Too much of a good thing never looks like too much at the beginning, does it? It’s not until you’re knee deep in it and start to wonder whether you should get out now while you can that too much is simply, too much.
This time, the too much is Billy Bob Thornton. How much more of Billy Bob Thornton product can I consume before I cry uncle and call it quits? Apparently, a lot. There’s still plenty of material out there just waiting for me.
This little thing I have going for BBT is surely not an obsession. I know from obsession (how do you spell Van Morrison?). No, this is more like I’ve signed up for a tutorial or for one of those college electives where you receive one credit upon completion of the course.
I’ve liked BBT since seeing him in “Sling Blade” in 1996. And I’ve liked everything I’ve seen him in since, but over the years I’d never made any effort to seek him out. That lack of commitment lasted right up until late last year when I saw a preview for season 2 of “Landman” featuring Billy Bob. I had no idea there had been a season 1. Which was great news, because that meant two seasons of Billy Bob to savor. A veritable gold mine.
“Landman” streams on Paramount+, which I don’t have. As you can appreciate, that makes it a tad difficult for me to watch. Except, my daughter’s house does subscribe, and one of the perks of babysitting her children is a weekly one-night sleepover, complete with Paramount+. I’m not saying that’s my favorite part about babysitting my grandsons, but it is certainly in the top 10.
Even so, there’s never enough time during sleepovers for me to watch more than one episode each week, so I had months of Billy Bob, with a one-hour slice per week. After watching the last episode of season 2, the desire for more hit me hard. I have seen some great BBT series: Goliath, season 1 of Fargo … wait, is that it? Is that the sum total of BBT I’ve seen? It appears so, based on my search on imdb. If I’m really going to embrace this too much of a good thing with complete gusto, this is going to be a long haul, certainly longer than I thought it would be when I signed up for the one measly credit.
I don’t really do reviews, but I am happy to recommend two more of his movies I’ve seen since “Landman.” The first one is “A Simple Plan,” which earned Billy Bob several awards for his supporting role in this noir crime film. If you liked “Fargo,” you’d like “A Simple Plan” — it mines the same vein. The other movie was “Bad Santa.” What a hoot. No nominations on this one, but this is BBT at his very best — an alcoholic, chain-smoking curmudgeon. If you like your comedy twisted, this one will work for you. Maybe it’s not up there with “Miracle on 34th Street,” but I can see it becoming an an instant classic at my house.
Speaking of smoking, BBT smokes a lot on screen. Over the 60 years I’ve been watching movies, smoking onscreen has seen its ups and down. In the era just before mine, characters who smoked were suave and elegant (think Bogart). Then in the ’60s and ’70s, the characters who smoked were cool; smoking was de rigueur. Then the bans on smoking came, and by then, only the bad guys in movies smoked, which I guess is how the audience could distinguish between good and evil. Then the laptop was invented, and now, instead of the bad guys smoking, they owned Dell laptops. Apple products were for the good guys. Smoking onscreen went the way of the dinosaurs …
Only to return. And here’s where I’m getting to my point. Nowadays, smoking onscreen has been resurrected. I have my suspicions why (follow the money), but it’s enough to say that we’re seeing a lot more cigarettes on the screen these days.
It’s such a distraction, for me at least. Back in the day, pre-whatever, characters who smoked looked like they smoked. Jack Nicholson, Gary Cooper, James Coburn — when they lit up, you knew they were sucking it back. Today, 95% if not more of actors who smoke onscreen are not smokers and, I contend, look and act like they never smoked a day in their lives. That’s fine, but don’t have them pretend-smoke. It irks me no end. Get stunt smokers or something.
That’s what I like about Billy Bob. He smokes, and he looks like he enjoys it. There’s no one puff and tossing it away for him. I’m not saying this is the main reason I like Billy Bob Thornton, but it’s definitely in my top 10.
Up today, John Lennon …
Leave a Reply