The Worst Thing I Ever Did
Halle Berry
By Ronnie Harvey
June 10, 2010
When a script comes across an actor’s desk, what goes through that person's mind? Are they looking for a good paycheck? A role that could earn them critical acclaim and make them better at their craft? Each week, movies are released to the general public and an instant critique is made about whether the actor selected the right project. Good actors usually pick and choose the correct scripts and make sure that almost everything they are putting their name behind is worthy. Bad actors usually just run around scavenging the garbage projects that they can get before their 15 minutes fade away.
Still, even the best actor can make the wrong mistake and select the perfectly wrong movie because they incorrectly determine that they can make it something special. Or perhaps it pays well. Michael Caine once said of Jaws: The Revenge: “I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible; however, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.” If only other actors were so honest about their career choices. In this column, I will examine the filmographies of some of Hollywood’s most bankable stars, then choose the one movie that was by far their worst role/film. Even though we like to think they can do no wrong, they can and sometimes do make horrible films and critical bombs.
My first selection is the lovely and talented Halle Berry. I’ve loved Berry from the moment she slinked her way onto the big screen in The Flintstones. She was the epitome of sex and every man, woman, and child took notice. Her career took off and she was everywhere. From playing Storm in the lucrative X-Men franchise to portraying the incomparable Dorothy Dandridge in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (which won her an Emmy), Berry was poised for greatness. In 2001 she starred in Monster’s Ball, a movie that won her an Academy Award for Best Actress, the first black woman in history to ever win. She could do no wrong. Right? WRONG!
Gothika had its interesting moments, and I was fond of the remake of Behind Blue Eyes (please don’t shoot me). I’ve never seen B*A*P*S before but from what I hear, I might need to revise this entry before I even write it. X-Men: The Last Stand wasn’t anchored by her and would have been a success and just as bad with or without her. Only one other film comes to mind when bad Halle Berry films are discussed and that is, of course, the historically bad time that was Catwoman.
2004 came around and all hell broke loose. The superhero franchise flicks were in full force and were all the rage. But it was predominantly a man’s world when it came to superheroes. The last
time a female superhero was the anchor of a film was 1984’s Supergirl (which is a joke in and of itself). Twenty years later, studios began to question if female superheroes were the way to go.
The most recognizable female in the comic book world was and is Catwoman. Batman’s arch nemesis and sometimes lover had been portrayed on the big screen in 1992’s Batman Returns and was played by Michelle Pfeiffer. By 2004, Pfeiffer was really not the right choice to reprise the role, so Berry took the reins and hoped to start her very own lucrative franchise. I remember when I first heard the news that Berry would be taking the role of Catwoman. I was really excited because she had already starred as my favorite comic book hero in Storm (I’ll be completely honest, I used to stand outside my house when I knew a storm was coming up and pretend like I was controlling it). I thought that she was exotic and could bring a much needed change to a role that had been all but dormant since Pfeiffer.
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