Actors and Acting
A reader asked me:
I was wondering if you go to the movies? If so, do you spot the ‘lies’ as actors are being someone they are not? I ask because I read that truth wizards and people like Dr Elkman turn the sound off of their TV and try to construct the story just by watching people’s expressions – does this relate only to ‘real’ TV like news stories/interviews or do they do this for entertainment shows like Friends as well? If actors have different skill levels as I suspect, who do you find most convincing in their roles?
I actually do not go to the movies nor do I rent them. Fictional TV shows don’t interest me much. It isn’t because I feel the actors are lying. It’s simply that they miss the mark and can’t keep me in the moment, so I end up getting bored. Other times, the acting is so bad that it feels so phony, I can’t even concentrate on the storyline.
Read moreIt’s rare when an actor can pull off an emotional scene and make it believable. Or if one actor manages, often times another will blow it for me. I think back to one of the last movies I saw, the Pursuit of Happiness, with Will Smith in the bathroom on the floor with his son when he tries to get all emotional, and he missed the mark before he pulled of the scene. It throws me out of the moment and I lose my emotional investment in the film. I must say overall, though, Will Smith did good in that movie for the most part.
I am not one who enjoys turning off the sound. I don’t relate to that so I can’t answer those questions.
Since I watch very little fictional TV, I don’t know a whole lot about actors, but ones that come to mind that I have enjoyed in the past are Helen Hunt, Dustin Hoffman, Tim Allen, Ray Romano, and Meryl Streep. A strange mix, I know!
Several years ago, my husband was watching Everybody Loves Raymond and I sat down, waiting to turn the channel, when I actually started laughing at the current episode. My husband was shocked because he knows sitcoms and me don’t get along. I don’t know if it was Ray’s acting, or the character plot that I enjoyed, but I got swept in and enjoyed that show. I liked the interaction between Ray and his wife a lot. It was plausible and realistic.
I am sure you guessed it, I can’t stand slap stick comedy or science fiction. I go absolutely nuts! I did strangely enjoy Scrat in Ice Age. His emotional responses were so on par, it was fabulous. I loved that movie!!! I didn’t go see it, my husband was watching it when I walked in the room and he refused to change the channel. I could watch Scrat and his friends for hours and hours and hours and hours. Those animators deserve the biggest award for their work. It was phenomenal!!
