Dream of the Pfeiffival
Thursday, October 29, 2015 at 1:00PM 
Pfeiffer aged up to play grey haired Ruth Madoff in "Wizard of Lies"The McConaissance ended with an Oscar and an Emmy nomination. The Reeseurgence went well, too, even if it's pop cultural impact wasn't so Wild. Can't we get a Pffeiffival now? (I'll have to work on the name but renaissance and resurgence were already taken so I'm going with revival).
As previously reported our favorite M.I.A. movie goddess Michelle Pfeiffer, Susie Diamond herself, is back at work. She and Robert De Niro are currently filming their roles as The Madoffs in HBO's telefilm "Wizard of Lies". It will be Pfeiffer's first major television role in over 30 years. Among the top bakers dozen of female movie stars of the 1980s (roughly speaking that's: Streep, Close, Lange, Spacek, Midler, Keaton, Basinger, Pfeiffer, Turner, Weaver, Field, Hawn, and Winger in no particular order) only Pfeiffer and Hawn have refused to do television since. Streep and Close even dabbled before it was cool to toggle back and forth. Hawn doesn't really count as she is essentially retired and with Pfeiffer making an HBO film, yes, TV has won the final round. (There's a great conversation about this, via Jane Fonda -- who retired from movies halfway through the 1980s -- in the forthcoming movie Youth)
But the most exciting thing about Pfeiffer returning to acting is not that she is -- look we've been here before and she never dives in the pool after sticking a toe in but runs from the water -- but that she'll do so twice in short succession. After the HBO movie, she's signed on for a regular movie, a proper silver screen effort from Killer Films called Beat Up Little Seagull.
Pfeiffer at her last film promotion event way back in September 2013
This is a very big deal for a number of reasons: Killer Films is awesome and has been for decades -- you can thank them for Todd Haynes and and also the bulk of interesting LGBT movies from the past couple of decades; Pfeiffer never does "indies" so she's getting out of her comfort zone which is well past long-needed; it's a leading role and she's too luminous to get shoved to the background to play someone's supportive grandma; the director previously made the indie Mother of George which was shot by cinematographer Bradford Young... so can we hope he affixes his brilliant lenses on Pfeiffer? (What better subject for his eye than one of the world's great screen beauties?)
The film is described like so:
Beat-Up Little Seagull follows the life of a sensitive and fragile woman (Pfeiffer) who struggles to find footing in a fast-paced world. When her mother dies, she faces a crisis in which she must find a means for survival, all the while hiding her struggles from her new lover (Sutherland)."
"Sensitive and fragile" Pfeiffer? Yes please. Perhaps she'll even cry in a sweater or lie to herself. That all said we look forward to trying hard not to view this 'struggles to find footing in a fast-paced world' plot as a thinly veiled allegory for La Pfeiffer's repeated disinterest in her own career.
Comment if you embrace this news with wet eyes and/or if you're suspicious that she won't go through with it. You can have both reactions. Your host here at The Film Experience is living proof.
Reader Comments (32)
Remember when Michelle bombed that grocery store in The Family? The only silver lining to watching that movie was pretending that supermarket was Hollywood.
Michelle deserves a revival. Esp when she was on the Oscar stage for Jeff Bridges to receive his overdue Oscar. I want David O Russell to get his hands on her to ensure a nomination and a plausible scenario for a win. The narrative is there she has been away from us too long hiding from what exactly is anyone's guess --- I just have hope if Moore can do it so can Michelle.
Even an Oprah-stamped movie like "The Deep End of the Ocean" will do at this point. Just work! (I honestly think she doesn't like to work because she way underestimates her talent. If you listen to past interviews and things she's said, she sounds like she's always waiting for someone to discover she's a fraud.)
Dear Hayden,
I love that scene in The Family and your comment about it is superb. You nailed it!!! Congrats.
Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease, work, woman, make us happy again.
I don't know how much of a revival Pfeiffer can have at this point. Audiences don't know her anymore, she is in her 50's, and she is talented but not that talented. I only could see her causing a splash if she was lucky enough to get a television role in a hit series like Glenn Close did in Damages, but I am doubtful that Michelle has any movie star charisma left. She comes off as tired. Some stars do not transition out of their hot phase (Demi, Meg, Michelle).
Jono - That was one tough piece of brutal truth. lol
Pfeiffer is indeed her own worst enemy, and others are correct when they say she doesn't have the confidence in her own ability, based on past comments and projects she has turned down.
Martin Scorsese and George Clooney were correct when they said Michelle's looks have harmed her career. People tend to not take her seriously. One just has to watch A Thousand Acres, Married to the Mob, Age of Innocence, or her criminally underrated and brilliant turn in White Oleander to know she had the chops. The big question is, can she still bust out a great performance after years of not working and refusing to challenge herself? I sure hope so.
rePfeiffal? rePfeiffalization?
Also, I just realized, the last decent role she had was People Like Us in 2012. How effing sad. She was pretty good in that, despite the very limited screen time.
Good shout out to A Thousand Acres,shows Lange and Pfeiffer playing opposite each other magnificently.
This is In fact Kiefer and not Donald playing her lover in the Killer Films project?
I'd add Whoopi,Molly,Daryl and Cher on that 80's Actress list.
Kim Basinger made a Lifetime movie, "the Mermaid Chair."
*sigh* it's so hard being a pfeiffer pfan (we'll always have Elvira, Suki, Susie, Selena, Angela, Stephanie etc) but it's hard to maintain hope.
I feel like there's still a lot of goodwill towards her, remember there was almost a flurry of Oscar buzz for Cherie!? People want to get behind her! That scene where she blows up the supermarket in The Family, my god, what a brief, yet perfect reminder of 'her' that was.
One great role from an O'Russell, or Haynes, or yes, Spielberg (aren't they good pals!?) is what she needs desperately, she'd knock it out the park and they'd be falling over themselves to nominate her. I'm drunk as I write this btw.
Pfestival?
Given what to my mind seem like critical re-evaluations of Scarface, The Age of Innocence, and Batman Returns, I'm surprised more people aren't re-discovering her and casting her.
Sorry Anne, bur Pfeiffer is still the sexiest, bad-ass Catwoman ever! Meow~
I guess its all bad timing for her. During the late 80s & early 90s, she was the darling of the award groups. Golden Globes nom her consecutively from 1988 to 1993, She won in 1989 for Fab Baker Bros & she was hotly tipped to win at the Oscar for the same role, but I guess her glamour & beauty worked agst her and the Academy choose to honour a favourite veteran instead. Tandy was good as the crusty Miss Daisy, but sumhow it felt like a sentimental win.
After that, she faltered & din even get a nom for The Age of Innocence for her beautifully restrained & delicate performance.
Susan Sarandon not one of the biggest female 80s stars? Atlantic City, The Witches of Eastwick, BULL DURHAM???
Pfeiffer may not be super duper talented (as some may have mentioned here) but her charisma more than makes up for it...she's luminous. Just look at People for Us...you can't keep your eyes off her in every scene that she appeared and she should have been nominated for an Oscar, if not, a Globe. Glad that A Thousand Acres got a mention here too...three of my favourite actresses in one movie together...it was da bomb! (although I couldn't care less for the maudlin movie itself)
Mark & Brezz -- i view Whoopi & Sarandon as being among the biggest of the 90s rather than the 80s. Sarandon is an interesting case because her career has never been exactly steady but she's had peaks in three different decades.
Jans -- er, no. Pfeiffer IS super duper talented. Few actresses wouldn't be proud to have given performances as strong as she's given
Paul -- yes, it's Keifer.
Where is this wave of "Michelle Pfeiffer isn't a great actress" foolishness coming from? Is it because she doesn't showboat her way through every role? She'd definitely make my list of greats. JB's suggestion of her and David O. Russell teaming up is kind of genius.
The entire time watching the very overrated and underwhelming Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle, I kept thinking: "Michelle Pfeiffer would KILL this." And she would have won the Oscar (sorry, Lupita).
She ruined Age of Innocence for me. Dreary and uncertain performance. Winona served up the better performance.
I had too became an actressexual because of her. I remember collecting articles from the newspapers (!) and magazines in the late 80s and keeping a folder/shrine devoted to her. I still find her magnetic in everything that she does and I have decided to avoid watching her less fortunate works in uninspired projects.
Baker Boys, Dangerous Liaisons, Batman Returns, Frankie and Johnny, Married to the Mob... (to name a few and my personal favorites)... that´s what I´d call acting range.
I´d love to see her directed by the Coens, or Wes Anderson, or PT Anderson. Also she should definitely try more independent and new directors.
It´s funny but only now I´m experiencing something similar with another actress and that´s Marion Cotillard. I can´t take my eyes off of her. I can´t help but think that she´s having the career and nailing the roles I would have loved to see Michelle perform back at the same age.
Let´s all hope and pray for a PFEIFFURRECTION!
Amen
Thanks for all your great and passionate work and greetings from Buenos Aires.
The fascination here with out of date movie stars is fascinating. You would think Nicole Kidman is writing these posts about herself.
Ecstatic over her forthcoming 2 projects. They seem brilliant, especially the indie film.
Nat - sorry what I meant was she may not be technically brilliant ( like Cate Blanchett)...talented is the wrong word. Yes many actresses would have killed to have given performances by her. To be honest, I felt she never really went away unlike Debra Winger or worse Barbra Streisand. Perhaps because she's memorable even in uninspired films. Haha I can't say the same for Streisand though...2 or 3 movies in the last 20 years and they were ALL terrible.
Tom...
LOL.
TFE will not be bound by the calendar! We have favorites from all eras. Just yesterday we had a fabulous lunch wherein Cate Blanchett (2010s), Natalie Wood (1960s) and Isabella Adjani (1980s) were the leading ladies of the conversation -- true story! We will never let our own fandom be curated by the media's flavors du jour. How dreary would this blog be if we were forced to obsess over Margot Robbie and Chloe Grace Moretz every day just because they're in demand.
thefilmjunkie -- this comes up each time Pfeiffer is brought up actually. It's really her own fault. Toward the end of her heyday people knew she was brilliant. But they forgot when she went away so now we're back to "well, she's beautiful... but is she talented?" which was kind of an out of date question 25 years ago in 1990 -- lol -- but now is a thing again. People have short attention spans and if actresses don't find ways to win new young fans this happens to them.
I prefer to obsess over the ladies who left us too early like Holly Hunter and Geena Davis other ladies who is severely underutilized now.
Nat: Jack Bauer is going to come after you if keep misspelling Kiefer's name... ;-)
So excited she's working again. I get giddy every time she has a new role, and I still enjoy her work even if the material (The Family, New Years Eve, Personal Effects) isn't up to her caliber.
I was indeed wowed by her recent performances in Cheri, People Like Us, and Hairspray, so she just needs the right director to guide her.
Killer Films was behind Still Alice right? Perhaps they can work their magic for Pfeiffer!
check this out - https://instagram.com/p/9pL4ySrN9n/
she is one of my favorite actresses of all time.....
beautiful, talented.. she can do no wrong....