Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Tuesday Topics: Favorite Characters


My friend, jenn at quirky pickings, and her friend, Lauren at Life.Love.Lauren, are hosting a weekly "Tuesday Topics" link-up.  I thought I'd jump in the game this week with "Eight Favorite Characters from Books/Movies".  Stop by Jenn's and/or Lauren's and have a look.  Or participate in future Tuesday Topics.

I know what y'all are thinking.  You think I picked book characters, right?  Well, I'm here to surprise you.  I picked movie characters.  Why?  Because I'm throwing this post together rather quickly and for some reason, the favorite movie characters solidified into a nice, little list much quicker than book characters would/could.

In no particular order:

Stephanie Zinone - Grease 2 - played by Michelle Pfeiffer...  Okay, when I said "in no particular order", I lied.  Stephanie Zinone is #1.  She is soooo much cooler than her predecessor lead female character in the original Grease, Sandy.  In the first Grease, Sandy had to change to get her guy.  In Grease 2, the guy had to change to win Stephanie's heart.  After all, she's tired of "being someone's chick". 

Penny Lane - Almost Famous - played by Kate Hudson...  She was sweet, yet strong; damaged, but not broken; a dreamer, a lover, a music fan; full of adventure and wanderlust; in love with a man she shouldn't be.  I could relate. 

Darrel "Darry" Curtis - The Outsiders - played by Patrick Swayze...  Folks that are fans of this movie probably love Pony Boy, or Johnny, or bad boy Dallas Winston.  And, a lot of folks that fall in love with Patrick Swayze did it during Dirty Dancing.  Not me.  I fell in love with Mr. Swayze as Darry, older brother to Soda Pop and Pony Boy, who quit school to start working and take care of his younger brothers when his beloved parents died in a car crash but could still lead a rumble when necessary.

Doc Holliday - Tombstone - played by Val Kilmer...  This is one of those movies that I can watch over, and over, and over again, and mostly it's because of Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holliday.  So many good lines, and his delivery is fan-freakin-tastic.

Christian - Moulin Rouge - played by Ewan McGregor... He's a writer and a dreamer; he's in love with a woman knowing that she has a less than stellar profession; he sings songs, writes plays, and has a "ridiculous obsession with love".

Ouiser Boudreaux - Steel Magnolias - played by Shirley MacLaine... One of the beauties of this near-perfect movie is that all of the cast and the characters are stellar.  Superb.  Irreplaceable.  But, I get more laughs and more love from watching the antics of Ouiser. 

Jenny - Forrest Gump - played by Robin Wright... I admit when I first brainstormed and wrote my list, the character of Forrest was listed.  He's a wonderful character.  So heart-warming.  But, as I think more about the movie, the character that is the driving force for me is Jenny.  She is so, so flawed...but we pretty much know that her childhood trauma messed her up, and she tried all she could do to escape the pain of her past.  I think the ugliness of what Jenny experiences, the pain she endures, and the hurt she causes creates such depth to the overall story. 

Sean Maguire - Good Will Hunting - played by Robin Williams...  First, applause to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for writing this character, and Robin Williams plays it brilliantly.  So real.  So genuine.  So many little bits of life lessons.  So much "good stuff".  This movie wouldn't resonate the way it does if this character hadn't been written and portrayed so perfectly.

Honorable mentions that almost made the cut:  Carl Lee Hailey from A Time to Kill, Wooderson from Dazed and Confused, Bud or Sissy from Urban Cowboy, John Bender from The Breakfast Club, Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Rayon from Dallas Buyers Club, John Creasy from Man on Fire

Do you agree on some?  Disagree on others?  Quickly, list your 8 favorite characters.  Or...create your own post and let me know.  I'd enjoy reading it.

19 comments:

  1. this is a pretty damned fantastic list. i LOVE it. :]

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  2. My mom loves the movie Tombstone. Hahaha. I'm actually proud that I know all these movies, although I've only seen a little more than half. I should watch Steel Magnolias. And I've seen Good Will Hunting, but I love Robin Williams so I want to see it again :)
    Some of my favorite characters include Molly Weasley and Evelyn Carnahan (The Mummy).

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  3. all the feels = this list. i agree with so many! penny lane YES. now i need to rewatch that movie stat. and good will hunting is just one of those movies you can watch over and over and it's so inspiring each time. awesome idea for a post

    xoxo cheshire kat

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  4. oh, what a good idea, love the Tuesday Topics. i will try and participate, though i'm not really feeling blogging right now - just not feeling like pretending, but i'm sure it will come back soon (she's doing really well!).
    i still haven't seen grease 2. one day. next sick day! i love Moulin Rouge - i hated it when it came out (i don't know why) but it's a movie i rewatch a lot nowadays. Jenny is good too. I like her. I haven't seen the other movies (i've seen GWH but i don't remember it). I don't know about my favourite characters.. Phryne Fisher from Miss Fisher's would be my favourite right now haha. Of course, Lizzie Bennet too. I'm predictable like that.

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  5. I'm not a big movie watcher and I don't think I've seen any of these movies, at least not recently.

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  6. Christian from Moulin Rouge! I love him! My friends and I were all so obsessed with that movie in high school, and I feel like it got a bad rep for some reason. It's just so pretty, and all the singing I just love! So I've actually never seen Good Will Hunting, and I consider myself a pretty big movie buff. My brother in law has already given me lots of crap for it, so hopefully I'll get around to watching it soon so I can understand how great Sean Maguire is!

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  7. You just made me like you even more - didnt know that was possible. ALL THE YESSSSSS - Stephanie Zinone is my spirit animal.
    & I think I quote weekly, "I'll be your Huckleberry" ... Val Kilmer is EVERYTHING in this movie.

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  8. Man, I love Grease 2. These are all such good characters. Christian always makes me swoon! I need to watch Almost Famous again. I was 21 when it came out and watched it over and over. I wanted to BE Penny Lane. I don't think I've seen it in about ten years though.

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  9. It would be so hard for me to pick just one character from Steel Magnolias! I think two of mine would have to be Elliott from E.T. and Maximus from Gladiator.

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  10. YES to Val Kilmer in Tombstone. Like Rebecca Jo, "I'm your Huckleberry" is one of my go-tos. I need to watch Grease 2 because you're such an advocate for it. I like the guy needing to change for the girl. :D I actually need to ponder who my favorite movie characters are and will share in a future post some day!

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  11. Um. So, I'm ashamed to admit I haven't seen most of these films. I know, I had a pop culturally challenged childhood (and adolescence, and alleged adulthood). So, what I will be taking away from this is a list of films to search for on Netflix!

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  12. LOVE, LOVE Ouiser!!! I'd have to think a little harder but off the top of my head, a couple of my favorite characters are Grace Hart (Sandra Bullock) from Miss Congeniality, John Bender from The Breakfast Club (so we agree on that one), and Joe from YOU.

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    1. gracie lou freebush. i like bullock in two weeks notice, too. and bender from breakfast club's definitely my favorite from that flick.

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  13. I love all of these characters so much.

    I have to say, though, that although Ouiser is AWESOME, my favorite in that movie is Clairee. She is kind and thoughtful, but also does what she wants. I want to be like that.

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    1. i'm with you on clairee, karen. she and shelby are my favorite.

      ouisa, you know i love you more than my luggage... drum loves pork and beans. eats'm with everything.... half of chiquapin parish would give their eye teeth to take a whack at ousia.

      and shelby... daddy always said an ounce of pretention is worth a pound of manure.

      there's some damned fine dialogue in that flick. and some pretty spectacular characters.

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  14. Oh good list, honestly haven't seen most of these movies though. There are a few that I need to rectify, and another few that I know aren't my thing... but might try out someday. Ewan McGregor. What a dream in that movie. I looooove the Breakfast Club. I can't get over it. It's hard to pick a favorite character for me. XO - Alexandra

    Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things

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    1. my favorite ewan mcgregor film is salmon fishing in the yemen. i LOVE his character in it.

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  15. You are spot on with Penny Lane from Almost Famous and Jenny from Forrest Gump. They are just such flawed, damaged characters. Hard to watch but so critical to the development of the story lines. And LOVE your number one! I loved both Sandy and Stephanie!

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  16. Some really great characters in this list! I may have to do this list myself but I feel like I'm going to be overwhelmed with the amount of characters that I love. Also don't shoot me but I've never seen Steel Magnolias.

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