsaw Vigilante
says ...
Where's the Stonecutters Society when you need them?
Posted by The Bandsaw Vigilante
at July 16, 2008 6:54 PM
comment #8
Luke Y. Thompson
says ...
He's good in the ultra-low-budget indie MOJAVE PHONE BOOTH, which played the Newport Beach fest in 2007.
Posted by Luke Y. Thompson
at July 16, 2008 7:02 PM
comment #9
Josh Massey
says ...
Police Academy is a movie I'm absolutely not ashamed to own on DVD. It's a damn funny movie.
Heck, I even like the second and third one, but yeah, those are the rose-colored glasses referenced above. Being 10 when they came out helped.
Posted by Josh Massey
at July 16, 2008 7:41 PM
comment #10
CMed1
says ...
Gutenberg as Mahoney in the first Police Academy is classic. He'll always have that good will in the bank with me.
Posted by CMed1
at July 16, 2008 8:16 PM
comment #11
Aris P
says ...
Jeff -- whoever the fuck saramie is, they seem to be spamming some crap on all your posts, fyi.
Posted by Aris P
at July 16, 2008 8:46 PM
comment #12
Chapman Carruthers
says ...
I'll admit, Goot is one of those actors I laugh about whenever anyone mentions his name, but damn if he didnt build an impressive resume back in the day: The Boys from Brazil, Diner, the PA's, Cocoon, Short Circuit, 3 Men and a Baby... Speaking of 3 men, wasn't there supposed to be a ghost floating around in one of its scenes? Or is that more myth than reality.
Posted by Chapman Carruthers
at July 16, 2008 9:33 PM
comment #13
lipranzer
says ...
I also liked him on "Veronica Mars." And in addition to DINER, he was also pretty good in an early Curtis Hanson thriller, THE BEDROOM WINDOW.
Posted by lipranzer
at July 16, 2008 9:38 PM
comment #14
D.Z.
says ...
http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/va/20080716/121624914500.html
Posted by D.Z.
at July 16, 2008 10:56 PM
comment #15
Mjs
says ...
So, uh, DZ, Leonard Maltin doesn't think it'll happen and that's relevant how? It's no more relevant than the dozens of MOVIE CRITICS, not just fanboys, that are saying he will at the least be nominated.
But of course, only a yahoo news article could have the truth.
Quit beating the dead horse. You're only showing yourself to be more of a troll. It's obvious you don't believe your own bullshit, so why continue?
Posted by Mjs
at July 16, 2008 11:29 PM
comment #16
LexG
says ...
Not sure if this thread will keep going too much longer, but PLEASE listen to lipranzer: If you love movies and haven't seen BEDROOM WINDOW, do so ASAP.
A terrific Hitchcockian thriller, a wonderful '80s relic, a great early Hanson, and one of The Goot's best. It's awesome.
Posted by LexG
at July 16, 2008 11:42 PM
comment #17
The Winchester
says ...
I'd like to second those Bedroom Window comments, and profess my love for the Goot's performance in "Don't Tell Her It's Me", where he plays a cancer survivor trying to capture the heart of a young Jami Gertz.
I would like point out that the Goot is an actor with a career worth reviving, and Tarantino's casting for his new project (I feel I read something about that recently). Just sayin.....
Posted by The Winchester
at July 17, 2008 12:32 AM
comment #18
DavidF
says ...
Guttenberg was truly a man of his time. The 1990s couldn't handle the power of the Gutt.
He was never gonna get an Oscar nom, but he wasn't the worst actor ever either.
The Lord Above crafted him to take comedy films and define them for a decade. And he did. And He saw his work and it was good. At least until Three Men and a Baby - there's no accounting for having made films with the Olson twins.
Posted by DavidF
at July 17, 2008 6:38 AM
comment #19
Joshua Mooney
says ...
Definitely the smile of the week!
Posted by Joshua Mooney
at July 17, 2008 8:41 AM
comment #20
CinemaPhreek
says ...
Ditto the BEDROOM WINDOW for me as well.
For years before Hanson become semi-respectable, it was fashionable to cut down this nicely made thriller as some sort of Hitchcock ripoff simply because it revolves around a murder seen from "rear" bedroom window.
Posted by CinemaPhreek
at July 17, 2008 9:33 AM
comment #21
Richardson
says ...
Well, it *is* a Hitchcock rip-off (or wannabe, if you prefer) -- I think Hanson has always been fairly open about that (isn't that why he was in every single Hitchcock retrospective produced around Hitch's (hypothetical) 100th birthday?).
But that doesn't make it bad.
Posted by Richardson
at July 17, 2008 10:00 AM
comment #22
janee
says ...
Si vous etes interesses par le dossier, ou desirez en savoir plus, contactez-moi par mail, et je vous mettrai en contact.
Best regards,Jane, CEO of high availability cluster
Posted by janee
at May 17, 2011 6:46 AM