Tim Meadows did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Mr. Ron Duvall in Mean Girls.
Tim Meadows plays the principal of the school where the various teenage cliques clash. SNL alum Tim Meadows very much set out not to be any sort of strict principal of maybe past High School films and instead a largely comedic presence. Although I will say Meadows’s performance is fairly artful in the tone he manages here, which I wouldn’t say is strictly realistic but is convincing as the principal even often used in a comedic sense. Meadows in the more comedic moments playing well the essentially put on smile where his eyes seem just slightly dying inside during the basic school functions and notably at the end of the film where he attempts in vain to cut short the dramatic speech of our protagonist, where every one of his deliveries of “you really don’t need to make a speech” is pretty great in his effortless combination of cordiality with the strong undercurrent of someone saying “shut up and get off the stage”. Meadows’s performance has a bit more to it than that however in playing that convincing part of the high school principal a bit more genuinely.
As we see his certain exasperation at the nonsense of his student population which is funny, but there is enough of a dignified manner to still be convincing beyond that. Particularly a moment where Rachel McAdams’s villainous queen bee Regina George shares her one burn book, though altered to make it look like it’s not hers, with his Mr. Duvall. Meadows plays the comedy in his eyes of deciphering what she’s up to, but with enough of a genuine pause when asking about the books noting that the high school coach was making out with students. Something that comes later where not too much is made out of the moment, but Meadows is good in bringing a low key gravitas when firmly instructing the coach to stay away from the underage girls. On a similar though slightly lighter note his annoyed delivery about leaving southside only to deal with the girl riot from the burn book, is amusing but does have a bit of weight to it, followed by his commanding requirement that all the girls go to the assembly. Followed by his fairly hilarious yet still pointed way of setting up the “peace talks” essentially, where he brings a certain grace, but with also comedy in his casual threat switch from “well keep you all night” to “well keep you to four” however with the same conviction. A conviction that perhaps is a bit lost when trying to talk to the girls immediately runs into discussion of the menstrual cycle, and Meadows’s overwhelmed reaction to passing the buck again is pretty good. The only note I’m pretty ambivalent to in this performance is the relationship between Mr. Duvall and math teacher Ms. Norbury (Tina Fey). Where we get Mr. Duvall slightly awkwardly asks her if she needs to talk about things, then we see them silently slow dancing together. I don’t think it’s bad, I don’t think Meadows performs poorly either, it’s just kind of there for me. Otherwise though this is a good well attuned performance, that delivers on the right tone, as he’s funny but also still believable.
25 comments:
Louis: Ratings and thoughts on the cast.
Different film but 'You never once paid for drugs, not once'.
"Oh, hell no, I did NOT leave the Southside for this!"
What sinches it for me is his look of defeat and shame as he raises his hand at the end.
An underappreciated part of one of my favorites. Love every second of this movie. Even the handful of meh moments pale in comparison to the greatness of the rest. And one of the most quotable movies ever.
Regarding Wuthering Heights. Suffers from not picking a lane. As if you're going to do an unfaithful adaptation, perfectly fine, however maybe stick to that. Making it more Dangerous Liaisons could've worked but the film only partially commits to it, then eventually goes way overboard with Isabella, which even that would be fine if in the end it really had any purpose. As other times it wants to emphasize the doomed romance, which is hard to care about because they're depicted in such a wretched way...and not in a "look how society has made them wretched" to make them work. Although even the romance aspect in itself doesn't even stick between genuine emotion and just being "Steamy" well really squishy would be more accurate. The aesthetic is eye catching however even that doesn't have an exact purpose in the overall approach, which at times wants to throw out the "novel" so to speak, such as the opening, then other times kind of wants to pay heed, it just constantly loses its thread. I didn't hate it, so minor credit there I guess, but feels like a shoddy pastiche than a singular vision.
Robbie - 2.5(I actually think she took the right approach I just didn't find her entirely convincing in that approach.)
Mellington - 3
Elordi - 4
Cooper - 3
Chau - 3.5
Latif - 3
Oliver - 4(Which maybe I should go higher given in many actresses' hands this could've been in the 1 territory)
Clunes - 3
Mitchell - 3.5
Louis: Thoughts on the cast of Wuthering Heights.
I liked Robbie’s execution a lot more than you. But I’m pleased you liked Elordi, his work is pretty multifaceted in a way I didn’t expect to work.
A lot of Elordi's acting choices in general remind me a ton of Heath Ledger, and I mean that in the best possible way.
Louis, could you give your (even if sparing) thoughts on Jeffrey Wright and Anthony Hopkins in Westworld?
Yeah, the Isabella subplot is the one aspect where I'd entirely agree with everyone bashing Fennell's vision in the adaptation. Oliver deserves a world of credit for actually being convincing.
Louis: Think I asked a while ago without getting a response, but could I have your thoughts on the use of Forever Young and Everybody Wants to Rule the World in Marty Supreme?
Louis - Could you watch Incident at Loch Ness, starring Werner Herzog, before ending 2004?
Louis: How well do you think Ryan Gosling would do in the roles of Vincent from Collateral and Frank from Once Upon a Time in the West?
Louis: thoughts on this cast for a 2020s adaptation of Brighton Rock?
Pinkie: Harris Dickinson
Ida: Jessica Gunning
Rose: Aimee Lou Wood
Dallow: Francis Magee
Prewitt: Allan Corduner
Luke:
Lohan - 2.5(Easily the weak link, as there is just something very performative about her performance throughout and even within a film with the slightly heightened tone of the film. She’s always though always feeling like someone portraying the part therefore I never really buy into her journey. I will say I don’t think she’s ruinous by any means and I think this is a case of Dickens protagonist, where everyone else being more interesting ends up making it so she doesn’t even stand out in her blandness in a bad way, and is overshadowed in a way that mostly works.)
McAdams - 4(I don’t love the performance to the point that many do, but certainly an example of her talents earlier in her career. In that she is certainly having fun in biting into the Queen bee role with just enough camp to it while still being somewhat believable. She balances it well like Meadows and is having fun while also realizing the more sinister over the top aspects. Playing well the “boss” aspects and even the brief gaslighter who pretends to be the victim, McAdams delivers on both quite effectively. I would say her sort of reform moments later on I think she handles to the extent they give her time and in that sense maybe shows McAdams greatest skill because she does get it across mainly through some silent reaction of reflecting a degree of humbleness while still being the character.)
Fey - 3(I think time told that Fey is very limited in terms of her onscreen abilities and here I think she’s just okay. She does her slightly comedic exasperation herself that I think is just fine but isn’t that funny, nor do I think her coming in as the wise one at the end either really found her convincing beyond just basic need. She too feels the degree of performance to her work, works better for me than Lohan but still I think weaker within the cast.)
Poehler - 3(Completely just there to be over the top but I would say she serves that purpose as the “Cool mom” note who really wants everyone to know that.)
Chabert/Seyfried - 3 / 4(Talking about them together because I think in a way I think Chabert probably had room to get a bit more nuance out of her role, while Seyfried is playing a cartoon as designed, and talent level wise Seyfried probably could’ve served the former role. Having said that I’m cool with how it turned out because Seyfried I do think absolutely nails her comedic timing of basically playing the complete and utter airhead and just delivers on every bit she has. Chabert on the other hand I think is amusing enough as well playing her slightly smarter airhead, but I think there was room to play more shades there that she really doesn’t deliver on.)
Caplan - 3.5(In a role that I think could easily be overplayed I think Caplan excels quite effectively in balancing the sense of genuine bitterness with playing up kind of her role as the outsider though with a degree of warmth as well in revealing the certain vulnerability within her old relationship with Regina.)
Franzese - 3(Very much the “gay best friend” to a T. Although as such I think he’s perfectly fine, very much playing the type, but decent enough in doing so.)
Bennett - 2(Dull love interest is dull.)
Anonymous:
Robbie - (As noted before I do think playing the role with the overtly bratty note I think is actually correct, I just didn’t really find her entirely convincing in hitting that note, and perhaps it is partially the casting of her age where I just never quite believed her in presenting the immaturity because clearly she shouldn’t be quite so immature given she clearly isn’t quite as young as the character. I think later on in playing the pathos of her regrets I think has some decent moments in, like visiting her father, but it is unfortunate that is where the script really gets quite messy so sort of the thread Cathy gets a little lost, though not due to Robbie.)
Mellington/Cooper - (Mellington playing the bratty playfulness is decent, as is Cooper again playing emotional distress…though I would say he best find a role that asks him to play a different note next.)
Elordi - (Found him most impressive because he was able to thread all the different aspects of the character without losing the essential core of the character, which is his desire for Cathy as pure devotion. Elordi playing the initial moments where he plays essentially the “love lorn poor hunk”, I was impressed by consistently because as ridiculous as that could’ve gotten Elordi always found genuine elements of pathos just through his performance. In the second phase of the character I thought he excelled in creating both the performance and the reality of the character in playing the “villain”. Finding a sense of bitterness that we see on some scenes where there is truth but presenting to others as a man who wants to play the role of fiend to others as a rebellion against society in a way. I thought he pulled it off quite admirably even if the film didn’t make a perfect use of it particularly with the “shock for the sake of it” Isabella scenes. And I’ll give him credit, as much as I largely didn’t care about the central duo as a couple, his portrayal of his last moment with Robbie I did find a little moving thanks to his performance.)
Chau - (I mean turning her into an ever scheming is a great thing for Chau to sink her teeth into, and she kind of does. In that I think the way Fennel seemed to forget about her for several scenes at a time really kind of hamstrung her so whenever there was any real momentum with her performance it would be paused in a most unnatural way. Chau, though, brings a nice cutting delivery and incisive eyes, and does what she can.)
Latif - (Thankless role of course but thankfully I didn’t think he overplayed his notes.)
Oliver - (Successfully goes for the extreme note she plays of basically how Shirley Henderson would’ve played this version of the character in the 00’s. Although of course that is not Oliver’s normal presence and as a show of a range between this and Saltburn she has quite the impressive ability so far. As where that was a far more controlled character, she plays the messy infantile madness with great aplomb. Managing to play it up just enough to be entertaining but hold back just enough to still be convincing enough with some nuance of broken emotions of someone who still exists as contrived as this version of the character is.)
Clunes - (Has to play big swings between where the character begins where Clunes is very much the standard period piece dad and then playing the extreme grotesque version of the character later. Clunes I think hits the intensity well enough even if the conception of the character I didn’t quite believe.)
Mitchell - (For just a couple quick bits he gets I thought he brought a convincing reality to his character and sense of the internal life. Which three extreme notes of the bdsm moment but not going over board and playing it as the role play in the sense, the sort quite pathos of the character seeing him lowly and worthy of the woman later, and then just as the concerned observer towards the end.)
Anonymous:
Very quickly.
Wright can deliver all the exposition in the world, to that show where there’s much and really sell so many different kinds of lines with such ease. While convincingly playing the different shades of the man trying to comprehend it all, while also being as convincing as the alternative version of the man of someone basically being destroyed mentally by his own creation.
Honestly looking back Ford basically was treated whatever way the writers needed him to act, Hopkins only made it cohesive because he’s Hopkins and is awesome. And in his scenes Hopkins just owning every space fittingly as a man who essentially is god of his world he has around him, where Hopkins presenting as such makes some sense of the man acting benevolent in some moments, pure evil in others, and enigmatic because the writers didn’t know what to do. Hopkins made it all sing with ease and frequently made scenes work just because of how captivatingly he could be in presenting that specific ownership of a space, including sudden changes of tone and just finding such an ease in it.
Marcus:
The first use expressing youth in a way, though the song itself being actually a very somber reflection of “forever young” in death, where in this instance the child being the “bomb” so to speak to end the youth of Marty and this being the cause of it that underscores the most unexpected yet brilliant credits sequence.
Everybody Wants to Rule being the reflection of that as Marty sees his future in being the father to his child and can no longer “rule the world” as he saw it by becoming famous through being a ping pong champ. Instead, as supported by the cries of the child, the “welcome to your life, no going back” is the truth of the scene for what the child represents as his “end” of the young man and now must become the adult.
Harris:
Possibly.
Lucas:
Interesting as full villainy is really pre the Gosling we know of today, as All Good Things is playing that note, which is a bad movie and needing to also play a much older man, I won’t say that’s the best representation. As in Drive, while playing the hero he certainly delivered on similar intensity for such a role, so it’s possible.
Calvin:
Yes to all of those choices, particularly Gunning who would be great for the off-beat energy, Dickinson for the intensity and Wood for the specific need for a convincing innocence.
Thoughts on the screenplay of Mean Girls
Louis: Your thoughts on the direction for Weapons and The Naked Gun (2025)? For the latter, it’s nice to see that the art of good parodies is still alive.
Louis: Could I have your thoughts on Tim Key and Tom Basden in The Ballad of Wallis Island? I couldn't find them anywhere
Louis, your double features for the 2004 BP nominees?
The Aviator / The Player or The Artist
Finding Neverland / Mary Poppins
Million Dollar Baby / Champion
Ray / Lady Songs the Blues
Sideways / Days of Wine and Roses
Mercy sucks. It's like if Minority Report was lame.
Pratt-2
Ferguson-2.5
Reis-2.5
Sullivan-2
Louis: Did you get the chance to watch any more of Community? I'd love to know what you'd make of the following season 1 episodes when you get the chance:
"Debate 109"
"Comparative Religion"
"Contemporary American Poultry"
"Modern Warfare"
I saw The Drama last night and really enjoyed it, I thought it did a great job punctuating deeply uncomfortable subject matter with moments of absolute tension releasing hilarity. I’m really looking forward to see what Borgli does next.
Pattinson: 4.5
Zendaya: 4.5
Haim: 3.5
Athie: 4
Gates: 4
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