You might not know much about Alan Arkin since a lot of his films took place before a good number of us were born. But as he got older he only got better as he took on roles that allowed him to be a wisecracking character that has often been seen as either comic relief or a strong supporting role, or both. His sense of humor is kind of deadpan at times but he manages to use it to his best advantage by picking his spots and delivering his lines with as little real humor as possible. This in turn only makes it that much more amusing and quite entertaining since he seems like a guy that could laugh easily but he doesn’t do it all that often onscreen.
Looking in his eyes though it seems like he’s enjoying himself.
5. Glengarry Glen Ross-George Aaronow
This seems like it would be a very stressful job, especially if the motivation is to simply not get fired. The way real estate goes however you’re either selling or you’re looking for a new office to work in these days. Even back when this movie was released the real estate market was changing and this kind of reflected that since the kind of pressure that was felt in the movie made it apparent that it was a job for those with little more than a ruthless mindset.
4. Edward Scissorhands-Bill
Arkin tends to play practical characters that don’t always talk that much but when they do speak it means they have something to say. This makes him seem very wise at times and cynical at others. In this movie however he was more of a good guy than anything as he tried to take Edward into his home and get along with his wife’s idea that they could help him acclimate to the suburbs. That didn’t go over too well in the long run.
3. Stand Up Guys-Hirsch
When old, retired wiseguys get together it can’t mean anything good, especially when one of them is up to his old tricks and acting the same way he did when he was a younger man. Hirsch just seems to want to stay home and relax but the rest of the group wants to go out and live up the night. It’d be hard to do the same things you did as a younger person after so much time, but at least they try.
2. The Santa Clause 3-Bud Newman
Bud is that disapproving father in law that will actively give his son in law a hard time simply because he can. It’s not out of malice or anything, it’s simply a way of telling Santa that he’s part of the family now and should expect a good amount of ribbing and should be open to criticisms about his job. Can you imagine someone trying to micro-manage Santa Claus?
1. Grudge Match-Louis ‘Lightning’ Conlon
Despite not wanting Razor to fight at the beginning Louis takes on his training quite readily when it’s decided that the long-awaited grudge match is going to happen. This was definitely one of his funnier roles even if the movie wasn’t considered to be that great.
Ah, what do critics know anyway.
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On at least three occasions during the reading of this piece, I had cause to stop and wonder if I was being played. That it was a delicately handled, cleverly nuanced meta joke. ‘It couldn’t be genuine, could it?’ Even as I write, I find myself returning to the article, trying to find the elusive note of irony, the glint in the eye of the author, so revealing the truth. But, as I’m unable to find it, I have to assume the entire thing is meant to be taken at face value.
That’s a problem. As an unironic, genuine attempt at a Top Five compilation, it’s one of the worst selections I’ve ever seen. It might not have been quite so wrong-headed had you been covering Alan Arkin’s later career (why would you?) but the header leaves no doubt: CAREER.
Now, while it’s true that I’m not nearly the cinephile I once was, off the top of my head I can think of five Alan Arkin movies/performances easily superior to all your choices, with the exception of GGR.
Catch-22, Argo (Oscar nomination), Little Miss Sunshine (Oscar win), Wait Until Dark and, my favourite Arkin performance, Simon.
Beyond the horrible choices is the execrable writing. It reads like an assignment written by a confident middle schooler. This may sound harsh. I tried to temper it, but it’s an inescapable fact. It’s genuinely child-like.