Just finished wathing Tuff Turf w' James Spader as lead...began to wonder why his career didn't take off like some of the other young stars in his generation...seemed posed to become a big star, and kinda fell short...smaller parts in Pretty In Pink, Mannequin, Less Than Zero. What are people's thoughts in general about his acting career?
* Me and my wife have been together for 12 years and we have a running James Spader joke....we made a bet at the first of our relationship that James Spader was in fact not in the Karate Kid...she thought he was...I KNEW he wasn't...mistook him for "Johnny"..a different blondie with the same "feathered" hair. We still reference it today...if we're stuck on trying to figure who starred in what...she always says that James Spader was in it...ha ha ha h....OK...so it's not funny....but it is to us... Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Spader and Tuff Turf rules! I´m collecting his 80s and early 90s movies.
I have 9 James Spader flicks at the moment (timespan 1981-1991)
Posted by 80'sRocked (Member # 6979) on :
Spader was great playing the original Dr. Jackson in one of my favorite movies ever - Stargate:
He was also great in Sex, Lies, and Videotape!
[ 09. June 2009, 15:29: Message edited by: 80'sRocked ]
Posted by JAY LEE (Member # 6345) on :
Stargate is awesome (see my TOP 5 post in social forum)
I actually liked Spader best as a *******... New Kids, PIP, Less Than Zero etc.
But Tuff Turf is one of my favourite movies, so he works fo me as the good guy as well!
Posted by Ronnie (Member # 465) on :
spader is another actor i like seeing in movies, whether he's playing the villain or not. he's a great actor. sometimes his roles are pretty out there (crash, the secretary...not 80s movies).
i have never seen tuff turf.
i do like him in stargate and pretty in pink.
Posted by jdocster (Member # 5752) on :
I always wanted to beat the sh1t out of James Spader. Well, I mean his characters. He always plays the perfect prick.
- jdocster
Posted by journey (Member # 7316) on :
Yeah, he really perfected the '80s preppie a s s h o l e role like nobody else. He just seethed smarminess. Pretty in Pink was his crowning glory. For me, he was the one that stole that movie, not Cryer.
Posted by kevdugp73 (Member # 5978) on :
I've not seen Stargate...I'll try to check it out. And...whatchu talkin' bout journey...no one outshines the Duck Man.... Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
awesome news coming to blu ray this summer from scream factory is james spader's very underatted jack's back.
i own a really cool uk video poster (same as above) in a frame,i'm waiting to hang on my bedroom wall but first i've got to decorate my bedroom if i ever get round to it.
I remember going to see this at the theatre. it was a must see. Wasn't memorable I guess cause I don't remember any of it. I liked his role in that Seinfeld episode.
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Jack´s Back is a nice thriller and i also noticed that they are going to release it on blu. I have the Finnish vhs and UK dvd. I´m sure that we had a thread for this film here but the Spam Wars took many of them away. Spader always rock and you gotta love Cynthia Gibb!
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
quote:Originally posted by TerdNthePoolGGB: I remember going to see this at the theatre. it was a must see. Wasn't memorable I guess cause I don't remember any of it. I liked his role in that Seinfeld episode.
Go on, get outta here! Can't you see we're closed!
The scene where Spader is introducing himself at Rage-Aholics is priceless. The facial expression he does is so good.
Posted by TerdNthePoolGGB (Member # 9818) on :
HAHA. Good one Bernie. "You'll stretch out the neckhole"
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
A draughtyty apartment, a sweaterless friend, a ball game give a way MetLife windbreaker.
Posted by gordongecko (Member # 4685) on :
I think like man, I just never liked the dude's characters. A good sign, but could be why he didn't take off. People didn't see him as likable. I HATED him in Baby Boom!!
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
Yeah, that's the trouble many actors face. They are so brilliant at playing a bad guy that they get approached by directors and talent agents to do a movie with a similar role.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
Two obscure, but worthy, efforts for you James Spader fans: Storyville (1992), written and directed by Mark Frost ("Twin Peaks" co-creator with David Lynch), with Spader in a good guy role. And The Watcher (2000) where Spader plays a sickly retired FBI agent and Keanu Reeves a serial killer, in a nice bit of change-of-pace casting. Storyville is by far the better of the two, though the always-welcome Marisa Tomei shows up as Spader's shrink in The Watcher. Check them out.
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
True colors (1991)
I caught the tail end of this one - true colors a few years back late one night on UK channel BBC one and it didn't seem to bad,anyone else ever checked it out?
Also another Spader I've had on my rental list for ages but have never seen is
White palace (1990)
1990s white palace where the Spader stars alongside Susan sarandon.
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
He always plays the perfect prick. 
