What the Hell Happened to Brendan Fraser?
Brendan Fraser always seemed like he was one big movie away from being an A-list star. All through the 90′s the media buzzed about his potential. At the end of the decade, Fraser finally had a couple of big hit movies. And yet, he still couldn’t cross over to the A-list. More than a decade later, Fraser is still a respected working actor. But the A-list potential has dried up.
What the hell happened?
Fraser’s first acting role was in a reenactment on America’s Most Wanted in 1988. He appeared in a TV movie, Child of Darkness, Child of Light in 1991. That same year, Fraser had a cameo role as a sailor who gets into a fight in the River Phoenix movie, Dogfight (pictured above).
1992 was a big year for Fraser. First he starred in the comedy, Encino Man opposite Sean Astin and Pauly Shore.
Astin and Shore played teenage dopes in the Wayne and Garth mold. They were kind of a poor man’s Bill and Ted. Even that description may set expectations too high since the “funny one” was played by Pauly Shore. At the time, Shore was a popular personality on MTV and Disney hoped to capitalize on that popularity with Encino Man.
Fraser played a caveman who awakens in the 90s in Encino , CA. Austin and Shore try to use their discovery of the caveman to become more popular at high school. The movie follows the teen comedy formula to the letter. It’s one saving grace is Fraser’s goofy performance as the prehistoric fish out of water.
Despite negative reviews, Encino Man was a hit. As a result, audiences were subjected to years of Pauly Shore movies and a direct-to-TV sequel, Encino Woman.
Fraser went on to reprise his role as Link in a cameo appearance in Shore’s 1993 film, Son-in-Law. He also played a soldier with the nick-name Link on his fatigues in Shore’s 1994 movie, In the Army Now. Apparently that ended Fraser’s indentured servitude and he was spared the indignity of cameos in Jury Duty and Bio-Dome.
Later that year, Fraser starred in the drama, School Ties, opposite Matt Damon, Chris O’Donnell and Ben Affleck.
Fraser played a Jewish student who transfers to a private school on an athletic scholarship during his senior year. The film is set in the 1950′s and Fraser’s character faces rampant anti-Semitism. To protect himself, he hides his religion from his fellow students.
While filming, director Robert Mandel told the young cast that they would go on to be the next Brat Pack. He was right in the sense that many members of the cast went on to be famous. But fortunately they were not stigmatized with a label like the 80′s actors were.
School Ties received mixed to positive reviews and did moderately well at the box office.
1992 is basically a microcosm of Fraser’s career. He would bounce between goofy comedic roles like Encino Man and more dramatic roles like School Ties. On the one hand, few actors have the kind of range to pull off both broad slapstick and drama. On the other, Fraser never seemed to find a niche.
In 1993, Fraser appeared in the movie, Twenty Bucks.
Twenty Bucks followed a $20 bill from an ATM machine until it is finally turned in to be shredded. Over the course of the movie, the twenty dollar bill passes through the lives of several people played by Fraser, Linda Hunt, Elisabeth Shue, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Lloyd, William H. Macy and others.
Twenty Bucks got mixed reviews and barely appeared in theaters. That same year, Fraser starred opposite Donald Sutherland in Younger and Younger, a comedy that was even less seen than Twenty Bucks.
In 1994, Fraser appeared in a glut of movies any one of which could have made him a star. The first was the comedy, With Honors, which co-starred Joe Pesci.
Fraser played a Harvard student who loses the only copy his of thesis paper. Pesci played a homeless man who finds the paper and holds it hostage. The film co-starred Patrick Dempsey and 90′s it-girl, Moira Kelly.
Pesci’s career was hot at the time with the Lethal Weapon and Home Alone movies plus the success of My Cousin Vinny. But With Honors started a cooling-off period for Pesci. It got mixed to negative reviews and did so-so box office.
Later that year, Fraser starred opposite Steve Buscemi and Adam Sandler in rock comedy, Airheads.
Fraser, Buscemi and Sandler played members of a band who inadvertently hold a radio station hostage when a DJ refuses to play their demo tape.
Airheads came out one year before Adam Sandler starred in Billy Madison. At the time, he was just another Saturday Night Live performer struggling to make the transition to film. He gets third billing in Airheads behind Fraser and Buscemi.
Airheads got negative reviews and bombed badly at the box office. It opened at an abysmal tenth place. Just to put that in perspective, The Little Rascals opened that same weekend at fourth place. Airheads placed behind Angels in the Outfield which was in its fourth week of release. It barely outgrossed Speed which was in its ninth week.
Fraser ended the year opposite Albert Brooks in the baseball comedy, The Scout.
Fraser played a promising baseball player with severe mental problems. Brooks played a hard-on-his-luck scout who hopes to bring Fraser’s character to the big leagues and revitalize his career.
The script was originally written with Rodney Dangerfield in mind. Eventually, Brooks decided to make the film himself and re-wrote it to be less “silly”. Brooks has said that his version of the film “did not end like Rocky with that bullshit ending.” But the studio forced a happy ending on the film.
Brooks and Fraser have a great chemistry that almost saves the film. But between the rewrites and studio cuts, the movie has a very uneven tone. Sometimes it is goofy and at other times it deals with very dark issues. The mixture never quite comes together.
The Scout received mixed to negative reviews and bombed at the box office. Once again to put things in perspective, The Scout opened in 8th place behind Clear and Present Danger which opened nine weeks earlier; the same weekend that Airheads bombed.
1994 had been a brutal year at the box office for Fraser. In 1995, he retreated from Hollywood and starred in the German-based art house horror film, The Passion of Darkly Noon opposite Ashley Judd and Viggo Mortensen.
Fraser played a member of an ultraconservative Christian cult. After the death of his parents, he wanders into the Appalachian forests where he meets Judd’s character. Naturally, Fraser decides that the free-spirited Judd is too sexy to live. He decides to kill her and her boyfriend played by Mortensen at the prompting of Mortensen’s crazy mother.
I think to do the film justice, we’re going to need to watch the trailer:
The entire movie is available to watch on You Tube if you are so inclined. But if you just want to watch Fraser attempt to kill Judd and Mortensen while they are having sex, here yo go:
“Who will love me now?” indeed. Fortunately for all involved, The Passion of Darkly Noon was not released in the US. Fraser’s only big screen appearance in 1995 was an uncredited cameo in Now and Then.
In 1996, Fraser returned to mainstream Hollywood movies opposite Shirley MacLaine and Ricki Lake in Mrs. Winterbourne.
The plot is basically while you were sleeping except instead of a funny coma, it involves a fatal train wreck and the termination of two pregnancies. It’s no wonder it got negative reviews and bombed at the box office.
Mrs. Winterbourne opened in 6th place in its opening weekend. Sixth place is pretty horrible, but at least it beat out Judd Apatow’s sports comedy, Celtic Pride which opened at 7th place that same weekend.
Continuing his string of cameos, Fraser popped up the Kids in the Hall movie, Brain Candy and indie comedy Glory Daze which starred his School Ties co-star, Ben Affleck.
The following year, Fraser appeared in the TV movie, The Twilight of the Golds. The movie was an adaptation of a Broadway play about a pregnant woman who discovers that he baby will be born gay. Fraser played her gay brother who tries to talk her out of having an abortion.
In 1997, Fraser finally had the first big hit of his career with the live-action adaptation of the 1960′s cartoon, George of the Jungle.
George of the Jungle was a Tarzan satire best known for its goofy theme song. It made for an unlikely summer blockbuster. In spite of mixed reviews, the film’s goofy charms won over families who made it a hit at the box office.
Disney released a direct-to-video sequel in 2003 with an unkown actor in the lead role.
In 1998, Fraser starred opposite Ian McKellen in the critically acclaimed drama, Gods and Monsters.
McKellan played legendary director James Whale, director of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. Fraser played a young man who befriended Whale. The movie recounts the fictionalized events of the final days of Whale’s life.
Despite receiving great reviews, the movie was not a hit at the box office.
Later that year, Fraser starred in the little-seen romantic drama, Still Breathing.
Fraser played a musician who has a dream of a woman he has never met. Believing that this woman is his soul mate, he travels to LA to meet her. However, she turns out to be a con artist who attempts to seduce him.
1999 was another big year for Fraser. First, he starred opposite Alicia Silverstone in the romantic comedy, Blast From the Past.
Fraser returned to the fish out of water comedy that made Encino Man a mild success seven years earlier. He played a man who was raised in a fall-out shelter. He is still stuck in 1962.
Blast From the Past got mixed reviews and flopped at the box office. It opened in fifth place; two spots behind My Favorite Martian which also opened that weekend. It was more or less the final nail in the coffin of Silverstone’s mainstream movie career.
In the summer of 1999, Fraser had the biggest hit of his career to-date, Stephen Sommers’ remake of The Mummy.
The Mummy had a long and troubled road to the big screen. Following the success of 90′s monster movies like Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Wolf, Universal was interested in updating The Mummy. But they wanted to keep the budget low.
Originally, horror author Clive Barker was brought on board to write and direct. His treatment centered on a cultist who attempts to reanimate mummies at an art museum. However, the studio lost interest in Barker’s low-budget horror movie.
Next, legendary horror director George A. Romero was approached. He pitched a Night of the Living Dead-style horror movie with mummies shambling in place of zombies. Universal thought this was too scary for main stream audiences.
Joe Dante came close to making his version of The Mummy starring Daniel Day Lewis. It was a love story ala Bram Stoker’s Dracula and was co-written by John Sayles. If this version had been made, I bet Winona Ryder would have co-starred. Sadly, that was not to be.
After Dante left the project, Mick Garris and Wes Craven were both approached. Garris left the project and Craven turned it down. Sommers pitched the studio on The Mummy as an Indiana Jones-style adventure flick. Universal, which had just undergone a regime change, liked the idea so much that they upped the budget from $15 million to $80 million dollars.
Personally, I would have rather seen any of proposed versions of The Mummy instead of Sommers’ goofy CGI-fest. But in spite of mixed reviews, The Mummy was a big hit with audiences. Even those who didn’t like the movie typically gave Fraser credit for a light performance that holds the fractured movie together.
For an alternate take, I direct you to a review by friend-of-the-blog, Sean Daniel Shortwinter who calls The Mummy “the ultimate popcorn-muncher that still has no equal“.
Later that year, Fraser starred opposite Sarah Jessica Parker in another live-action adaptation of a Jay Ward cartoon, Dudley Do-Right.
On paper, this must have looked like a no-brainer given the success of George of the Jungle. If a mediocre movie like George could be a box office smash, how much worse could another cartoon-adaptation starring Fraser possibly fare?
As it turns out, a lot worse. In spite of the fact audiences just paid to see Fraser in The Mummy three months earlier, they avoided Dudley Do-Right in droves. With no talking animals (or Fraser in a loin cloth) the movie didn’t even open in the top ten.
The film had a budget of $70 million dollars and failed to gross even $10 million dollars during its domestic run. It opened in 11th place just above Inspector Gadget which was in its sixth week in theaters. It opened below Albert Brooks’ The Muse and The Astronaut’s Wife which were both box office disappointments.
Critics didn’t like it either. Roger Ebert gave the movie one of its few positive reviews. Even he damned it with faint praise:
“Dudley Do-Right is a genial live-action version of the old cartoon, with a lot of broad slapstick humor that kids like and adults wince at. I did a little wincing the ninth or 10th time Dudley stepped on a loose plank and it slammed him in the head, but I enjoyed the film more than I expected to. It’s harmless, simple-minded, and has a couple of sequences better than Dudley really deserves.”
In 2000, Fraser provided the voice of Sinbad in Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists.
Sinbad was marketed as the first movie filmed entirely using motion capture. At a cost of $30 million dollars, it is reported to be the most expensive direct-to-video movie ever made. In spite of that, the animation is worse than your average video game.
Fortunately, most people have no idea that Sinbad even exists.
In 2000, Fraser took another swing at the A-list in the comedy remake, Bedazzled.
Bedazzled was a remake of a cult British comedy from 1967 starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. In the original, Cook played the devil who offers Moore seven wishes. But each time he grants a wish, he twists it so that the outcome isn’t what Moore intended. Raquel Welch had a memorable cameo as the embodiment of Lust.
In Harold Ramis’ remake, the Devil and Lust are combined into one character played by Elizabeth Hurley who was relatively popular after appearing in the first Austin Powers movie.
Bedazzled opened to mixed reviews and disappointing box office. Even with Hurley slinking around in form-fitting red outfits and Fraser in a series of goofy costumes couldn’t make Bedazzled a hit.
Up to this point, Fraser had more than his fair share of flops and box office bombs. But in 2001, he starred in a real career-killer.
Monkeybone was a hybrid of live-action and stop-motion animation directed by Henry Selick, the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Monkeybone was based on an independent comic called Dark Town. Fraser played a cartoonist who falls into a coma and is trapped in the fantasy realm of Down Town. Monkeybone, his cartoon creation, takes the opportunity to steal his body and live in the real world.
Bridget Fonda played Fraser’s girl friend. The movie more or less ended her mainstream Hollywood career. It spent more than a year sitting on a shelf before 20th Century Fox dumped it in theaters.
Reviews were terrible and the movie flopped. It cost over $75 million to make and grossed roughly 10% of its budget. Once again, Fraser had a film that failed to crack the top 10 in its opening weekend. It was handily beat by the flop 3000 Miles to Graceland which opened at #3 that week.
Fortunately, Fraser still had The Mummy franchise to fall back on. Later that year, Fraser starred in the sequel, The Mummy Returns.
The sequel basically repeats the formula that made the first film a box office hit. If anything, it is bigger, louder and more stupid. Once again, reviews were mixed. But the sequel was an even bigger hit than the original. It also spawned a spin-off movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
In 2002, Fraser appeared opposite Michael Caine in The Quiet American.
The film was based on the best-selling novel by Graham Greene. The novel had been previously adapted in 1958. Caine played a British reported in Saigon in 1952. Fraser played an idealistic CIA operative who gets caught up in romance and intrigue.
The movie received positive reviews and Caine was nominated for an Oscar. But it was ignored at the box office.
In 2003, Fraser starred in another live-action cartoon, Joe Dante’s Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
The Looney Tunes had starred in a box office hit with Michael Jordan in 1996′s Space Jam. At one point, a follow-up was planned starring Jackie Chan. It was to be called, Spy Jam.
Unfortunately, Back in Action failed to live up to the success of Space Jam. Despite getting better reviews, the movie flopped so badly at the box office that Warner Bros cancelled plans to release Looney Tunes shorts. At a cost of $80 million dollars, it grossed roughly $20 million in the US.
Fraser bounced back in 2004 as part of the ensemble cast of Paul Haggis’ Oscar winning drama, Crash.
Crash tells interwoven stories that deal (not so subtly) with racism. Fraser played a district attorney who (along with his wife played by Sandra Bullock) is a victim of a car-jacking.
Reviews were mostly positive and the film went on to win Best Picture. It was also a huge hit at the box office. For my money, it was also vastly over-rated. I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes at all of the coincidences and melodrama. But once again, I was in the minority.
Despite the success of Crash, Fraser retreated into indie films. In 2006, he appeared in Journey to the End of the Night and opposite Michael Keaton in The Last Time (pictured above). He also appeared opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar in The Air I Breathe.
By this point, you could pretty safely assume that Fraser’s days as a box office draw were behind him. And yet against all odds, Fraser pulled off a hit in the 2008 sci-fi adventure flick, Journey to the Center of the Earth.
The movie was a loose adaptation or sequel to the Jules Verne novel of the same name. It returns Fraser to the kind of family friendly action that made the Mummy films box office hits. It also benefitted from being ahead of the 3-D craze that would peak with Avatar in 2009.
Journey got mixed to positive reviews and was a surprise hit at the box office. It only opened at #3, but held on for several weeks. Additionally, it performed very well overseas.
It was successful enough to merit a sequel which replaced Fraser with his Mummy 2 co-star, Dwayne Johnson. The sequel outgrossed the original. Johnson is slated to appear in a third Journey film.
Later that year, Fraser returned to the Mummy franchise for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
Maria Bello stepped in for Rachel Weisz who refused to reprise her role. Jet Li joined the cast as a new villain. Despite negative reviews, the third Mummy film was also a hit. A fourth film in the series was planned. But instead, Universal has decided to reboot the series.
In 2008, Fraser starred in the fantasy film, Inkheart.
Fraser played a dad with the power to make bedtime stories come true as he reads to his daughter. The movie was based on a novel by Cornelia Funke. Funke says she based the character on Fraser and dedicated the second novel in her trilogy to him. The film’s producers wanted to cast a bigger star in the role, but they gave in to Funke’s demands to cast Fraser.
The movie’s release date was pushed back several times. It was supposed to be released Christmas of 2007 but ultimately premiered in Europe nearly a year later. It didn’t open in the US until January 2009.
Reviews were mixed and the film flopped in the US. It barely recouped its $60 million dollar budget worldwide.
In 2010, Fraser starred opposite Harrison Ford and Keri Russell in the medical drama, Extraordinary Measures.
The movie was based on a non-fiction book named “The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million—and Bucked the Medical Establishment—in a Quest to Save His Children”. But since that title gave away the ending of the movie and would not fit on a marquee, it was renamed Extraordinary Measures which is a rather ordinary name.
Ford was experiencing something of a comeback following the fourth Indiana Jones movie. But that comeback was stalling out. Extraordinary Measures got mixed reviews and was a disappointment at the box office.
I would have liked to have seen Ford and Fraser in a family friendly action adventure movie though. As long as Stephen Sommers wasn’t involved.
Later that year, Fraser returned to goofball comedy with Furry Vengeance in which he is tortured by animals and opens his mouth really, really wide.
Reviews were terrible. I honestly can’t believe Fraser was never nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award. Furry Vengeance seems like a bid for a Razzie if ever there was one. It was a box office disappointment.
In 2012, Fraser starred opposite Colm Meaney in the indie comedy, Whole Lotta Sole. In 2013, he provided voice work for the animated film, Escape From Planet Earth. He has several other films scheduled for release and has done voice work for video games.
Recently it has been reported that Fraser has been trouble making his alimony payments. This is actually quite common when actors get divorced at the peak of their popularity. When the actor’s career cools off, the alimony payments continue despite their falling salary. As a result, Fraser will probably continue working frequently even if the movies are not as big as they used to be.
So, what the hell happened?
How did a good-looking, talented actor fall so short of his potential? Well, first I think we have to qualify our terms here. Fraser remains a very respected and sought-after actor. His career is impressive in that he has made so many films and has demonstrated such a broad range.
I think that range is part of what kept Fraser from being a successful leading man. While he had the look to be a star, there was a certain nondescript goofiness that kept him from being a box office draw.
In fact, it could be argued that Fraser was box office poison. The hits he was in (The Mummy, George of the Jungle, Journey to the Center of the Earth) did not succeed because he was in them. In fact, the Journey sequel did better when it replaced Fraser with The Rock.
Having said that, I think Fraser made a valuable contribution to movies like The Mummy. He was required to walk a tightrope of comedy and action in that movie that few actors could have pulled off as well as he did. The problem is, he makes it look easy. Audiences overlooked Fraser’s light comic touch.
Also, it’s hard to nail down Fraser’s image. If you know him primarily from his goofy comedies, it can be hard to take him seriously in dramatic roles. If you know him from his dramas, you probably aren’t the target audience for Furry Vengeance.
More “What the Hell Happened?”
Kim Basinger Thora Birch Matthew Broderick Nicolas Cage Chevy Chase Kevin Costner Geena Davis Bridget Fonda Brendan Fraser Mel Gibson Cuba Gooding Jr. Heather Graham Melanie Griffith Steve Guttenberg Daryl Hannah Helen Hunt Michael Keaton Nicole Kidman Val Kilmer Jude Law Jennifer Jason Leigh Penelope Ann Miller Demi Moore Rick Moranis Eddie Murphy Mike Myers Michelle Pfeiffer Molly Ringwald Meg Ryan Winona Ryder Arnold Schwarzenegger Steven Seagal Elisabeth Shue Alicia Silverstone Christian Slater Mira Sorvino Wesley Snipes Sharon Stone Mena Suvari Uma Thurman John Travolta Kathleen Turner Robin Williams Debra Winger Sean Young Renee Zellweger
Posted on March 2, 2013, in Movies, What the Hell Happened? and tagged brendan fraser, crash, encino man, entertainment, george of the jungle, journey to the center of the earth, movies, school ties, the mummy. Bookmark the permalink. 42 Comments.
This article is sad for me. Of all the actors you’ve done so far, Fraser is my favorite. Bedazzled was an awesome – and underrated – film, as was Blast from the Past. The Mummy is just plain good fun, mainly thanks to Fraser.
But like Dave Foley, something just didn’t click. I don’t know what the hell happened, but it’s depressing – because he could have been so much more.
It’s funny you mention Dave Foley. When I was talking about actors who were having trouble making their alimony payments, I was thinking primarily of him. He was the first actor who I had heard really talk about the problem. He got divorced at the height of News Radio and has never made anywhere near the money he was making in those days. He says he will never get out from under his alimony payments no matter how hard he works. I imagine Fraser is in a similar though less dire situation.
I agree that Fraser is often the best thing about his movies. But I was shocked at how many awful movies he has made.
Actually, as soon as I saw the words ‘failed actor’ and ‘alimony’, Foley came to mind. Both Foley and Fraser are extremely talented, and able to poke fun at themselves, but have had really bad luck.
What makes me sad is the wasted potential. If Fraser had come across some better scripts, maybe we wouldn’t have atrocities like Dudley Dooright or Furry Vengeance.
He seems to choose roles, it seems, like Gooding. No thought at all for his future.
One thing I don’t understand is why “Blast from the Past” was not a bigger hit. I loved the movie when it hit the theatre in 1999 (?) and still watch occaisionally. It seemed to have everything. A time-warp plot like the first Austin Powers movie, seasoned performers Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek to contribute their acting chops, Fraser and Silverstone, both young and super attractive AND talented enough to handle the comic nuances in their roles, even a quirky, endearing supporting character played by the lesser known Dave Foley. Again how could not this be a hit? perhaps it has gained a cult following of sorts. not sure. Also, for all intents and purposes Brendan Fraser is given credit for having the range that Matthew Broderick and Tom Hanks are criticized for not having. So it’s as if you are damned if you are an actor with range, and damned without. I guess being able to work steadily isn’t the end of the world anyway.
I was surprised when Blast From the Past wasn’t a bigger hit. I just don’t think audiences were interested in Fraser as a rom com leading man or a comeback for Silverstone. Fraser, as talented as he is, is pretty damn close to box office poison. Mummy movies aside, he may have the worst track record of anyone I have written about. He has several legendary flops on his resume.
I think Fraser might have been more suited to supporting roles. But his good looks pushed him into leading roles he couldn’t quite pull off.
COMMENTARY TRACKS OF THE DAMNED:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/furry-vengeance-2010,44366/
Crimes:
Using cheap-looking special effects to animate an army of animals, all out to make life hell for real-estate developer Brendan Fraser and thus prevent his bosses from destroying their forest
Filling 90 minutes with more animal-on-human slapstick violence than a year’s worth of Woody Woodpecker cartoons
Making sure audiences know that Fraser’s family enjoys their Wii, MacBook, Kindle, and iPhone
Wasting a supporting cast filled with the likes of Wallace Shawn, Rob Riggle, Angela Kinsey, and Toby Huss
Offering a shallow vision of environmentalism that amounts to “Animals are like angry little people, so don’t f** with them”
I only have one thing to add – Fraser got kind of fat around the turn of the century.
He did. But he seems to be able to drop weight when needed for action roles.
I’m not sure if you ever got a chance to see Fraser’s appearances in Scrubs, but his charm and humor are on really fine display there.
The public is fickle and a little unjust at times.
In my eyes, Fraser’s career was hurt by his hits. If he never does George of the Jungle, then Monkeybone and Dudley Do-Right probably never happen. If Monkeybone hadn’t happened, then audiences might have turned out for the Looney Tunes movie which is pretty darn funny.
I agree with others here that Blast from the Past is underrated.
Somebody really needs to explain the nature of the acting profession to the family law judges in California. How are they not doing a percentage deal there? yikes!
I hope Fraser continues to work and can make at least little bit of a comeback.
I have seen Fraser’s appearance on Scrubs. Very solid. Scrubs was one of those shows that made good use of guest stars.
George of the Jungle was a double edged sword. Without it, Fraser might have never made it out of the 90s. His track record at the box office was abysmal up until that point.
But then as you point out it paved the way for future disasters. Basically, the success of George opened up opporyunities for Fraser to make bad descisions in relatively expensive movies.
I fully expect to see Fraser continue to work. As he gets older, I think he may settle into supporting roles.
I’m sure a lot of actors share your opinion on CA’s divorce settlements. The moral of the story seems to be never get divorced at the top of your career.
Indeed Fraser has a broad range when it comes to different kind of characters he plays,otherwise who could imagine that “George of the Jungle” could play a serious role in “Crash”…………..
So this Crash flick was a big deal when it came out. You guys are saying it’s some uber-pretentious Magnolia kind of thing ?
Less pretenious than Magnolia and a lot less quality. Same basic idea but less art house and more melodrama. I think that’s why mainstream audiences loved it so much. It’s actually kind of bad.
Pardon me if I take what others have previously said about Brendan Fraser’s career on this site prior to the actual writing of his own WTHHT entry:
http://lebeauleblog.com/2012/09/20/what-the-hell-happened-to-christian-slater/#comment-9691
Fraser is a really interesting case. I almost feel like he wasted his matinee idol good looks by being such a goof. Watch some of his dramas, and it’s clear that he could’ve had a career as a modern American Cary Grant. Maybe he just never could find the right series of roles, but he just was unable to shake the dippy comedy stuff and at some point even when he attempted to be serious, you just kind of expected him to do a pratfall at any second. If you’ve seen his appearances on “Scrubs” you know that his humour could be smart and sad as well as crazy, but most of what we got was “George of the Jungle” and “Dudley Do Right.” I’ll stop now and pick up the conversation once you’ve actually written the article. Really looking forward to it!
http://lebeauleblog.com/2012/09/20/what-the-hell-happened-to-christian-slater/#comment-9697
Fraser was/is extremely versatile. But I felt like that versatlity worked against him. Once he got typecast as a goofball it was hard to see him as anything else.
http://lebeauleblog.com/2012/09/20/what-the-hell-happened-to-christian-slater/#comment-9700
Actually, Fraser did indeed ruin his perception with some awful script choices. I think maybe he stepped into a persona with Airheads…and never stepped out. But he can act.
What Went Wrong?: Vol. 25 – Failed and Forgotten Fantasy Adaptation Edition:
http://znculturecast.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/what-went-wrong-vol-25-failed-and-forgotten-fantasy-adaptation-edition/
Inkheart (2008)
I had high hopes for Inkheart, which had a disastrous release.
Like Eragon, Inkheart is a failed fantasy film based off of an original book property (this time from German author Cornelia Funke). The similarities pretty much end there, however. Inkheart is the story of Mortimer Folchart and his daughter Meggie, who are “silver tongues,” or people who are able to bring books to life simply by reading them aloud (how Mortimer made it through school without ever being called to read aloud for class is beyond me). The film, directed by Iain Softley (Hackers, The Wings of the Dove) was released in the UK in late 2008 and the US in early 2009, where it grossed an incredibly weak 17 million dollars domestically, and just over 60 million internationally, on a total budget of 60 million, meaning the film will probably never be profitable. The cast of Inkheart seems fantastically put together, and includes Brendan Fraser, Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent, and Paul Bettany. This seems like exactly the type of film Brendan Fraser (The Mummy series, Journey to the Center of the Earth) does really well in. Audiences have responded quite positively to Fraser in these types of fantasy adventure roles, but Inkheart was a critical and commercial failure for New Line Cinemas, as well as one of the last films it released before being absorbed completely into Warner Bros. So, what exactly went wrong?
Inkheart’s high concept, unique premise, and well-regarded source material probably could have made for a much better movie. Rotten Tomatoes rates the film at a rather dismal 39%, indicating generally unfavorable reviews. Additionally, Inkheart spent an enormous amount of time in the production stages. The film was originally scheduled for release in 2007, but delay after delay pushed the release date back by well over a year domestically. It doesn’t help that director Iain Softley isn’t particularly known for his fantasy work. The director’s most successful films, which include Kevin Spacey vehicle K-Pax (2001) and horror film The Skeleton Key (2005), are not known for their special effects shots or high budgets. Inkheart itself was actually mostly shot in 2006 and early 2007, and screenings of a roughly completed film took place in London during the summer of ’07, a full year and a half before its final release date. The screenings, according to author Cornelia Funke, went well, and it seemed like the film was poised for a successful run at the box office that just didn’t pan out. By the time Inkheart was actually released, audiences in general had probably moved on from waiting for the project (other book-to-movie adaptations, including the first Twilight movie, had eclipsed it). Somehow, Inkspell, the sequel to Inkheart, has begun production for a film adaptation. I can’t imagine Softley will be back as director.
Another great article!! I had no idea that Brendan Fraser had starred in so many movies. I do remember his Pauly Shore movies (WTF was someone thinking that guy had talent??)
I really enjoyed him in the Mummy movies; although I am interested in why you seem to dislike Stephen Sommers?? (I love Van Helsing!! It is so campy, it is enjoyable, if not just for the accents the actors use).
Regardless, he is a talented actor who can play a variety of roles. I know his career got smacked by Monkeybone, just like my girl Bridget.
I am glad he is still in demand; I did read the alimony issues on TMZ’s website
I know that Sommers movies are supposed to be harmless, brainless entertainment. But to me, they embody everything that is wrong with big budget CGI-fueled summer movies. They are lazy, souless, empty experiences fill with flat, unconvincing CGI. I find these movies aggressively mediocre. They assume that audiences are stupid and undemanding.
But what do I know? My wife was watching Twilight last night and I felt exactly the same way about that movie. It was outrageously popular so clearly I am in the minority.
Same with Pauly Shore. For a short while, he was popular. Who cares that he wasn’t actually funny? His movies made a profit. It probably didn’t hurt that his mom owned a comedy club which keeps him working even now.
Fonda could have survived Monkeybone if she wanted to. Henry Selick took the fall for that and even he eventually bounced back. When it flopped, she just gave up and decided to concentrate on her family.
Fraser was used to flops by then. I was actually shocked how many expensive flops Fraser was allowed to make. At some point, you would think studios would decide not to spend $60-80 million on a Brendan Fraser movie. But no, they kept trying.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Sequelitis
The Mummy Trilogy franchise’s third film is widely considered to be inferior to the first (a very fun Indiana Jones style romp) and second (the first film on steroids) films. Probably not helped by the seven year gap between the second and third films – it badly misses Rachel Weisz, who was replaced by Maria Bello (Weisz’s and Fraser’s chemistry in the first two films is obvious whereas Fraser and Bello are totally unconvincing as a couple). The omission of Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) and Ardeth Bay (Oded Fehr) robs the film of those actors abilities to stretch beyond the schlock setting and craft believable and human characters. Jet Li is criminally underused in the Dragon Emperor role, spending most of his screen time as an CGI dragon. Michelle Yeoh is wasted in her role also and the sequence with the yetis stretches willing suspension of disbelief too far. Critically panned with poor fan reactions it made LESS money than either of the first two despite seven years worth of inflation and has probably killed the main franchise (though the The Scorpion King spinoff series continues).
Bad Movie Beatdown: Van Helsing:
http://blip.tv/film-brain/helsing-final-render-wmv-5614656
Hugh Jackman fights off all the monsters bar one… the script.
I posted this blog on USENET/Google Groups:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.movies.past-films/browse_thread/thread/aa7c380dab9a7122?hl=en#
One person boldly proclaimed to me to “crosspost to alt.horror at my own risk. The reason why I “cross-posted” to that particular group is because Brendan Fraser starred in the “Mummy” films (which could be considered horror movies or at least, they were initially conceived as horror movies) and “Gods and Monsters” about the director of “Frankenstein”. Hell, even “Monkeybone” can be considered a horror movie of sorts.
I haven’t seen most of his work, but he was good in what I saw (or in the case of George of the Jungle, as good as the POS premise allowed him to be). He should have changed his name to something less dorky-sounding when he started out.
Actors and actresses you’re suprised didn’t become bigger stars:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12007549&postcount=49
Brendan Fraser. Now you are probably thinking to yourself “but that guy is a big star!” and yes, I agree. He works all the time. But he seems to be stuck in kids’ adventure movie roles. I was convinced he was going to become a MEGAstar, like a Brad Pitt level A list box office draw. I’m still confused that he isn’t.
I don’t understand why he doesn’t do more serious film (I cannot believe I just used the phrase “serious film” in a sentence, but whatever), the kind that gets real attention from the critics … and if the guy doesn’t like drama, and I agree that he has a great comic presence, then why isn’t he doing smart comedy?
Fraser seems, again, an odd choice for this series. His only success has been in moron roles, which make up a huge chunk of his filmography (so much so that he once participated in a joke ad about this on IFC–his sole great screen appearance). What the hell happened to him? Nothing, really. He’s basically a zero who became… zero.
But there was a time when he was expected to be an A-list leading man. So much so that Hollywood kept gambling on him and losing.
Admittedly, Fraser was never A-list. But after George of the Jungle and The Mummy, he was really close. A lot of times, I’m interested in the near misses as much as I am the ones who reigned at the box office and fell from grace. There’s only so many Val Kilmers out there.
The Huffington Post has apparently jumped on the “what the hell happened to Brendan Fraser” bandwagon:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/08/brendan-frasers-rise-and-fall_n_2839480.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003
I always kind of liked Fraser and have enjoyed many of his roles. Blast from the Past, With Honors, the Quiet American and the first two Mummy movies were pretty good flicks. Bedazzled was decent enough too. I also agree that his Scrubs appearances were quite good. I always felt he suffered from being a little wooden and stiff however. Even his goofy comedic roles seem a bit forced. And if you want the very definition of an actor mailing in a performance watch the third Mummy movie…simply awful. He was there for the paycheck. Still he is certainly not the worst actor that has been profiled here, and I agree we probably haven’t seen the last of him. Whether he gets another lead or is consigned to supporting roles remains to be seen. Either way I enjoy watching him and will give the guy a chance. I think it’s probably correct to say he never achieved top tier, A list status, but rather was/is a respectable working actor.
Whatever Happened to Brendan Fraser?:
http://frettsonfilm.com/2013/02/11/whatever-happened-to-brendan-fraser/
There was a time, not that long ago, when Brendan Fraser pulled eight-figure paychecks, earning $10 million for the ill-fated remake of Bedazzled and $12.5 million for the sequel The Mummy Returns. Now he’s been reduced to voicing astronaut “Scorch Supernova” in the awful-looking animated flick Escape from Planet Earth (opening Friday), and his latest live-action vehicle, the Irish heist farce Stand Off, was quietly dumped on VOD a few weeks ago. Where did it all go wrong?
Considering his breakthrough role was as a caveman alongside Pauly Shore in Encino Man, Fraser had a pretty good run. Although he struck out with the seemingly surefire Albert Brooks baseball comedy The Scout, he scored a couple of surprise hits with George of the Jungle and The Mummy and acquitted himself well opposite two of Britain’s best actors—Ian McKellan and Michael Caine—in Gods and Monsters and The Quiet American, respectively. But even before he costarred in a genuine Best Picture winner, 2004′s Crash, his career had started to veer off course with too many big, dumb family-comedy flops (Dudley Do-Right, Monkeybone).
Suddenly, his attempts at edgy indie movies (The Last Time, The Air I Breathe) were barely getting released, and his big-budget films (Inkheart) were bleeding red ink. True, 2008′s Journey to the Center of the Earth dug up enough cash to generate a sequel, but Fraser was replaced on last year’s Journey 2: The Mysterious Island by Dwayne Johnson. It’s not the first time Fraser has seen one of his franchises Rocked—the Mummy movies launched the ex-wrestler’s career, spinning him off as The Scorpion King. And now Johnson’s taken command of the G.I. Joe series, while Fraser’s character from the original, Sgt. Stone, is nowhere to be seen.
Fraser really hit Rock bottom in 2010 with the twin turkeys Extraordinary Measures (a CBS Films release that looked like it should be a disease-of-the-week TV-movie, if not for the presence of Harrison Ford) and Furry Vengeance (in which he battled woodland creatures). He should’ve learned his lesson about not interacting with cartoonish critters with 2003′s daffy dud Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
Now Fraser’s star power is vanishing faster than his hair. Stand Off—generically retitled from the original, even worse Whole Lotta Sole—casts him as an American who flees to Ireland and is taken hostage after a fish-market robbery goes bad. The film stinks worse than seafood left out in the sun. It’s hard to believe cowriter-director Terry George is the same man behind In the Name of the Father and Hotel Rwanda, although at least those two had more laughs than Stand Off.
Fraser doesn’t look to reverse his professional free-fall anytime soon. He dropped out as the lead of TNT’s drama pilot Legends (and was replaced by Game of Thrones casualty Sean Bean). His upcoming feature slate doesn’t look too promising, unless you think the long-delayed The Legend of William Tell in 3D is bound to hit a box-office bull’s-eye (I don’t). Even the Mummy franchise is being rebooted without him. Looks like it may be time to embalm his movie career.
10 actors who tried to bounce back from a flop:
http://www.denofgeek.us/movies/13978/10-actors-who-tried-to-bounce-back-from-a-flop
BRENDAN FRASER
The Flop: Monkeybone
Henry Selick is a director who, for this writer’s money, rarely gets the credit he deserves. Firstly, he’s rarely recognised as the man who actually directed The Nightmare Before Christmas, but also, his film of James And The Giant Peach was something really quite special too. Here’s hoping Coraline works out and puts him firmly on the map where he belongs.
That said, he took some flack for the box office disappointment – and that’s putting it kindly – of Monkeybone, which in retrospect was a strange kind of film for a studio to spend $75m on. Its US box office take didn’t make it to $6m, and it never even made it to the big screen in the UK.
Its star, Brendan Fraser, had been riding high at the time, off the back of The Mummy and the early, quite brilliant George of the Jungle. Monkeybone was his first bona fide bomb, though, but his filmic response was interesting. He was also at work on the Mummy sequel, which hit big, and he also signed up to be part of the Crash ensemble. With a well-chosen role in The Quiet American too, he kept his credentials bubbling along, which left him perfectly placed for a third Mummy adventure and the 3D film Journey To The Center Of The Earth, both of which grossed $100m in the US in 2008. He might not be quite at the level he was at ten years ago, but wise choices have kept Fraser very much in the game.
Career status: ticking along nicely.
“Encino Man” was on TV recently. I tried to watch it. Brendan Fraser was the only redeeming element. Even so gave up about halfway through.
Once was enough, thanks.
The Billion-Dollar Cro-Magnon Man?:
http://www.pajiba.com/career_assessments/brendan-fraser-career-assessment.php
Subject: Brendan Fraser, 41-year-old Canadian-American actor
Date of Assessment: January 22, 2010
Positive Buzzwords: Amiable, deadpan, cartoonish
Negative Buzzwords: Hairplugs, hairplugs, Crash
The Case: Ever since Brendan Fraser checked out the fresh nugs and wheezed the juice as Linkovich Chomofsky in 1992’s Encino Man, my opinion of the fellow hasn’t changed all that much. Over the years, Fraser’s been in a lot of horribly craptastic movies and, for each and every one of them, he deserves to be kicked mercilessly in the balls a few hundred times. Even worse, rumor has it that Paul Haggis, the director of that notorious Oscar-winning atrocity otherwise referred to as “Crash,” was only able to secure financing after Fraser signed onto the project, so it can be said that, without Fraser, there may very well have been no Crash. At this point, one cannot be blamed for wanting to time-travel back to the pre-Crash era to reach down Fraser’s throat and pull his balls upwards through his mouth before kicking them mercilessly. Let’s face it — at one point or another, we’ve all wondered why Brendan Fraser is still kicking around in Hollywood. Well, there’s one simple explanation: many of this guy’s movies enter blockbuster territory by making a crapload of money. And yes, that’s something that deserves at least a little bit of respect.
Now, this is gonna be painful, but let’s look at he the cold, hard data, folks… Fraser’s films have grossed a collective $1.2 billion domestically and $2.5 billion worldwide. (Source: The Numbers). Specifically, here are the worldwide grosses for a few of his individual movies: George of the Jungle, $174 million; The Mummy, $416 million; The Mummy Returns, $433 million; The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emporer, $398 million; Journey to the Center of the Earth, $241 million; G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, $301 million. Of course, he’s had a few obligatory clunkers that haven’t been so lucrative: Airheads, Dudley Do-Right, and Looney Tunes: Back In Action; but he’s also done some real acting in dramatic films: School Ties, Gods and Monsters, and The Quiet American. However, we now realize that such small (and relatively critically acclaimed) dramas are not the typical projects that Fraser chooses.
Nowadays, Fraser has found his niche, and these movies of his — Encino Man, George of the Jungle, and The Mummy — are essentially live-action cartoons and can be seen as larger-scale, bigger-budget B-flicks. In fact, Brendan Fraser has nearly become a parody of himself in a larger-than-life, cartoonish sort of way as a floppy-haired (hairpiece alert!) hero; a self-deprecating halfwit, who is willing to wear only a loincloth and is powered by an ironic, tongue-in-cheek bravura. As such, it’s almost impossible to hate this guy, for Fraser’s affable charisma is the rare type that results when an actor does the following: (1) Doesn’t take himself that seriously; (2) Appears quite often in stupid adventure films but isn’t nearly as annoying as Nicholas Cage; (3) Remains scandal-free and, thus, family-friendly and able to pull off well-meaning hero types.
Fraser is also undeniably adept at reacting to CGI effects in front of a green screen. Hell, it’s virtually a spectator sport to watch him defeat prehistoric sabre-toothed fish, gigantic man-eating plants, and the occasional Tyrannosaurus Rex. Quite simply, Fraser gives good popcorn movies that don’t pretend to be anything else. These movies may be short on comprehensible dialogue and utterly predictable, but it’s hard to deny that, to a lot of people, these escapades are sheer fun at the theater. Fraser knows that these are the types of films within which audiences will pay to see him, and where there’s box-office success, there’s money in the bank for daddy. Finally, he doesn’t resent his place in Hollywood and moan about wanting to be a serious actor. Nope, Fraser knows the game, he’s willing to play it, and he doesn’t pretend not to do so. Quite simply, he’s a commodity but no more so than Vince Vaughn, Tom Cruise, or Jennifer Aniston. Overall, Brendan Fraser generally comes off as an amiable fellow with pretty decent comic timing, and he’s not a bad-looking bloke at all, so he’s become the go-to-guy for inserting some easygoing humor and subtle goofy physicality to what would otherwise be entirely ridiculous films. Can you imagine Nic Cage fighting gigantic piranhas and swinging from vines without being utterly serious about it all?
Now for a few drawbacks… Frasier shouts a lot in his roles, and he could stand to cut this shit out, but, admittedly, it is sort of funny when he goes from The Mummy to something like Journey to the Center of the Earth, where real-life actors are on the receiving end of said shouting. Also, we also must accept that, in all of Fraser’s movies, the dude’s gonna pretend to have great hair, but he will invariably attend all press conferences and photocalls looking like astroturf personified. Such is Hollywood life.
Prognosis: Extraordinary Measures looks depressing as hell and, as a January release, must not have earned too much studio-based confidence. With Furry Vengeance in his future, not even Fraser’s persona may not be able to escape obnoxiousness, but he can also easily recover with the planned Journey to the Center of the Earth sequel. Further, his proven ability (such as it is) to react to special effects may very well lend Fraser a future in the next Roland Emmerich film. If all else fails, he could always launch another career as spokesperson for the Hair Club for Men.
i worked with Brendan Fraser in inkheart in italy, he was very rude with the public, he took no time to take photos with the families waiting outside in the very cold winter nights whereas Paul Bettany, Andy Serkis and others did so without any problems. He had a heavy scuffle whereby he retaliated hitting an italian extra in the chest, for no reason, i saw the whole thing, the poor little italian guy didnt understand a word of what was going on, the director was screaming at him to keep pushing Brendan harder to make the scene realistic whereupon Brendan shocked everyone striking this guy on the ground. All the italian extras got very angry and as a result started pushing Brendan around insulting him in fact he got kicked by one of the extras. It was very disappointing, many families were disappointed, as well as some of the crew. Put Bluntly, overall attitude on set, i think he’s an agressive jerk
Wow. Thanks for sharing your story. That is very disappointing to hear.
yeh, im not a kid but at the time i felt like i was in candyland. I had the luck with all my contacts I had in the local area to create adhesives with phrases written out of the book, they Were laser cut wITh the font that Cornelia funke used in her book, we stuck it on everybodys faces then sprayed paint to form the words on peoples heads. Then luckily i wAS personal trainer to Iain Softley plus another producer so lets say i was on the set for 6 weeks from 5am to 7pm at night. You get a fairly broad perspective of what happens on set and it wAS fun talking to Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent, Paul Bettany, and Andy Serkis, as I said they wERe really relaxed with the extras on the film set so we were really disappointed in general with Brendans attitude. i dunno maybe he was havin a bad month. Nevertheless, people shd take care of their public image, i believe what goes around comes around. Did the stories in the 90s of Brendans Brother was a guy without a job and slept on the streets? Apparently Brendan never helped him out? It was on the tabloids years back
Sounds like karma did come back around. Ouch!
20 Film Stars You Definitely Won’t Remember In 20 Years:
http://whatculture.com/film/20-film-stars-you-definitely-wont-remember-in-20-years.php
19. Brendan Fraser
Oh how the future looked bright for Brendan Fraser when he starred in The Mummy. But then he started doing terrible family films and now no one wants to touch him with a barge pole.
Looney Tunes: Back In Action was a horrible film, and that had the help of an established brand (and Space Jam. SPACE JAM). Fraser has had very few hits outside of anything not related to pyramids and Egypt, and I can’t imagine The Mummy being brought back over and over again so he can indulge in a bit of nostalgia.
Speaking of his terrible family films, he actually hasn’t done one (acting wise, not voice roles) for a while. But he hasn’t done anything for a while. He’s fading into obscurity already, so he doesn’t stand a chance at being remembered in 20 years time.
Maybe he actually just enjoys doing comedy and having a laugh everyday? Ever thought that there’s more to life than being an A lister? A days work is a days work, but I’d rather spend it laughing.
It doesn’t sound like Fraser is living a carefree life these days with all his alimony woes.
And of course there’s more to life than being an A-lister. If I have learned one thing from WTHH it’s that all of the actors I have covered so far continue working long after they drop off the A-list.
That doesn’t make talking about their rise and fall any less interesting.
yep exactly, and all these definitions are fluid anyway. There can be A listers as in, Oscar gold, and not everyone reading will even remember who they are. or, some actors are constantly working yet not A list… someone like Paul Rudd, look how many movies he is in but I don’t think of him as A list movie opener, unless he is paired with an A list female lead.
Look at the recent example of Nicole Kidman, A list all the way but no longer the white hot star. This is what Hollywood does! Reese Witherspoon will show up in one of these columns eventually, I bet.. Soeaking of Reese, I LOVED the movie from a year or so ago where she had to choose between Paul Rudd, and Owen Wilson… (sure wish I had her problems).. but it didn’t do so well box office. Probably enjoyed second life in DVD.
It is definitely interesting and part of what makes this so interesting is that people will have very different reactions.
What exactly it means to be A-list is really hard to define. I am always having discussions about who is or is not A-list. Also, the A-list doesn’t mean what it used to. I have seen some people argue there is no longer any such thing as an A-list. I still think there is, but A-listers are a lot more vulnerable than ever before. Audiences care more about the concept of the movie than who is in it.
Paul Rudd is a good example. He’s a very talented guy and I always like to see him in movies. He has had and will continue to have a long career. But in no way is he A-list. The same could be said of Owen Wilson for that matter.
Reese Witherspoon will be added to the poll very soon. I expect to write her up in the next couple of months. I wish I had written her up before she got arrested!
The differing opinions is part of what makes the comments section so interesting.
I was thinking that has Reese Witherspoon’s recent arrest become her “Meg Ryan hooks up w/ Russell Crowe” or “Winona Ryder shoplifts” moment in which it pretty much seriously hurt her good girl/girl-next-door/America’s Sweetheart” image?
She is done, done, done:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000702/board/flat/213591832?p=1
Time will tell. I think Witherspoon was fading anyway. When was her last hit? Off the top, I don’t recall. I think she has done the right thing by getting out there and apologizing for her ridiculous behavior. My guess is her fans will forgive her.But even if they do, her fan base is shrinking and she can’t keep continuing to make rom-coms indefinitely.