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The Kiss of Death:

When Bad Movies Happen To Good People

Tom Maguire
23 April 2006

Ever notice that some people's movie always suck? Like all of them, all the time. And if the movie didn't suck it failed miserably at the box office. The list of actors and actresses that fit this description is endless and knowing who these people are can be an invaluable tool in forecasting bad movies and when to avoid them. The presence of these people in a film almost guarantee critical or financial disaster, often times both. The irony is that many of these people are talented and intelligent actors who for some reason or another just can't seem to catch a break.

First on my list is Thomas Jane. It was this actor and a very painful experience of seeing Dreamcatcher in 2002 that got me to thinking just how I could possibly have avoided a train wreck such as this. On paper Dreamcatcher has all the elements of a good film - directed by Larry Kasdan (Body Heat, The Big Chill, Silverado, Grand Canyon), screenplay by William Goldman (Butch Cassidy, All The President's Men, The Princess Bride, Misery), starring Jason Lee and Morgan Freeman. Sure these guys have had missteps in the past but for the most part they've all been involved in some of the best films of the last 40 years. Goldman wrote All The President's Men for God's sake! However, there was one name that slipped passed me. One innocuous actor who had I known then what I know now would have been the tip off. That was of course Tom Jane. I tried to put Dreamcatcher out of my head but then Matt wrote at great length about his traumatizing experience here on TFB and I found myself involved in some research for this film. "How could I have known!?" I kept asking myself, "Where were the signs!?" Tom Jane was the key. I only knew him as the drug dealer from Boogie Nights and couldn't place him in any other movie. Looking up his body of work things became clear:

Obviously the man is cursed. He's consistently appeared in poorly reviewed and/or under performing movies at the box office one after another over the last few years. One title in particular stood out - Deep Blue Sea. I despised this movie like no other when I saw it and the appearance of Tom Jane in both movies was too important to dismiss. "He's a Kiss of Death" I thought, and 3 years later it still holds true.

Kisses of Death are allowed one reprieve here and there and Boogie Nights is Jane's. His exposure to Boogie Nights was kept to a minimum so perhaps this is why it was a success. And it's this movie that keeps hope alive for Jane because any fan of the film must certainly agree how effective he was in his role. More recently I enjoyed The Punisher as a guilty pleasure and thought Jane was good but poor reviews and mediocre box office yet again maintain Jane's Kiss of Death status. Despite his bad luck, poor career decisions, gypsy curse, or whatever I still feel Tom Jane is a good actor and as with most actor's who possess a Kiss of Death wish them only the best.

-tm

*Reviews courtesy of Rottentomatoes
*Grosses courtesy of Boxofficemojo

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