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Philip Seymour Hoffman is Invading My Movie Theatre

Since the beginning of the 2008, the second-run movie theatre near my house has shown a total of three (3) movies starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, the award-winning actor whose immense talent is matched only by the girth of his second chin. Ha ha. Hell, since I’ve seen all three of the movies, it’s obvious that I love the guy. In fact, when assessing if a movie is worth the time, money, and effort, Philip Seymour Hoffman is a pretty reliable indicator that it is, it is, and it is. Philip Seymour Hoffman is invading my movie theatre, and he’s delightful!

I saw Before the Devil Knows Your Dead back in January and already discussed it on this website, so I won’t rehash the oozing praise tempered by the pronouncement that “only a Schadenfreude connoisseur could of enjoyed it.” Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays a totally gross, totally smarmy white-collar heroin addict who manipulates his brother into committing despicable crimes. I would totally see this movie again, except this time I would buy a nice, comforting tub of popcorn to help me cope with the repeated heart-arresting plot cruxes followed by the long periods of cold-sweat tension.

Next, Charlie Wilson’s War came to town. It stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, but only Phillip Seymour Hoffman managed to get an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Gust, the low-brow CIA guy who helps House of Representative Wilson fund a secret war against the Russians in Afghanistan in the 1980s. I’m actually waist-deep in this book right now and it’s an excellent history lesson, but for entertainment purposes, Philip Seymour Hoffman is absolutely the best thing about this movie. The audience scarcely reacted to Hanks or Roberts and their horrible faux Southern drawls, but they fell apart every time Hoffman opened his mouth and let loose another gem in his tough-guy Pittsburgher accent: “Can we just take a moment to reflect on all of the ways that you are a douche bag?”

And finally, last week was The Savages starring Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman as two siblings who must care for their estranged, elderly father who is afflicted with dementia. The movie could best be described as a drama since it spends a fair amount of time on ponderous, uber-depressing subject matters like the guilt involved in placing family members in drab, harshly-lit nursing homes to avoid having to change their adult diapers. But a few jokes do fly, just to keep up the mood, and Hoffman’s wise Big Brother matter-of-factness is decidedly more funny than Linney’s feisty Little Sis neuroticism.

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