Browse: Home / Celebrating the Living: Richard E. Grant

Menu

Skip to content
  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Contact Us
  • Login

The-SoluteLogo

A Film Site By Lovers of Film

Menu

Skip to content
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • Long Reviews
  • News
  • Articles and Opinions
  • Other Media
  • The Friday Article Roundup: The Truth is In Here
  • Lunch Links: Schwarzfahrer
  • Websites on the Internet: THE SOLUTE
  • New on DVD and Blu-Ray
  • Movie Gifts Holidays 2024
So much verve.

Celebrating the Living: Richard E. Grant

Posted By Gillianren on December 5, 2021 in Features | Leave a response

It literally does not matter what I see Richard E. Grant in. Invariably, my first thought is, “Oh, hey, he has a lot of verve!” This is an awfully obscure reference in a man whose career is, let’s be real, full of obscure references. There are a few times when he rises above it; Admittedly “one of Lucy’s suitors” isn’t the most memorable part in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but still. Telling you that he’s done two movie takes on The Nutcracker involves reminding you that we have had, in the last dozen years, two movie takes on The Nutcracker, and I’m not sure even he reliably remembers that.

Still, where he first came to my attention was as Roland from L.A. Story, and it’s a delightfully silly role. He’s done a few characters over the years with Roland’s peculiar blend of intelligence, enthusiasm, and dimness. Heck, Sir Anthony Aguecheek is just Roland without any moments of intelligence—which could be deliberate, given Steve Martin’s continual Shakespeare references throughout. I am given to understand his Hudson Hawk character bears similarity to it, though from what I remember (I haven’t seen it since the mid ’90s, and I don’t think I saw all of it then), no one in the cast is all that bright.

Such a contrast, then, from Withnail. (Who is also distinct from Grant himself inasmuch as Grant is extremely allergic to alcohol!) It’s true that Roland’s not the only kind of character he can play, even if that’s where I think of him first. He’s done any number of characters over the years. Okay, so Classic Loki has something of a Roland vibe, filtered through, well, Loki. And I’m not sure there is a better actor of his age to have played Sir Percy Blakeney. Still, I can’t imagine Roland as Long John Silver.

The man himself also seems charming as anything. His reaction to his Oscar nomination was completely adorable; he responded from the flat he lived in while a struggling actor early in his career. He doesn’t seem to take the whole thing terribly seriously; I’d imagine it would be hard to, in his situation. After all, he’s seen the whole thing from every level of the profession. He’s been in costume dramas, biopics, and blockbusters. He’s in Corpse Bride and Spice World. It’s a wild career.

And all that from a nice young man born in Eswatini, at the time known as Swaziland. He did school plays with Nelson Mandela’s daughters. He played Franz Kafka in a short directed by Peter Capaldi, which one the Best Live Action Short Oscar in 1995. He has had an incredible career. In the sense, sometimes, of “it’s hard to believe.” And at the end of the day, he still has a lot of verve, and I don’t think he’d mind if you told him so.

I’ll never be able to afford L’Idiot prices, but you can help me afford a hotdog by contributing to my Patreon or Ko-fi!

Posted in Features | Tagged celebrate the living, Richard E. Grant, tribute

About the Author

gillianmadeira@hotmail.com'

Gillianren

Gillianren is a forty-something bipolar woman living in the Pacific Northwest after growing up in Los Angeles County. She and her boyfriend have one son and one daughter, and she gave a daughter up for adoption. She fills her days by watching her local library system’s DVD collection in alphabetical order, watching everything that looks interesting. She particularly enjoys pre-Code films, blaxploitation, and live-action Disney movies of the ’60s and ’70s. She has a Patreon account at https://www.patreon.com/gillianren

Related Posts

Life is a mysteryCelebrating the Living: Madonna→

Clearly Pryor knew a thing or two about wooing womenAttention Must Be Paid: Richard Pryor→

Definitely how most people picture him.Celebrating the Living: John Cameron Mitchell→

A sexy hot mess bigot!Attention Must Be Paid: Patricia Highsmith→

  • Comments
  • Popular
  • Most Recent
  • j*****@yahoo.com'
    mr_apollo on Year of the Month: Mon OncleWonderful piece, Sam. It's made…
  • j*****@yahoo.com'
    mr_apollo on Year of the Month: Mon OncleFellow heretic here. I've never…
  • n***********@gmail.com'
    Ruck Cohlchez on Film on the Internet: AN AMERICAN CRIMEI wouldn't have called it…
  • j***********@gmail.com'
    Son of Griff on LIFE ITSELFGlad to hear back from…
  • n*********@gmail.com'
    Jake Gittes on Film on the Internet: AN AMERICAN CRIMEThis is the single most…
  • “The End” of SAVAGES

    38502 views / Posted November 10, 2014
  • The Untalented Mr. Ripley: The Craft of Standup Comedy and the Non-Comedy of TOM MYERS

    31065 views / Posted June 26, 2018
  • What the fuck did I just watch? SPHERE

    30475 views / Posted March 19, 2015
  • Gordon with Mr. Looper

    Attention Must Be Paid: Will Lee

    27708 views / Posted January 7, 2023
  • Scenic Routes: SHOWGIRLS (1995)

    23561 views / Posted November 20, 2014
  • The truth is FAR out there.

    The Friday Article Roundup: The Truth is In Here

    December 6, 2024 / The Ploughman
  • This is a way lower res image than I will be allowed to get away with at the new site.

    Lunch Links: Schwarzfahrer

    December 5, 2024 / The Ploughman
  • Websites on the Internet: THE SOLUTE

    December 4, 2024 / ZoeZ
  • New on DVD and Blu-Ray

    December 3, 2024 / Greta Taylor
  • Movie Gifts Holidays 2024

    December 2, 2024 / The Ploughman

Last Tweets

    ©2014 - 2016 The-Solute | Hosted, Developed and Maintained by Bellingham WP LogoBellinghamWP.com.

    Menu

    • Home
    • Who We Are
    • About
    • Privacy
    • Contact Us
    • Login
    Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!