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In the space of a few hours, In Contention's Kris Tapley, Rope of Silicon's Brad Brevet, and Awards Daily's Ryan Adams have suddenly seized on the notion of Trucker's Michelle Monaghan being this year's Melissa Leo -- an out-of-the-blue Best Actress contender for an allegedly exceptional performance as a negligent mom coping with an estranged son.
Do these guys have the same dope dealer? There are more than a couple indications that Trucker ain't no Frozen River, and that it may be no more than an okay-but-no-cigar thing. And without the springboard of great reviews, Monaghan -- however good she may be as hard-livin' truck driver Diane Ford -- hasn't a snowball's chance.
Trucker is an '08 film that couldn't land a usual-suspects distributor after playing the Tribeca and Austin film festivals 16 and 10 months ago, respectively. If it had any real mojo wouldn't someone other than Monterey Media, which releases crap, have picked it up? Wouldn't it have played at least a few other respected festivals? Wouldn't Trucker (which opens on 10.9) have screened for at least some critics by now? I haven't heard zip about it from anyone.
And wouldn't Monaghan have found a respected champion other than the Hollywood Reporter's Stephen Farber, a solid critic known for dispensing occasional easy-lay raves? He wrote that Monaghan's performance as a selfish blue-collar woman suddenly saddled with an estranged young son "elicits the same exhilarating sense of discovery that surrounded Sally Field's breakthrough in Norma Rae."
Fine, but Variety's John Anderson said that Monaghan "has trouble finding a rhythm in the dialogue, or any sustained emotional plausibility in a film that relies on character-driven moments rather than narrative momentum. Like a runaway tractor-trailer, Trucker is carrying [Monaghan] directly from irresponsible to maternally alert. You can't stop it. You can see it on the horizon as soon as the movie starts. What's missing from the payload is surprise."
Trucker has 13 producers and exec producers. Thirteen! That in itself spells trouble.
Trucker was directed and written by James Mottern. It costars Nathan Fillion, Benjamin Bratt, Joey Lauren Adams (alarm buzzer!), Jimmy Bennett.
I feel for Monagahn wanting to snag a strong role for herself and kick herself up to a new level and all, but Gran Shaggy Poo says we ain't goin' for it. Set up some NY and LA screenings and let's see how Trucker plays...fine. But until that happens the Monaghan hoo-hah stops here.
Sidenote: In his 4.28.08 review Anderson described Monaghan as "elfin." Except a Google search says she's either 5'7" or 5'8". That's not elfin -- that's par for the course. Ellen Page is the current standard for Hollywood elfin. Next to Page Monaghan towers.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 25, 2009 at 4:57 AM
comment #1
raygo
says ...
She was great in Gone Baby Gone, which should have done more for her.
Posted by raygo
at August 25, 2009 6:20 AM
comment #2
krumly
says ...
I think Anderson is referring to her rather elfin face and not her height.
Posted by krumly
at August 25, 2009 6:21 AM
comment #3
jesse
says ...
That's right, movies have to get terrific reviews to springboard an Oscar campaign. What was North Country, if not ecstastically reviewed? And who could forget the endless praise heaped upon the now-beloved classic Transamerica? Yes sir, you need to star in only the best of the best movies to score a Best Actress nomination.
(That said, the distributor and early reviews don't seem to bode well, you're right. But my point is that plenty of acting-nom-only movies need only praise for the lead performance, not much else. Or am I the only one who noticed that Transamerica is a terrible, terrible movie?)
Posted by jesse
at August 25, 2009 6:35 AM
comment #4
Jeffrey Wells
says ...
The movie launching a theoretical Best Actress performance doesn't have to be praised to the heavens, but it needs to be thought of as at least fairly decent. It needs a few friends to speak up for it. I haven't seen Trucker so I know nothing, but there are clear indications that it has problems.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells
at August 25, 2009 6:40 AM
comment #5
OtownRog
says ...
Caught it at a local festival, pretty obvious why it wasn't picked up for theatrical. And now this? A beautiful actress slumming?
What this REALLY is is 2009's Wendy & Lucy, a nice-enough bit of work that a couple of people are blowing WAY out of proportion.
Frozen River is WELL out of Trucker's league, ditto Leo to Monahan.
Posted by OtownRog
at August 25, 2009 6:45 AM
comment #6
actionman
says ...
for me, she was GBG's weak link...just OK when everyone else around her was aces
terrific, sexy work in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, though
and cute as a button in Eagle Eye
haven't been sold on her as an actress all that much but the gap in her front teeth is adorable
Posted by actionman
at August 25, 2009 6:56 AM
comment #7
KC
says ...
Actual lols at the Joey Lauren Adams warning alarm
Posted by KC
at August 25, 2009 7:22 AM
comment #8
poseidon72
says ...
Don't all truck drivers look like her!
Posted by poseidon72
at August 25, 2009 7:59 AM
comment #9
Chase Kahn
says ...
She sucked in "Gone Baby Gone" -- she needs to stay in "Made of Honor" and its ilk.
Posted by Chase Kahn
at August 25, 2009 8:50 AM
comment #10
monettx
says ...
I love Michelle Monaghan, but that trailer isn't doing her any favors. Her performance looks pretty one-note (which it very well maybe). Just don't buy her as tough. Totally unconvincing when she throws that young boy outside the convenience store to the ground. That was the best take of that scene? Kid looks like he is taking an NBA style flop.
Posted by monettx
at August 25, 2009 8:51 AM
comment #11
LexG
says ...
Monaghan's appearance seemed to *change* to more drastically elfin (facially) over the course of about one year. No idea if she did something to it or hit the 'Tox from '06 to '08, but the charming, beautiful face from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, MI3 and TV's "Young Americans" suddenly looked pinched and, yes, "elfin" in "Heartbreak Kid" and "Made of Honor." Maybe it was the terrible short haircut, but something was different.
Posted by LexG
at August 25, 2009 9:21 AM
comment #12
LexG
says ...
Oh, and can I also point out:
Nathan Fillion is in this? That guy is a TOTAL DOUCHE and one of those hacky TV actors who nobody really knows or likes but seems to land in 32 new TV series every year, like the studio/network has some deal to thrust this no-name in EVERY show on the tube. See also, Jason Gedrick, Eric Balfour, Paula Marshall, Marisol Nichols, Lana Parilla, Jason O'Mara...
Seriously, Fillion has been moved from one TV show to the other for a decade now, popping up for "special guest star" turns on his off weeks on major shows (Lost, Housewives) then heading back to two-week wonders that get canceled with the quickness.
So what's he doing in a movie? When you throw in Benjamin Bratt and Joey Lauren Adams, that seriously might be the Worst Cast Imaginable, so NO WAY is this thing coming within a billion miles of any awards.
Posted by LexG
at August 25, 2009 9:38 AM
comment #13
lipranzer
says ...
She wasn't great in GONE BABY GONE, but the movie did her character no favors - in the novel, her character was equal to Affleck in toughness and intelligence, but they cut her part way down. She was okay in NORTH COUNTRY, but the trailer does make TRUCKER look pretty generic.
Posted by lipranzer
at August 25, 2009 9:39 AM
comment #14
lipranzer
says ...
LexG: I'm a manly man! People who star in Keri Russell movies and Joss Whedon shows are pussies!
Posted by lipranzer
at August 25, 2009 9:50 AM
comment #15
LexG
says ...
Whatever. He's a douche. He's also a charter member of the Matt Damon Actors With Boring Hair That Never Changes Club.
Like, if you have a workable head of hair, as Damon and Fillion do, grow that shit long, buzz it, bleach it, do something different from role to role, instead of always looking like the same bland-haired straight-shooter leading man.
(Damon rules, Fillion is a douche, but actors should CHANGE UP THE HAIR like Cruise and Pitt do.)
Posted by LexG
at August 25, 2009 9:54 AM
comment #16
cactus1
says ...
Michelle Monaghan does a fantastic job! I saw the film earlier this year, and she is absolutely heartbreaking, absorbing, and gorgeous.
I'm not sure in what universe does a truck driver look like her, but she completely takes over this role. I wouldn't be surprised if her name comes up during award season, especially now that the Oscars have more nominees in each category and there's more room for less famous actresses.
Posted by cactus1
at August 25, 2009 11:39 AM
comment #17
AllieM202
says ...
Monaghan is both beautiful and convincing in this role. I found her character and the film amazing and I would not be surprised to find her name in the nominee list.
Posted by AllieM202
at August 25, 2009 11:57 AM
comment #18
bmcintire
says ...
That trailer looks HORRIBLE. Pretty actors badly miscast, really akward action and editing (that "fight" scene in the parking lot?) and some truly awful dialog (". . .but I'm gonna be rid of him in less than a month.").
And I actively HATE that child actor.
Posted by bmcintire
at August 25, 2009 12:24 PM
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