Bridget Fonda came from Hollywood royalty. Peter Fonda is her father and Jane Fonda is her aunt. Her grandfather was the legenday Henry Fonda.
In the late 80’s, Bridget Fonda was hailed as one of America’s most promising young actresses. In the early 90’s, she seemed poised for a break-out that never happened. And then, she disappeared faster than you can say “Steve Guttenberg in the 90’s”.
What the hell happened?
This one actually has a fairly simple explanation. Fonda basically walked away from her career to start a family with former Oingo Boingo frontman and current movie soundtrack composer, Danny Elfman. I figure we may as well get that out of the way up front so the answer won’t seem too anti-climactic. But What the Hell Happened articles are more about they journey than the destination. So, let’s walk through Fonda’s career so we can appreciate what she left behind for the love of Jack Skellington.
Yeah, keep on smiling, Oingo Boingo!
At the age of four, Fonda appeared in her father’s 1969 cult classic, Easy Rider.
Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper played hippies who ride motorcycles across the American Southwest. Along the way, the two come across a commune where they stay for the day. Four-year-old Bridget played one of the kids in the commune.
James Cameron originally wrote The Terminator with Bridget Fonda in mind to play Sarah Connor. In the original script, the character was much younger. Had Fonda agreed, The Terminator would have been her movie debut. When she passed, several actresses were considered. Debra Winger was cast but changed her mind before filming started. Eventually Linda Hamilton landed the role.
Fonda’s first credited role wasn’t until 1987’s Aria.
Aria asked the question, “What can we do to sex up opera?” The answer turned out to be to “add some sex scenes”. Viewers were treated to opera, pretension and nudity. I believe I saw it twice. I was really into pretentious opera movies at the time.
Fonda’s segment centered on a young couple who consummate their relationship in Las Vegas and then try unsuccessfully to commit suicide. All set to “Liebestod” from Tristan und Isolde. Seven minutes, well spent.
I tease Aria. It was actually a very well-regarded art film. It won the Golden Palm award at the Cannes Film Festival that year. And it had Elizabeth Hurley naked. Sixteen-year-old lebeau approved of both.
In 1988, Fonda appeared in the romantic comedy, You Can’t Hurry Love.
David Packer played a guy from Ohio who moves out to LA when his cousin promises him a hot job in advertising. When he gets there, he finds himself handing out flyers on the beach. As a frustrated single, he joins a video dating service where Fonda works.
David Leisure, who was appearing in popular commercials at the time as the character, Joe Isuzu, had a supporting role and was featured heavily in the movie’s marketing materials. Sally Kellerman, Charles Grodin and Kristy McNichol all had cameo roles.
Fonda also did voice work in the English dub of the French animated science fiction movie, Gandahar or Light Years as it was called in the US. Fonda voiced the Head/Historian.
I remember seeing this weird little cartoon in the very same art house where I watched Aria in 1987. Glenn Close, Jennifer Grey and Christopher Plummer were also featured on the English language version.
Things started looking up in 1989. First, Fonda scored a juicy role in the British drama, Scandal.
Scandal starred John Hurt and Joanne Whalley (future wife and eventually ex-wife of Val Kilmer). It was a fictionalised account of the Profumo Affair – a well-known British sex scandal which was documented in Anthony Summers’ book Honeytrap.
The movie caused quite a stir in Europe. It was nearly rated X in the US. Apparently, some of the extras in the orgy scene were taking their roles a little too seriously. They were going all method-acting on a piano in the background. The couple was out of focus, but the MPAA (who apparently scrutinized the footage to determine whether or not an actual sex act was being performed) insisted that the offending out-of-focus non-simulated fornication be cut from the orgy scene.
Originally, Fonda’s part was given to English actress Emily Lloyd. But Lloyd dropped out to appear in the Vietnam War drama, In Country which offered more money. Mandy Rice-Davies, the real-life person Fonda’s character was based on, met with Fonda in secret to help her prepare for the role. Scandal producer Stephen Woolley revealed the secret after Rice-Davies died in 2014:
She wasn’t too sure that her husband would have approved her involvement in the film so we had to have little secret meetings… She wanted to act at the time, in the mid-80s. By the time we had got to make Scandal she had remarried and was sort of moving in different circles, but she couldn’t resist the limelight and so we had these little secret meetings so that Bridget could imitate her walk and accent and so on.
Although most American audiences never heard of the Scandal, it received very good reviews. Fonda was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.
Fonda also starred opposite Blair Brown and Bruno Ganz in the indie drama, Strapless.
Brown played an expatriate American doctor in London who becomes involved with a mysterious man played by Ganz. Fonda played her younger sister who helps her loosen up.
Reviews were mixed. Miramax gave Strapless a limited release in the US.
Later that year, Fonda appeared in the 60’s road movie, Shag.
Shag takes place in 1963. Phoebe Cates plays a girl with a rich but boring fiance. Fonda and Annabeth Gish play her friends who take her on a road trip for one last adventure before her nuptials. Page Hannah (sister of 80’s mermaid, Daryl Hannah), also appears as an uptight senator’s daughter.
Shag got mostly positive reviews, but flopped at the box office. It has developed a cult following in the years since its release.
Fonda also appeared on TV. She played a homeless teen in an episode of the Gen X cop drama, 21 Jump Street. Fonda’s character is such a Dickensian street urchin that she begs for a soft drink refill because she “needs the sugar”.
The 3rd season episode was titled Blinded by the Thousand Points of Light.
Fonda also appeared in an episode of HBO’s gritty anthology series, The Edge. According to the LA Times, “the three-episode anthology series strives for a Blue Velvet-like kinkiness, mystique and dark tone, but ends up being only unredeemingly gory and pretentious.” Episodes were introduced by a narrator named the Watcher.
Fonda co-starred opposite Christian Slater in the third and final episode of the series. The episode was titled The Professional Man. Slater played a hit-man known as The Kid. Fonda played his girlfriend, a waitress at a strip club. Slater’s boss makes a move on Fonda and she rejects him. So his boss gives him a choice to either change Fonda’s mind or kill her. He opts for the later.
Finally, Fonda appeared in the TV movie, Jacob Have I Loved based on the novel of the same name by Katherine Paterson. Fonda and Jenny Robertson played twins living in a fictional island in Maryland in the 1940s. Robertson played the pretty blonde twin with a fabulous singing voice. Fonda played her plain brunette sister who works hard to pay for singing lessons for her sister.
Next: Frankenstein Unbound and The Godfather Part III
In 1990, Fonda appeared as Mary Shelley in Roger Corman’s Frankenstein Unbound.
John Hurt starred as a scientist in the year 2031 whose invention sends him back in time to Switzerland in 1817. In the past, he crosses paths with the real Dr. Frankenstein (played by Raul Julia) and Mary Shelley played by Fonda.
Here’s a clip in which Shelley is introduced to the doctor by Lord Byron (played by Jason Patric) and Percy Shelley (played by Australian rock singer Michael Hutchence)
Reviews were mixed and the movie flopped at the box office. It has since developed a cult following including a fan who told me off in the comments section below for having not seen it. Considering the movie grossed just over $300,000 I don’t think I’m alone.
Later that year, Fonda had a small role in The Godfather Part III, the movie that dared to ask the question, “Will it ruin a movie if you replace Winona Ryder with your daughter?”
It turns out that was a trick question. Because while casting Sophia Coppola in a key role in the final Godfather movie certainly made the movie worse, it would likely have sucked anyway.
Fonda’s role is small. She auditioned for the role of Mary Corleone that ultimately went to Coppola’s daughter. Instead, Fonda was cast as a journalist that has a one-night stand with Andy Garcia’s character. Fonda’s role was actually reduced from what was originally scripted. But it was still a feather in her cap to be cast in one of the most beloved franchises in film history. Even if the third film did not remotely live up to the high standards of the first two.
Personally, I just pretend it doesn’t exist. So, let’s move on, shall we?
Around this time, Fonda started dating actor Eric Stoltz. The two had met previous in 1986 and had a short fling. But in 1990, they were reunited at director Michael Caton-Jones’s house. Caton-Jones had directed Fonda in Scandal and Stoltz in Memphis Belle. Stoltz described the reunion in a 1992 interview:
Michael was throwing a pool party. Bridget happened to call and Michael invited her over. We hadn’t seen each other for five or six years, so there were no hard feelings. It seemed natural to just sit down and talk. We became friends again for five or six months before getting romantically involved, and it’s turned out to be quite wonderful. We felt like we had known each other since we were kids. It was sort of like getting into a warm bath.
In 1991, Fonda had a small, uncredited role in the independently produced fantasy-comedy, Drop Dead Fred.
Fonda’s Shag co-star and real-life friend, Phoebe Cates played a woman controlled by a domineering mother. After a string of bad luck results in Cates’ character losing her job and her husband, she returns to her childhood home where she in reunited with her imaginary friend. Drop Dead Fred, played by English comedian, Rik Mayall, pledges to help make the adult Cates happy again. But his shenanigans do more harm than good.
Fonda appeared briefly as the woman Cates’ husband (played by Tim Matheson) is having an affair with. Drop Dead Fred was one of Cates’ last attempts to establish herself as a leading lady. Fonda appeared in the movie basically because the two were friends in real life. When the movie wasn’t a hit, it pretty much singled the end of Cates’ career as an A-list star.
Next, Fonda co-starred opposite Michael (Danny Noonan from Caddyshack) O’Keefe in the thriller, Out of the Rain. O’Keefe played a guy who returns to his hometown to attend his brother’s funeral. Something about his brother’s suicide seems suspicious so he begins to investigate. Things get complicated when he becomes romantically involved with his brother’s girlfriend played by Fonda.
If only he had learned to “be the ball” like Chevy Chase told him.
Later that year, Fonda had a supporting role in the Michael J. Fox romantic comedy, Doc Hollywood.
Doc Hollywood was as derivative as movies come. Replace all the human actors with vehicles and you’ve got Pixar’s Cars. It’s not a bad movie, but pretty much every one in the cast is better than the material.
Surprisingly, Fonda’s character did not end up with Marty McFly, I mean Michael J. Fox. She had a supporting role as the girl who is too eager to be the romantic lead. As punishment, she ends up with Woody Harrelson.
Rounding out a busy 1991, Fonda starred opposite Jeff Fahey (aka The Lawnmower Man) in the thriller, Iron Maze.
Fonda played the wife of a rich Japanese businessman. They come to a small town outside of Pittsburg to tear down a closed iron mill and build an amusement park. One day, the businessman is found half-dead. Fahey, rocking a drifter mullet, confesses to the beating but claims it was done in self-defense.
In 1992, Fonda had another cameo in a cult movie. This time, she played Linda in Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness.
Army of Darkness was the third film in Raimi’s Evil Dead series. Linda was Bruce Campbell’s girlfriend who is possessed by evil spirits in the woods. In the original film, the doomed girl was played by Betsy Baker. The role was recast for Evil Dead 2 when Raimi was forced to re-shoot scenes for a brief synopsis of the first film. Baker was pregnant and could not return, so Linda was played by Denise Bixler.
With Army of Darkness, Raimi shot a third version of the events from the first film. This time, Fonda, who was a huge Evil Dead fan, played Linda for roughly 10 seconds. According to Raimi, Fonda was supposed to get more screentime, but her role was cut down to a blink-and-you-missed-her cameo. Years later, Fonda would go on to work with Raimi again in A Simple Plan.
Next, Fonda starred opposite D.B. Sweeney and Carrey Elwes in the gangster movie, Leather Jackets.
Fonda played a girl with a checkered background who finally finds the man of her dreams when Sweeney proposes to her. Their plans are interrupted by Sweeney’s gangster friend played by Elwes. He has robbed a Vietnamese gangster and is now on the run from his thugs. Sweeney decides to hide Elwes in his trunk and drive him to LA to hide from the mob.
The movie was actually filmed in 1990 and sat on a shelf for two years before being released. That should probably tell you something about the quality of the movie.
Also in 1992, Fonda also starred opposite Jennifer Jason Leigh in the roomie thriller, Single White Female. Both were rising stars in independent films. But while Fonda seemed to embrace mainstream Hollywood movies like, well, Doc Hollywood, Leigh had little patience for them.
Fonda and Leigh played roommates. At first, everything is a-okay. But then Leigh starts copying Fonda’s haircut. And we all know that is a one-way ticket to Crazy Town!
Fonda was given her choice of roles at the outset. She decided to play the lead character because she thought it was a more challenging role. During the scene in which Leigh’s character seduces Fonda’s boyfriend (played by Stephen Weber) Fonda actually stepped in to play the crazy roommate. Leigh was busy in make-up, so Fonda shot the part where she slips into bed.
Despite mixed reviews, Single White Female was a modest hit at the box office.
Later that year, Fonda continued her “single” theme with Cameron Crowe’s slacker comedy, Singles.
Singles focused on six twenty-somethings who live in the same apartment complex. Sound familiar? These friends lived in Seattle as the grunge scene was hitting it big. Fonda played a coffee-bar waitress with a crush on a rocker played by Matt Dillon. Campbell Scott and Kyra Sedgwick co-starred. Fonda’s boyfriend, Eric Stoltz, appeared as a mime.
Singles was the first of Hollywood’s attempts to lure Gen-X audiences to the movies. Expectations were high that the film and its grunge-infused soundtrack would connect with the youth audience. But like just about every movie aimed at Gen X, Singles missed the mark. In fact, it’s failure at the box office nearly derailed production of Ben Stiller’s slacker rom com, Reality Bites.
Reviews for Singles were mostly positive and the film has developed a cult following. The soundtrack was a best seller three months before the movie was even released. Although Singles failed, some point to the popular TV show Friends as a reinvention of the failed movie.
Up until this point, Fonda hadn’t done a lot of starring roles. But in 1993, she made her bid to break out as an action hero with John Badham’s Nikita adaptation, Point of No Return.
Fonda played a criminal who is sentenced to death. But her sentence is never carried out. Instead, the government fakes her death and she is recruited into a shadowy organization where she is trained to be an assassin. Gabriel Byrne played her handler and Anne Bancroft played one of her trainers. Harvey Keitel shows up as the problem-solving cleaner.
Several actresses were considered for the role of Maggie. Winona Ryder and Jodie Foster both turned it down. Halle Berry pursued the part but Badham didn’t feel she was right.
Point of No Return was supposed to launch a franchise. But for whatever reason, that didn’t happen. When it came out, I was sure it would be a hit. Fonda wearing slinky outfits and kicking ass? I was in. But it turns out, I was alone in that respect.
The movie got mixed reviews, but suffered when compared to the original. When it failed at the box office in the US, Warner Brothers changed the name for international release. Instead, it was called The Assassin. Although Point of No Return failed to launch a movie franchise, Nikita was later adapted into two television series. Perhaps American audiences prefer their female spies on TV?
Later that year, Fonda starred opposite Phoebe Cates, Tim Roth, and Eric Stoltz in the indie drama, Bodies, Rest and Motion.
The movie was based on a stage play of the same name. Roger Hedden adapted his own play to the big screen. Fonda played Roth’s girlfriend. When he loses his job, he impulsively decides to move to Butte, MT and to take his girlfriend with him. Cates played Fonda’s best friend and Stoltz played a painter who comes to paint their apartment before they have even moved out.
The cast included Fonda’s real-life friend, Cates, her real-life boyfriend, Stoltz, and her real-life father, Peter Fonda. Fonda hid in the backseat of Roth’s car during her dad’s scene. According to director Michael Steinberg:
Bridget wanted to be in a shot with her father. Of course you can’t see her at all. She’s ducked down behind in the back seat, but I guess it was not since Easy Rider that they’d been in a film together.
Reviews for Bodies, Rest and Motion were mixed. The indie drama failed to find a mainstream audience.
In 1993, Fonda also had a supporting role in Bernardo Bertolucci’s drama, Little Buddha.
Fonda and Chris Isaak played a couple of American’s whose son is believed to be the reincarnation of a great Buddhist teacher. Keanu Reeves played a Hindu prince whose story Fonda reads to her young son.
Isaak had mad respect for Fonda’s crying skills:
She is cool. Even though she’s littler than I am and younger than I am, she’s as bull-headed as I am. And she can cry on cue. I don’t know anybody who can do it. They’d say, “Bridge, we’re ready to do the take,” and she’d look far away for a minute and the next thing I’d know, tears were running down her face and she was looking at me crying. I was ready to say, “OK, Bridget, let’s not break up. Whatever you want. I’ll buy you the dress. You’re right, I was wrong.” Tears do that to me.
Reviews were mostly positive. Little Buddha did not catch on with American audiences, but it did pretty well overseas. The point of making a movie like Little Buddha is to work with a famed director like Bertolucci. This was another prestige picture for Fonda.
In 1994, Fonda tried her hand at romantic comedy again. This time opposite Nicolas Cage in the lottery-themed rom com, It Could Happen To You.
Fonda played a waitress who was offered half of a lottery ticket as a tip. Cage played a cop who won the lottery and then honored the agreement to split the winnings. The movie was very loosely based on a true story.
It Could Happen to You is a sweet movie that tries to present itself like a real-world fairy tale. But it’s one of those romantic comedies that forgets the laughs. As a result, it got mixed reviews and flopped at the box office.
Later that year, Fonda appeared as part of an all-star ensemble in Alan Parker’s truly bizarre period comedy, The Road to Wellville.
Wellville starred Anthony Hopkins as John Harvey Kellogg, inventor of corn flakes and founder of the Battle Creek Sanitarium. Fonda and Matthew Broderick played a husband and wife couple who came to the Sanitarium for its unconventional treatment. John Cusak and Dana Carvey co-starred.
Despite all the talent involved, Wellville just didn’t work. It got poor reviews and flopped at the box office.
Rounding out 1994, Fonda starred opposite Jessica Tandy in the cross-generational road movie, Camilla.
Fonda played a young musician whose husband doesn’t support her musical ambitions. Tandy played a concert violinist with a tendency to tell exaggerated stories. The two musicians become fast friends. Soon, Fonda’s character agrees to drive Tandy from Savannah to Toronto to attend a concert of Brahms’ violin.
Reviews were mostly negative. But even the negative reviews praised Tandy’s performance.
In 1995, Fonda starred opposite a then-unknown Australian actor named Russell Crowe in the period romantic comedy-noir (does such a genre even exist?), Rough Magic.
The movie is set in the 1950’s. Fonda played a magician’s assistant who witnesses her boss’ murder. She flees to Mexico to escape her fiance, a wealthy politician who had her boss killed. Her fiance hires a private eye (played by Crowe) to pursue her and bring her back. Naturally, the two fall in love. Along the way, Fonda’s character discovers she just might have magical powers.
The movie goes for an old school screwball/noir vibe. Generally, screwball comedy and noir did not mix even in old Hollywood. So it’s probably no surprise that Rough Magic never gets the mix quite right. It’s not for lack of trying though. Fonda and Crowe give it their all with lines like:
Crowe: Your tongue is…
Fonda: Nimble?
Also in 1995, Fonda lent her voice to the animated feature, Balto.
Balto was voiced by Kevin Bacon. So keep that in mind the next time you’re playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon and need to link Bridget Fonda. Fonda’s future Monkeybone co-star, Brendan Fraser, recorded voice work for the movie’s villain, Steel. But his recordings were discarded and the role was recast.
Balto was the last animated feature produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblimation. After Balto, Spielberg merged Amblimation with Dreamworks which he co-founded with David Geffen and the former head of Disney Studios, Jeffrey Katezenberg.
Reviews for Balto were mixed. It was mostly over-shadowed at the box office by Toy Story. But it sold well enough on video to generate two direct-to-video sequels.
In 1996, Fonda reunited with John Cusack for the legal thriller, City Hall.
City Hall co-starred Al Pacino and was directed by Harold Becker who had directed Pacino in the hit, Sea of Love. Pacino played the mayor of New York City who may be involved in a conspiracy surrounding the shooting of a young boy. Cusack played Pacino’s deputy mayor and Fonda played a legal aid.
It was expected that City Hall would be a hit that would cement both Fonda and Cusack on the A-list. Instead, it got mixed reviews and bombed at the box office. It opened in fourth place behind Muppet Treasure Island.
Later that year, Fonda had a small role in the musical drama, Grace of My Heart.
Illeana Douglas starred as a singer songwriter who grows frustrated writing songs for other people to sing. Eventually, she gets a chance to record her own music with a record producer played by Fonda’s Singles co-star, Matt Dillon. Fonda’s real-life boyfriend, Eric Stoltz, and John Turturro co-starred.
Reviews were mostly positive, but the movie only played in 93 theaters.
In 1997, Fonda co-starred opposite Skeet Ulrich and Christopher Walken in Paul Schrader’s adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s novel, Touch.
Ulrich played a miracle worker who heals the sick and suffers from stigmata. Walken played an ex-evangelist who encourages Fonda to get close to Ulrich and push him into the spotlight. Tom Arnold appears as a fundamentalist who objects to Ulrich and Fonda’s relationship.
Schrader originally wanted to option Leonard’s novel, Rum Punch. But Quentin Tarantino already had the rights. Tarantino adapted Rum Punch into Jackie Brown and Schrader adapted Touch instead. Fonda appeared in both movies which were both released in ’97.
Reviews were negative. And odds are you never heard of the movie.
In 1997, Fonda appeared opposite Samuel L Jackson and Robert De Niro in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown.
Fonda played a drugged-out surfer girl who lives on the couch of a drug and arms dealer played by Samuel L. Jackson. She has a tense relationship with Jackson’s unstable new partner played by DeNiro which is put to the test during a pick-up gone awry.
Jackie Brown was Tarantino’s follow-up to the decade defining Pulp Fiction. As a result, it was practically guaranteed to disappoint. But the truth is, the crime drama is criminally under-rated. Watch it now years apart from Pulp Fiction and see how well it stands on its own.
Unfortunately, Jackie Brown didn’t provide much of a career boost for Fonda as she may have hoped. All the praise was heaped on her co-stars Pam Grier, Robert Forster and Samuel L. Jackson.
Fonda also appeared opposite Glenn Close, Whoopi Goldberg and David Strathairn in the HBO movie, In the Gloaming.
Robert Sean Leonard played a young man dying of AIDS. He returns home to spend his final months with his mother (played by Close). The two share a close mother/son bond that tends to alienate his sister (Fonda) and father (Strathairn).
In the Gloaming was the directorial debut of the late Christopher Reeve. It was his first project after the horse riding accident that left him paralyzed. Fonda was nominated for an Emmy for her performance.
Also in 1997, Fonda appeared in a small role in Mr. Jealousy.
Mr. Jealousy starred Eric Stoltz as a guy who’s relationships always end because of his jealous streak. He hopes his relationship with Annabella Sciorra will turn out differently.
It was the last film Stoltz and Fonda would make together. The couple broke up in 1998 after an eight-year relationship.
Fonda was Ally McBeal creator David E. Kelley’s first choice to play the lead in his quirky TV show. But Fonda claims she refused to read the script because she was afraid she would like it too much and she didn’t want to do TV. She told a reporter in 1999:
Right now I’m doing really well with my film career, but that may all change and I’ll turn on Ally McBeal one night and start kicking myself.
Instead, the role went to Calista Flockhart and she became an over-night TV star. Fonda rightly pointed out that just because the show was a hit with Flockhart, that doesn’t mean it would have been equally successful if she had accepted the part:
I’m not kicking myself for having passed on Ally McBeal, even though it’s a huge hit. I’ve been acting long enough to know it could have been a complete dud with me in it. It may work as well as it does because of Calista.
In 1998, Fonda appeared opposite Harvey Keitel in the indie drama, Finding Graceland.
Keitel played a drifter who claimed to be Elvis. He hitches a ride with a young man who is coping with the death of his wife (played by 90’s It Girl, Gretchen Mol). Along the way, they meet a Marilyn Monroe impersonator played by Fonda.
Fonda makes a pretty good Monroe.
Later that year, Fonda starred in the thriller, Break Up.
Fonda played a woman who is the victim of spousal abuse. She is deaf due to the abuse of her husband. When a burned body turns up in her husband’s car, two cops played by Kiefer Sutherland and Stephen Weber want to bring her in for questioning. But instead, she flees to her sister played by Penelope Ann Miller. As she flees, she comes to suspect that her husband may still be alive.
Reviews were mostly negative. And like most of Fonda’s recent films that weren’t directed by Quentin Tarantino, most audiences never even heard of it.
Fonda ended 1998 by starring opposite Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton in Sam Raimi’s crime thriller, A Simple Plan.
Raimi, of course, was the director of the Evil Dead movies of which Fonda was a big enough fan to make a cameo in Army of Darkness. He would go on to direct the Spider-man films. But at the time, A Simple Plan was Raimi’s big bid for respectability as a mainstream director.
Paxton and Thornton played brothers who discover a bag full of money. The brothers struggle over what to do with their findings. Things gradually spiral into tragedy. As the danger increases, Paxton’s wife, played by Fonda, takes greater control of the situation.
For whatever reason, A Simple Plan never caught on with audiences in spite of largely positive reviews. If anything, it was even more under-rated than Jackie Brown.
To cap off the year, Fonda appeared as herself on The Larry Sander’s Show. The season six episode was titled Pilots and Pens Lost.
In 1999, Fonda starred opposite Bill Pullman (aka “the other Bill”) and Oliver Platt in the Jaws rip-off, Lake Placid.
Lake Placid replaced the ocean with a lake and the shark with an alligator.
In theory, it was supposed to be a winking satire of the genre. But someone forgot to include any humor. Neither funny nor scary, Lake Placid got terrible reviews. It actually managed to make a profit at the box office and three direct-to-video sequels followed.
In 2000, Fonda appeared opposite Vince Vaughn, her Simple Plan costar Billy Bob Thorton and her dad, Peter Fonda in Dwight Yoakam’s revisionist Western, South of Heaven, West of Hell.
Yoakam directed and starred as a sheriff who was raised by outlaws. He tries to stop his family from knocking over a bank, but is hopelessly outgunned. Years later, he is believed to be dead. But he appears in an Arizona border town where he vies for the affections of an actress played by Fonda. This puts him in conflict with Fonda’s beau, played by Billy Bob.
Reviews were not positive. And it was an arthouse Western, so no one saw it.
In 2001, Fonda appeared in existential drama, Delivering Milo.
Fonda played an expectant mother-to-be. But her son, played by a young Anton Yelchin is having second thoughts about being born. Unless a guardian angel played by Albert Finney can convince Yelchin that life is worth living, no more babies will ever be born.
Sometimes, you wonder how a movie ever got made. This is one such case. WTF?
And then came Monkeybone…
I won’t say Monkeybone killed Fonda’s career. The fact of the matter was that after a decade of trying, she had never broken into the mainstream. But when it came time to decide whether to continue trying to act or to raise a family with the guy who wrote the theme music for The Simpson, having an infamous flop like Monkeybone on her resume probably made the decision a little easier.
Monkeybone starred Brendan Fraser as a cartoonist who goes into a coma and enters a dark and seriously unfunny fantasy world. The film was budgeted at 75 million and grossed less than 8 million at the box office. It effectively took both Fraser and Fonda’s careers with it.
After Monkeybone, there was only one way for Fonda to revive her mainstream Hollywood career. It was time to try another action movie. But rather than star as she had in Point of No Return, this time Fonda was the costar. She starred opposite international action star, Jet Li, in Luc Besson’s Kiss Of The Dragon.
Li played a Chinese cop who travels to France to investigate an international conspiracy (and hopefully find some international box office appeal). Fonda played a hooker who helps him solve the case.
Reviews were mixed and so was the box office. Kiss of the Dragon made a small profit in the US and did fairly well overseas. But it wasn’t the kind of hit that makes people forget you were in Monkeybone.
Fonda co-starred opposite Stanley Tucci in the 2001 romantic comedy, The Whole Shebang.
Tucci played an Italian who comes to America to help out with his family’s fireworks business. He is taking over for his cousin who was killed in a fireworks explosion. Fonda played the cousins widow who ends up falling for Tucci’s Italian accent.
This was Fonda’s final film role before retiring. The movie was the first work of fiction from documentary filmmaker George Zaloom. It was also his last.
Fonda retreated to TV. She played a divorcee on an episode of the cheesy TV anthology series, Night Visions. Fonda played a woman who worries that someone is moving things around in her apartment.
Fonda also starred in the TV movie, No Ordinary Baby also known as After Amy. The movie was based on Richard Kadrey’s short story, Carbon Copy. Fonda played a reporter who is covering the story of a doctor who has successfully cloned a human for the first time. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.
In 2002, Fonda landed a recurring role on the Showtime series, The Chris Isaak Show. Fonda and Isaak had appeared together in Little Buddha in 1993. At some point in the intervening years they had apparently dated as well. Fonda did four episodes of the show in the second season.
In 2002, Fonda starred in the TV fantasy film, Snow Queen. It was based on the Hans Christian Andersen story which was also the basis for a little movie called Frozen. Although in this version, the Snow Queen is actually a villain who kidnaps a young woman’s boyfriend. While it is a loose interpretation of the original story, it’s still closer to the source material than the Disney version.
The Snow Queen was Fonda’s last acting job.
In 2003, Fonda was in a car accident in which she flipped her Jaguar. Fonda lost control of her vehicle due to weather conditions. She sustained a slight fracture of two thoracic vertebrae and was rushed to the hospital. Remarkably, her injuries were not terribly serious and she was able to recover at home.
Later that year, Fonda married “that Oingo Boingo guy” (aka Emmy and Grammy winning composer, Danny Elfman) and they raised a family. Rather than tempt fate by appearing in Monkey Bone 2, Fonda quit acting. She walked away Rick Moranis-style. Her filmography just stops.
So, what the hell happened?
Despite a promising start, Fonda’s career just never took off. She had a lot of jobs that looked like they might take her career to the next level. But none of them really clicked with audiences. Then, as Fonda’s movie career was running out of gas, she had a potentially fatal accident and got married. It’s understandable why Fonda would choose to concentrate on raising a family instead of restarting her acting career.
I have always liked her a great deal and felt she was under-rated and under utilized- but, what is even more weird is that I cannot remember Godfather 3 at all – and I’ve seen it – along with the first two – many times- I can remember most of the other two perfectly. I loved A Simple Plan- it’s actually one of my very favorite small films- she was quite good in it. She is so talented and natural I think, obvious brains and real class- that she was smart enough to say “nah” I can always do something… Read more »
I wish I could forget Godfather 3. 😉 Seriously, it’s not terrible. It’s just nowhere near deserving of being in the same series as the first 2. It relies on goodwill from the first two films for everything. A friend of mine convinced me to go see it before having seen the first two films. He insisted it stood alone. It doesn’t. I was utterly baffled. Now I have seen them all several times. I can follow GF3, but it’s still extremely weak. I remember loving A Simple Plan. And then I was utterly shocked how badly it bombed. No… Read more »
Its one thing not being able to resign Robert Duvall- but replacing him with George Hamilton is one small taste of its standards.
True. As is replacing Winona Ryder with the director’s daughter.
It’s one of those sequels I pretend doesn’t exist.
I have heard of and seen only a few of these movies in her filmography. The roles I can remember her in she was good, but never the star of the movie. The biggest role I saw her in was City Hall which I rather liked. I never followed its box office returns so was surprised to learn it flopped. It wasn’t that bad, and it was one of Pacinos last meaty roles before he started going for the paychecks. I might be partial though because City Hall holds the distinction of being the very first DVD I bought after… Read more »
We must have got our first DVRs about the same time. I remember City Hall and Blade Runner being two of the only watchable movies out on DVD.
City Hall was another one that took me by surprise how badly it performed. Fonda, for whatever reason, had a lot of those kinds of films on her resume. Around City Hall, the studios started asking if audiences just didn’t like her.
Great article – and I agree about Jackie Brown…but I disagree about Lake Placid. I really liked that film, and a couple of the lines in it are laugh-out-loud funny.
I actually saw both films before they were released. When we saw Jackie Brown, the audience was really electrified expecting another Pulp Fiction. And you could taste the disappointment in the air when it was over. I wanted to shake people. Sure, it wasn’t as game-changing as Pulp Fiction. But it was still a great movie. I am going to have to re-watch Lake Placid. I saw it just the one time. It’s possible my expectations were too high. I was a big fan of Fonda and Platt and I was really expecting a good movie. That time, I was… Read more »
I like Bill Pullman, plain and simple. The best line of Placid is when he looks over at the uber-annoying Fonda:
“You know, you don’t really have to tell anyone you’re from New York.”
I actually saw Scandal, Jackie Brown (no spoilers there!), and A Simple Plan in the theatre.
You actually failed to mention who her grandfather was. Le Blog readers should search the sur name and see what they find. 😉
She was one of the very beautiful and charming young actresses of her generation, and not bad when she was given a chance to do some real character work or different styles.
lol – was he a juror of some kind? 😉
I have corrected that oversight complete with a link to your article on her grandad.
I’ve only seen her in about 3 flicks. She had kind of a nothing role in Jackie Brown, but did a good job in Point of No Return and Kiss of the Dragon. One movie that I want to see (and I think you will probably want to see too) is a direct-to-video film of hers from 1998 called “Break-Up.” The trailer looks very fun—it looks like she plays an abused deaf woman who kills her husband and then goes on the run. Penelope Ann Miller is in it (she’s only in the trailer briefly but it still looks like… Read more »
Here is the link to the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9LsJXf3FoU
That does look surprisingly engaging. I’ll have to keep an eye out for it. Fonda + Miller = must see. I am really surprised this hasn’t been on my radar before now! Although I usually avoid direct-to-video at all costs, I’ll make an exception in this case. Thanks for the tip! Fonad’s role in Jackie Brown wasn’t large. But it was memorable. It’s one of the scenes people still talk about years later. I remain mystified to this day that Point of No Return wasn’t bigger than it was. Not that it was great, but there weren’t many female action… Read more »
I thought Bridget looked so hot in “Godfather Part III.” Call me biased, but I can’t help but think that I’d like that film a lot better if her part had been bigger.
You and me both.
Bridget, along with Andy Garcia (and maybe the guy that played the crooked cardinal) gave the only interesting performances of GF3. What a disappointment otherwise. Talia Shire and Diane Keaton were clearly only there for the paycheck, Pacino completely forgot how to play Michael Corleone, and Eli Wallach, whom I normally enjoy, was just horrible. This was Coppola’s “Phantom Menace”, where too many years had gone by since the glory days of the first two films, and he lost whatever lightning-in-a-bottle that made the first two so great.
Nothing really to add other than I completely agree.
I was wondering what had become of Bridget and am glad to see she is living her life off-screen. The film industry can be brutal. My favorite films of hers are “Point of No Return” and another film which you failed to mention, “Kiss of the Dragon” with Jet Li.
I was a big Point of No Return fan. I still can’t believe it wasn’t a hit. I did skip over Kiss of the Dragon, but in retrospect I should not have. It looks like it was a late career money-maker. Thanks for pointing that out. I’m in the process of updating some of the older articles. I’ll have to include this in the next update.
Google Bridget Fonda. Check that out!
1. Wikipedia
2. IMDb
3. WTHH!!!
4. Rotten Tomatoes
2013 is the year of Bridget Fonda. Sorry, Val.
I have to comment because Jackie Brown is such a great great movie . Great soundtrack brilliant cast great script well filmed. I ahve seen it about 20 x and i love it more and more and more every time i see it one of his best films ever.
It really does get better over time. I enjoy Tarantino’s recent movies. But I’d like to see him go back to Jackie Brown and do another more restrained crime drama. It’s one of the best films in his catalogue and shamefully underappreciated.
Totally agree
I have always enjoyed watching her talent at work. Genuine, committed acting. I wonder if all the politics didn’t suck the joy out of it for her. She’s so talented that I (selfishly) hope that she can return on her own terms. But never at the cost of compromising her values and well being. Bridget, you rock,
The events portrayed in ‘Scandal’ were more than just a sex scandal, they were establishment-shaking and exposed a national security risk at the height of the Cold War.
And if you’ve never heard of this or ‘Frankenstein Unbound’ you probably shouldn’t be writing about films and certainly not in such an arrogantly smug and forthright way.
But then one expects little more from Americans…
Yes, in this situation it is we Americans who are being smug and arrogant. (eye roll) Please excuse us for not being experts in British history. They don’t teach it here in public school. I’m betting there are bits of American history we consider important that the typical Brit would not know much about. It cuts both ways. It is near to impossible to see every film a performer has appeared in when writing these articles. Some are completely unavailable. Even if available, some others just aren’t important enough to the performer’s career to warrant a full screening. Some of… Read more »
Thanks for coming to my defense. 😉 I have actually seen Scandal. It’s been a long time, but I have seen it. Are you kidding me? In my college days there was no way I was going to miss a movie with Joanne Whalley and Bridget Fonda in a sex scandal! At the time, I was the chair of the cinema committee at my school which meant I decided what movies were shown in the student center theater. I booked Scandal as soon as it was available. Virtually no one showed up, but the few of us who did enjoyed… Read more »
I thought you probably had seen Scandal, but there wasn’t anything in the article or comments which definitely confirmed it. I probably wouldn’t have responded to this fellow, but among Americans, I would be considered a little bit of an Anglophile. This being the case, when I see criticism lobbed from one side of the Atlantic to the other in any direction I tend to be disappointed and annoyed. There are lots of Americans who I would definitely label as provincial, but I think you only have to do some traveling to see that this is the case to some… Read more »
I glossed over Scandal for two reasons. One, it’s been over 20 years since I have seen it (good lord!). Two, most readers aren’t going to be all that interested.
I do remember a lot of stuffy English guys doing stuffy English things. So it wasn’t all hot chicks and sex scandals. But that was clearly the selling point of the movie.
There are definitely Americans who live down to Steve’s expectations. Although I highly doubt many people on either side of the pond put as high a premium on Frankenstein Unbound as he appears to.
lol – thanks for a chuckle, pal. I could have spent more time on the historical background of Scandal. But that really wasn’t the point. I’m glad you’ve fleshed out my comments for those who might be interested. It’s a good movie. People should check it out. But this is an article about Fonda, not English politics. My focus was on the fact that Scandal got creitics buzzing about Fonda. As for Frankenstein Unbound, you really think the criteria for writing about movies should be a Roger Corman production that grossed $300 grand in 1990? I like to think my… Read more »
One footnote I guess about Bridget Fonda is that she was offered the title role of “Ally McBeal”. She however turned it down to focus on movies. In fact, she didn’t even read the script out of fear that she would like it too much.
You also didn’t mention that in 2003, Bridget suffered head and neck injuries when she drove her Jaguar over an embankment and off the Pacific Coast Highway.
Thanks as always for the clarification. This article has been so popular in recent weeks that I am planning to do an update. I’ll make sure to include those details.
I may even track down a copy of Frankenstein Unbound so I can have a chat with Steve.
I did not know that. Interesting. I would have tuned in for that had it happened.
Thanks for sharing!
I like Teri Polo. I just saw her in a Joe Dante-directed horror/fantasy film called The Hole which is worth checking out on Netflix. But I like Bridget Fonda a lot more.
11 Things You Didn’t Know About Ally McBeal http://www.fame10.com/entertainment/11-things-you-didnt-know-about-ally-mcbeal/?streamview=all Bridget Fonda Offered Lead Role It would be hard to picture anyone except Calista Flockhart as Ally McBeal, but apparently Bridget Fonda was David E. Kelley’s first choice! In an interview with the Calgary Sun, Fonda said she turned down the role to focus on her film career. “David sent the [Ally McBeal] script and offer to me through my agent. I refused to read the script for fear I might really like it. I’ve never wanted to do TV. I love feature films too much. I’m not kicking myself for… Read more »
Mathew Buck’s “Bad Movie Beatdown” of “Monkeybone”:
http://blip.tv/film-brain/bad-movie-beatdown-monkeybone-2606456
At about 15:46, Mathew says “By watching this, I think I found the reason why Bridget Fonda stopped acting!”
I haven’t seen it. But I am going to subject myself to it before writing up Fraser. Monkeybone largely put an end to his long-running bid to be A-list. It was a double career killer. Triple if you count Chris Katan.
It’s funny how perceptions can differ. At the time of seeing “It Could Happen to You” in the theatre, my recollection is that it was a big hit. Surprised that it wasn’t bigger box office. It seemed maybe that critics used to focus too much on her famous name and not on her own unique, intelligent acting style. This blog also brings back a lot of movie memories, such as that I also saw “SWF” at the theatre. Which is now reminding me of something else. How about… WTH to Ally Sheedy? She became A- list Brat Pack after War… Read more »
I remember life before video stores. And the joy of going into those early video stores and renting “new releases” that were a year or two old. Kids today don’t know how good they have it! 😉 I plan to cover all the main Brat Packers over time. I’m going to space them out though. Otherwise I’ll just right about the same movies over and over again. As for Fonda, she was kind of a darling of the critics for a while. I don’t think they gave her a bad shake at all. But a lot of her mainstream movies… Read more »
My sister, Brenda, and I met her on the beach by chance a couple years ago when we were in Santa Barbara on a weekend excursion. Actually, we were both goofing off by the shore and went for a swimm with our clothes on and, as we were coming out of the water dripping wet, we heard someone say “Wow, you ladies know how to enjoy life!” I turned around and froze. My sister and I could not believe it was Bridget Fonda (in the fless), holding her shoes as she was taking a nice casual barefoot stroll along the… Read more »
Awesome story. Thanks for sharing.
Bridget Fonda and Dianna Agron are the two most attractive females I will ever find.
Actors and actresses you’re suprised didn’t become bigger stars: Quote: Originally Posted by Diogenes the Cynic I thought Bridget Fonda really had it going on back in the 90’s, both in terms of acting chops and straight up hotness, then she just disappeared off the face of the earth. It wasn’t a slow fade, either, she just vanished. The last thing I remember her in was Jackie Brown. It wasn’t like her career went south, she just stopped working. http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12028515&postcount=110 Actually, her career did kind of go south which is likely one reason why she stop working. I think her… Read more »
Bridget Fonda alos starred in a movie in 1998 with Kiefer Sutherland, Steven Weber, and Penelope Miller called Break Up. I thought she had a lot of potential, and was one of the more interesting actresses in Hollywood besides being very attractive!
I have heard of it but haven’t seen it yet. As a fan of both Fonda and Miller, I will have to check it out.
A comment about Bridget Fonda from the WTHHT entry on Uma Thurman:
https://lebeauleblog.com/2013/03/29/what-the-hell-happened-to-uma-thurman/#comment-26023
My opinion of Fonda is that although talented she came off as very generic and didn’t really bring anything new to the table. Of all the attractive blonde actresses who burst onto the scene in the late ’80s she’s probably the least memorable.
Whatever Happened To…?: http://www.bigthoughtsfromasmallmind.com/2011/01/whatever-happened-to_26.html Bridget Fonda I was going to feature my childhood crush, Phoebe Cates, this week but when I was reflecting on her works Bridget Fonda’s name kept on appearing. I had forgotten just how many films Fonda and Cates did together. I have always viewed Fonda as an actress akin to Laura Dern, the talent is there but the quality roles just are not being offered. Given the right material Fonda could easily reclaim some of the magic she had back in the 90’s. Career Highlights: Single White Female (1992); A Simple Plan (1998); Jackie Brown (1997);… Read more »
Jackie Brown really is a highly underrated movie. I think you hit the nail on the head, Lebeau, in the wake of the decade-defining Pulp Fiction, too many people walked into this movie really expecting Pulp Fiction 2, when Jackie Brown is quite different, a more adult and mature film, though yes still a crime story at heart. The entire cast shined in this film, and that definately includes Bridget Fonda. Jackie Brown is my favorite film of hers, though A Simple Plan, another highly underrated movie, comes in a close second. Both of these films deserved to be much… Read more »
I got to see Jackie Brown before it opened and the excitement in the theater was palpable. No one knew what to expect, so we were all expecting Pulp Fiction. Myself included. As the movie played on, the excitement died down. I could tell people were disappointed. I enjoyed the movie a great deal, but I had to admit it wasn’t what I was expecting. Every time I have watched it since, I have gained a greater appreciation for it. It’s a great movie plain and simple. I remember seeing A Simple Plan opening weekend. I was convinced it would… Read more »
On a side note regarding Jackie Brown, I do tend to think that Robert DeNiro had his last great movie performance here. Now, I did enjoy Analyze This, Meet The Parents and The Score which were released shortly afterwards, they were entertaining movies, but outside of those few movies since Jackie Brown, it seems like DeNiro usually is showing up just for the paycheck. His performances just don’t impress or sizzle anymore like they used to, but that’s just my opinion. But to watch Jackie Brown is a chance to watch DeNiro when he was still great.
Agreed. DeNiro’s first couple of comedic performances were fun. But since then he has just been collecting paychecks.
“The Godfather, Part III” http://domcappelloblog.wordpress.com/2014/04/24/the-godfather-part-iii/ There’s no reason to pen an article about either of the first two films in “The Godfather” saga. Those two cinematic endeavors are as close to flawless as you’re going to get. But, as with most sequels, everything unravels in part three. Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, and Talia Shire were the only principle actors to return from the previous films. Andy Garcia, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, George Hamilton, Bridget Fonda, and Sofia Coppolla portrayed new characters with varying degrees of success. Director Francis Ford Coppolla has freely admitted that this film only exists because he… Read more »