Thursday Movie Picks: Actors in Multiple Roles

So yeah, hanging out with you guys on Thursday has been kind of a random thing this year. Of course I'm here this week because the topic has to do with actors in multiple roles. Thanks to our host, Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves for such a great subject. At first, I took this as yet another opportunity to talk about Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall in my beloved Coming to America. If you know anything about me, you're expecting that. I'm throwing you a curveball. I'm not talking about it at all. I won't even mention that Murphy and Hall play about a dozen roles between them. Won't do it. I'm not saying how I laugh my ass off every one of the I don't know how many times I've watched it. You don't want to hear about that stuff. I'm not even going to tell you that everyone in my family loves this movie. I won't bore you with those gory details. What I will do is talk about some times when actors tackling multiple roles in a film doesn't go as well. In fact, it can go gloriously wrong. 

Black Fist

(1974)

This is a little-known Blaxploitation flick about a guy who makes his living as a street fighter, but is eventually out to get revenge against the gangsters who killed his woman. We're not talking about him. We're talking about a supporting character named Fletch, at first. He's played by Philip Michael Thomas, who would make his claim to fame a decade later as co-lead on the legendary 80s cop show Miami Vice. About halfway through the movie, Fletch dies. Guess who shows up as another character a little while later. Why, Philip Michael Thomas be-bops onto the screen as Boom Boom. Part of the issue is that it's obvious that the filmmakers are trying to slip this fact by us, not with a wink and a nod, as in that movie I'm not talking about. It does tickle us, but in a 'oh my, that's so bad' kind of way.

I Know Who Killed Me

(2007)

Way back in 1998 little Lindsay Lohan stole all of our hearts while playing both of the twins featured in the remake to The Parent Trap. I'll even say it's better than the original. Shoot forward nine years. Ms. Lohan is going through some issues in her personal life and trying to transition into being taken seriously as an adult actor. Of course, that means playing another dual role. This time it's a virginal bookworm and a slutty stripper. That's one way to show your range. Well, it would be, except she's really bad at both. It doesn't help the movie is flat out bonkers. If this isn't the pinnacle of bad movie-making, it's pretty damn close.

Norbit

(2007)

This is one of the movies my previous pick is battling it out for supremacy of awfulness. And yeah, it stars the same guy who headlined that film I'm not discussing in this post, Eddie Murphy. This time, he plays the titular character. For better or...no, no better, just worse, he plays the most memorable character, Norbit's wife Rasputia. The character people forget he plays is Hangten Wong, the owner of an orphanage. This dude...phew. He's channeling Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's in all the worst ways. The whole movie is crap from the word go. I think I'm gonna go watch that other movie again.

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