At Left: Johnny Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson in a scene from Benny & Joon.
My daughter and I honored the movie theatre with our presence twice over the holidays. Given our limited time, we choose to see Will Smith in I Am Legend and Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd. Although we were wowed by Smith’s talent in his role, Depp floored us in this more mature rendition of Edward Scissorhands. Yes, it was Depp running with sharp things again, but this time he was a better brooder with a melodious growl. Maybe part of the success of this latest flick is the partnership that Depp has with “goth” writer/producer/director Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Corpse Bride).
No matter. We were enchanted, despite the blood. It’s those eyes…or perhaps it’s the physique…maybe it’s the eye makeup. Of course, it’s the talent. Depp has matured so much over the years, that it’s fair to say that he can do just about anything he wants on screen and it comes across as absolutely the best performance in the world. Perhaps the actor’s actor?
As you can guess, my daughter and I both are Depp fans; however, we’re discriminating. We don’t care for every Depp movie - just the ones we’ve seen. And, we’re not the only Depp fanatics. An annual survey by Quigley Publishing Co. that asks movie exhibitors to vote for the 10 stars who generated the most box-office revenue for their theaters showed that Depp “pillaged the most money for theaters in 2007.” Will Smith followed in a close second (we really like him, too).
Posted by Linda at 8:00 AM PST
