"Wrongfully Accused!"

I don’t how many times Anthony Michael Hall’s name comes up and all heads turn to me. Like hey Keith they are talking about that actor you really like. I remember Jenna saying something to be me awhile back that I should really like the movie because my beloved actor Anthony Michael Hall was in it. I have even heard Drew refer to him as one of my favorite actors. I don’t exactly know how this started perhaps my friends are mixing up popular 80’s actors gone MIA. Perhaps they are just a bunch of jerks. However truth be told I never really cared for the Acting of Anthony Michael Hall. I did however on several occasions mention that I thought actor Andrew McCarthy was an underrated talent that due to the fall out of 80s actors falling out of favor (most notably the ones in the so-called brat pack) that should (not likely at this point) be rediscovered because of his wide range and ability to take on character roles. Some critics thought he over acted and never had what it took. I just blame mostly the movies he is in and always said in a good movie he would be great.


To be completely honest with you my favorite Hall films are Edward Scissor Hands and National Lampoon’s Vacation (I think Ethan Embry was the best Rusty). Neither of which ever had anything to do with this presence. Both of them are generally agreeable popular movies. I never saw The Breakfast Club all the way through (GASP) and haven’t seen Sixteen Candles in about 5 years (does it count if you see it edited for basic cable?). Although he was good in those roles, he is one of those actors that is good playing a kid, but can never nail an adult role. Because I know more about actors (even obscure ones or washed up ones) than Dan K. Hemphill knows about UNIX. I will provide quick bios to clear up this matter.

The original of the two actors are similar because they came to popularity at the same time, however for the most part their work and careers differ.

Anthony Michael Hall got his big break at a much younger age when was the original Rusty in the National Lampoon’s movie playing him in the one when the Griswold’s went to Wally World. His kind of nerdy persona drew laughs and made him and ideal cast for that awkward kid in teen comedies, which were a hot ticket in the movies during the 1980s. He will forever be known for the nerdy kid in the Break feast Club, and to a lesser extent the nerdy kid who pined for Molly Ringwald in Sixteen candles.

Because actors in the 80s comedies back then were considered the future of Hollywood Saturday Night Live decided to cash in on Hall’s new found fame and put him on the show along with fellow actor Robert Downy Jr. However, they soon realized that he wasn’t very good at that sort of show, and spend most of his time doing drugs in New York City, and both actors were canned after one season.

As the 80’s morphed into the 1990s many of actors who made it big had trouble transcending into adult roles. While actors like Tom Hanks, and Tom Cruise were able to make the leap into the next decade others were destined to the straight to video wall at West Coast Video. It didn’t help Hall (neither did his substance abuse problems) that he is became a rather goofy looking adult and combined with his odd ways didn’t help him land roles as a leading man. He got few notable roles in the early 90s he showed up as a real jerk in Edward Siccorhands and if I recall a small part in Six Degrees of Separation. As a subscriber to the now defunct Prism I became familiar with his post-80s work such as the bizarre Hail To Caesar about band to the down right embarrassing flick that had him teamed up with an elf. I think the movie was called Nom named Nome.

His other roles he had were occasionally randomly bit parts in comedies. Almost just to his presence being the actual punch line. Oddly it is him not McCarthy that has on a minor comeback. He played Bill Gates in a TNT movie, and now is on USA’s the Dead Zone!, based on a Stephen King book of the same name. I have heard a few ladies comment on how good he looks now. The show came after a straight to video release (Liza picked it not me) and I didn’t even recognize him on the cover. I am told ladies like his new look though.

Andrew McCarthy started in the classic college comedy Class. In this comedy he played a prep-school student who became friends and roommates of Rob Lowe. The film is also where actors like John Cusack and Alan Ruck first showed up. However Andrew played the lead over Lowe in a film that had him banging (unintentionally) Lowe’s mother. He followed this up with a forgettable family flick and the constantly over looked coming of age gem Heaven Help Us. This movie co-starred JOHN HEARD not JOHN HURT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

However, it was St. Elmo’s Fire that put him in the movie trivia games. The movies than young cast included Alley Sheedy, Emilo Estevez , Rob Lowe, Judd Nelson and Demi More. This actors were forever labeld the BRAT PACK after a magazine columnist spent a night with Nelson and Lowe who were at least at the time drunken drugged up pricks. However, everyone who starred in this movie and did movies with them in this time period were deemed Brat Packers. It actually seemed more like a curse. McCarthy hated this, because he wasn’t even friends with half of them.

McCarthy showed up after that with Molly Ringwald (surprise) in Pretty in Pink it was kind of a bubble gum role and made him be in all the teenybopper magazines. Does this make me gay to defend an actor like this? Pretty and Pink’s role was good and bad, it meant he would continue to get roles, but he didn’t really like the whole Hollywood scene. At least that’s what I learned watching the E! True Hollywood Story: The Brat Pack. He kind of kept to himself and rarely did interviews. Not something people wanting to make a person a star want to hear. He finally was given the all out you better carry this movie lead when he did Mannequin. I thought this movie was god-awful bubble gum crap but his comic abilities came through from time to time in it and it was fairly big hit. He proved he could do a darker role when he did Less Than Zero opposite Robert Downy Jr. This movie became known as one that proved Downy Jr. could be a serious actor (although he was only playing a coke head). I am not a big fan of lives going down the drains because of drugs movies, but I thought this one was well done. Despite the worst actress ever Jamie Gertz being in the movie. The crisp direction of the movie made several scenes quite memorable.

Than of course came my all time favorite guilty pleasure movie. The screwy/dark comedy Weekend At Bernie’s. Where McCarthy once again showed off his comic skills matched perfectly with Jonathan Silverman and combine it with the great psychical comedy of Terry Kiser (the guy who played Bernie who who has no lines after the 30 minute mark of the film for obvious reasons.) Despite the fact the movie was a sleep hit in the summer of 1989 it didn’t put him on the face track by any means. It is actually considered a cult classic these days. He followed up the hit with the wonderfully shot Year of The Gun opposite rising star Sharon Stone and made the low-budget comedy Only You (not the Downy Jr. one) alongside up and coming Helen Hunt and director Betty Thomas.

I thought McCarthy range from Weekend at Bernie’s to Less Than Zero was a good example of what he could do, and if he was in movies with capable directors or reasonable scripts he would have a good career. However he soon became the whipping boy of comics like and critics. Mst3K writers obviously hated him as did Dennis Miller. The decision to star in the disappointing but overly trashed Weekend At Bernie’s 2 just gave them fuel for the fire and likely made his phone stop ringing. I would disagree with most of them and go as far to say that he more talent than the other fallen Brat Packers even Rob Lowe (although I never saw the West Wing).

Anyway McCarthy flirted with the inidie film circuit and was in the critically acclaimed movies (I actually hated both) Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle and The Joy Luck Club. I doubt anyone that did not have Prism in the 90’s ever heard of either of them. He than fell into a string of straight to cable flicks and straight to video flicks (some just indie flicks without distribution) some of which Stag (Really Bad Things ripped this movie off), Beyond Redemption (horribly directed but an actual good premise) and the thriller Night of the Running Man were actually tolerable. The other films are down right embarrassing (Dream Man) and not even Brando could make the god-awful dialogue, horrendous screenplays seem like anything more than a waste of time.

McCarthy did actually try to get back on the big screen in the late 90s when he was part of the huge cast of Mullhond Drive he played a fag. He was really good in it but was written out of the movie early. This movie went down in history as the first nude scene Jennifer Connelly did (filmed by McCarthy playing a fag) at least in my warped mind. He showed up in the black comedy (if it was in theaters it was there for a weekend) Getting In which had some rising stars like Mathew Perry and Dave Chapelle in it and I’d admit he over-acts a bit in this one, but it’s a good bad movie if that makes sense. I’m Losing You supposedly got a lot of attention at film festivals but I don’t even think the movie is on video.

I thought maybe supporting roles in big films or tv shows would be the way for him to be rediscovered. I thought I would be like, hey I told you he was good! I was right about George Clooney and Leo rising to stardom when they were doing work no one saw. For a while I thought he would land a good role and make a come back (hey Rob Lowe kind of did in a way). He did manage to make movies to co-star with some other notable actors in his low-budget days including Robert Patrick and Paul Sorivino so you would think he would be some what connected. However last I heard he was making movies for Lifetime and doing off-off Broadway plays, I am sure that a comeback will never happen and I was wrong! What do you want from a guy who picked the Red Wings in 4 games?

So to sum up I know a lot of useless information about actors no one cares about and when you mock me for calling a washed up actor underrated despite being in some of the worst movies ever made make sure you mock me for the right fallen 80’s Star! Because I honestly never cared for Anthony Michael Hall especially after his voice change and never said he was a good actor let a lone an underrated one.