Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Movie Clip Wednesday - Movie One-Hit Wonder

That Movie Clip Wednesday Advent Wreath builder, Boxer is still too busy making tent chandeliers (yeah - I know - where does she get the energy?) to care for the wayward child that she gave birth to. So the lovely Joanna Cake again will perform the hostess duties. This MCW Meme has everyone picking a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme while trying to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. She has declared this week's theme to be - Movie One-Hit Wonder.

Tough, tough category. I gave this a fair amount of thought as to what constitutes a one-hit wonder. It would have to be a recognizable character (not necessarily the lead) that may have had an impact on the movie industry or culture. And then the actor/actress basically faded into obscurity.

I came up with several actresses who I believe made one good, solid memorable film. And even though they may have continued acting, they never scored big again. They would be Phoebe Cates in Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Mia Sara in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Both of whom I've previously posted on. Actors such as Chris Makepiece in Meatballs and Ilan Mitchell-Smith from Weird Science also come to mind. And an argument can be made that James Dean was a one-hit wonder with East of Eden, but I truly believe he would have had many more successes had he not died. Same deal with Heath Ledger.

No, I'm going with a semi-obscure Steven King based movie - 1983's Christine starring Keith Gordon. He played the nerdy mechanic wannabe Arnie Cunningham who fixes up an old (possessed) 1958 Plymouth Fury in order to get the girl. Kieth Gordon did go on to have a semi-memorable part in Back to School but was pretty much upstaged by Rodney Dangerfield. He has since gone on to direct some 15 films and TV series including Showtime's Dexter, but he never acted in a memorable film after Christine.



See who everyone else thinks is a one-hit wonder over at Joanna's. There won't be any seconds.

14 comments:

Jenny said...

oh so you didn't get too drunk on Father's Day?

Good theme and if I wasn't taking the summer off from this, I'm not sure who I would have picked. Mr. Boxer was watching Rock N' HighSchool with the Ramones the other day it seemed chocked full of lost hopes and one hits.

Happy Belated Father's Day!

Joanna Cake said...

Obviously, being a horror movie, I havent seen Christine but this guy wasnt mentioned in any of the One Hit Wonder lists that I perused in search of my own inspiration. Well Done You!

Mia Sara? Didn't she go on to marry Jason Connery? And Im sure she was in something other than Ferris Bueller or I wouldnt know her name?

And Im trying to take good care of Boxer's Baby :)

moi said...

Mia Sara was also in Legend, but that was before Ferris Bueller.

At any rate, I saw this a long time ago and remember liking it. Next to a good dog, a person's best friend is a baaaaaaaad car :o)

Good pick! And, I'm up this week!

Anonymous said...

Haha, Christine! What a nice film, I had forgotten about it! And no, I could not name one single actor besides Christine. Do you know "The Cars that ate Paris" by Weird Peter?
What was the name of that car that had no door handles? In the end it chased the holy fucking teacher with the children onto a cemetery - ah I forgot.

Aunty Belle said...

Mercy,,,,missed this movie. Does I have to see it? Trailer reminds me of that movie about a semi truck that hunts down a poor fella tryin to escape it.

Uncle onc't had an ole Impala that had split seats in the back--it would not die, but it was benevolent.

I'se up wif' another scary entry.

Sharon Rudd said...

I’m not big on horror, although I do believe Stephen King to be a nice man who gives in to his imagination. The only S. King movies I’ve seen are based on The Shining, inspired by the Stanley Hotel, in Estes Park, CO. Preferred the (TV?) version King helped produce after that Jack Nicholson film, because it actually showed Estes (where I used to live). Although I was annoyed with the dang editors who made it look like you were going up the road into town when in fact you would have been going down into town.

Glad to see you’re back, Buzz, and a belated Happy Father’s Day to you!

Buzz Kill said...

Boxer
Father's Day Weekend was one from hell. We had The Boy's graduation party, my wife's parents stayed with us, and I got poison ivy on both arms and a stomach virus (I threw up in an office trash can on Monday). Glad it's over.

Rock and Roll High School had PJ Soles in it. She was more "famous" for getting naked in the original Halloween and Stripes. I love the Ramones.

Joanna
By today's standards, this isn't very scary, but you were probably right in staying away. Yes, Mia Sara was married to Jason Connery. And you're doing a great job with MCW. I'm going away for a couple of weeks (kid's vacation) so I don't know if I will have time to play.

Moi
Your best friend is not a man? Bwahahaha This was early John Carpenter, so it wasn't that bad.

Mago
You come up with some strange ass movies. There have been other killer car movies (like The Car, The Wraith and Maximum Overdrive (another Stephen King book) to name a few, but I've never heard of the one you mentioned.

Aunty
You don't have to see anything you don't want to, but it is kind of scary. I'm sure many people have cars that are possessed. Pep Boys loves those people.

IE
Thanks and see Boxer explanation for where I've been. Don't you hate when movies take poetic licence with the facts? I didn't know there was a TV version of the Shining.

Karl said...

Good evening Buzz Kill,

I went to see this movie at a drive-in, had other things on my mind and can't remember whether I liked it or not. None of the actors come to mind. So you hit the mark.

Sorry to hear your weekend wasn't a good one. Hope the rest of the your week is going better.

moi said...

Two WEEKS without Buzz snark!?!?

Pouts.

Although, I'm sure you'll have a simply smashing time. Take photos and don't get burnt.

Jenny said...

Bon Voyage! Have a great trip and I hope you get a chance to get rid of the poison ivy.

Sharon Rudd said...

Two whole weeks?!? Hope you enjoy the kids' vacay, Buzz!

chickory said...

pj soles was in carrie too. if the kid was in christine and back to school then that is a 2 hit wonder. and not that wonderous actually. Have a great trip!

Aunty Belle said...

Buzzk! Happy Independence Day!

Aunty Belle said...

What a dear ya is! Thanky fer brave comment at PamOKC