posted by drew on 10/07/2003
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Did you see what Pat Robertson, the maestro of thoughtful, rational statement, recently said about Morgan Freeman?
"He started off playing a chauffeur in 'Driving Miss Daisy,' and then they elevated him to head of the CIA, and then they elevated him to president and in his last role they made him God. I just wonder, isn't Rush Limbaugh right to question the fact, is he that good an actor or not?"
Where does a person begin with such schmuckitude?
Well, let's start with the basics. It seems to be that he's insinuating that Morgan Freeman is the recipient of some sort of cinematic affirmative action, since he's gone from playing a chauffeur to playing God. Because playing a working class guy is the basest thing an actor can do, and playing the president or the big kahuna, that's the highest pinnacle a thespian can achieve.
He's right, too. After all, Richard Belzer and Barry Bostwick have played the president, and Buster Poindexter and Alanis Morrisette have stretched their acting chops doing God on the big screen. And we all know how highly respected those actors are, what with their getting 20 mill per picture and their mantles overflowing with Oscars. Morgan Freeman, you've finally made it big time!
Does Robertson grasp the difference between movies and...I don't know...THE REAL WORLD?
But anyway, Pat, the biggest crime is that you couldn't have picked a worse example of an actor getting due he doesn't deserve than Morgan Freeman. Morgan Freeman is underrated. How can a person see his performances in Lean On Me, Daisy, Glory, Shawshank, Unforgiven and Seven and wonder if he's "that good an actor or not"? Even in movies that nobody goes to see like Under Suspicion and Levity, he doles out stellar performances.
As an added bonus, he was my hero as a kid as the "Easy Reader" on Electric Company, a role he created on public television which turned countless younguns on to reading. Is he in a lot of crappy movies? Sure. I don't blame him for that. I'm have no doubt that if he had his druthers, he'd play less mililtary/police/suit roles. He has the ability to play a variety of roles, that's for sure. Did you know he won 3 Obies on Broadway and has even played Coriolanus and Petruchio in the Shakespeare department? But the best part about Morgan Freeman is that he's one of the few actors that can make any project he's in better simply by his presence.
Not that good? I can think of few who are better.
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