Kirsten Dunst Becomes a God in Central Florida
Friday, September 6, 2019 at 3:00PM
By Spencer Coile
;)
Back in 2017, I wrote about Kirsten Dunst’s “return to glory” with her performances in The Beguiled and Woodshock. What I foresaw as glory didn’t exactly materialize - The Beguiled had its ardent fans but no real awards traction, Woodshock was quickly forgotten. Two years later, and Kirsten Dunst receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is center-stage in the Showtime original series, On Becoming a God in Central Florida, but for Dunst, something still feels missing.
Her interview on SiriusXM’s “In Depth with Larry Flick” gave Dunst a chance to discuss how she feels slighted by the film industry - an industry that, she claims, pans her films and then celebrates them years later. Major awards? She’s nabbed two Golden Globe nominations and an Emmy nomination. She even won Best Actress at Cannes for Melancholia though that doesn’t necessarily translate to mainstream attention. It is our sincerest hope here at TFE that Kirsten Dunst’s performance on On Becoming a God in Central Florida starts getting her the credit she's deserved for decades...
;)
Dunst has played other kooky characters in the past. Look no further than her previous television work on Fargo. Her performance as Peggy Blumquist was an enigma wrapped up in big hair and a practically implacable accent. It was truly some of her finest work. But if you’re looking for off-kilter, look no further than Krystal Stubbs on Becoming a God. A wife and mother who is stretched too thin - between working part-time shifts at the local water park, caring for her daughter Destinee, and supporting her husband, Travis, as he “climbs” the ranks of a shady pyramid scheme called Founders American Merchandise (FAM); Krystal’s barely holding on.
When tragedy strikes the Stubbs FAMily, Krystal is left scrambling to pick up the pieces. And in the process, she starts to unravel. It’s a slow process, but one that picks up steam with each episode. Life is simply a system to be mastered, everything is an exchange of power, and Krystal will do anything to achieve it. That includes deceiving, bribing, blackmailing, and dancing with puppets (yes, it’s as glorious as you might expect).
;)
Dunst, complete with braces and a rather unfortunate haircut, has never been better. Krystal is a livewire, a woman who might snap at any moment. And we’re left anticipating it, hoping she will finally go off on the men who have wronged her, on a pyramid scheme that has cheated her for years. We’re in it for the long haul, to watch Krystal finally get what she deserves. The show itself might be (intentionally) off-putting and strange to casual watchers, but Dunst is magnetic. One second she is completely naive, but the next she is riding an ATV through the streets of Florida with Destinee on her lap, and a cigarette in her mouth.
After receiving her star on the Walk of Fame, Reuters tweeted (and then deleted) this lukewarm sexist take:
In response, fans came to Dunst’s defense. For instance:
kirsten dunst could do once upon a time in hollywood but leonardo dicaprio couldn’t do bring it on
— meg zukin (@bymeg) September 1, 2019
These hysterical (not to mention true) tweets came at the perfect time: to remind viewers that no one can do what Kirsten Dunst is doing with On Becoming a God in Central Florida. It’s a performance of sorrow and humor, of righteous anger and heartbreak, and Dunst is having fun with every single moment. Give the show a chance and celebrate an actress who’s been ignored by mainstream audiences for too long.
Reader Comments (16)
I was sad to hear that she feels unrecognized. She has Bring it On, Little Women, The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette, Melancholia, Hidden Figures … all films that I am very fond of and would recommend.
The underrated career of Kirsten Dunst is a strange one for me - in my personal lists she receives one nomination for Interview With The Vampire and makes Top 10s for Melancholia (WHAT A YEAR 2011 IS) and On The Road.
So I don't see her lack of Oscar nominations particularly egregious.
Then I look at her peers who do have one and... like Johansson, she's starting to feel pretty overdue... unfortunately, her taste in projects is too GOOD (on paper at least) - she needs a few Awards-Begging "Supportive Spouse" roles to get her in the mix...
Spencer: Yeah, if we go on pure box office, that's not technically wrong. But who likes Kirsten Dunst for her take on Mary Jane? I could probably cite ten things people like Dunst more for, easy:
Interview With the Vampire
Jumanji
Kiki's Delivery Service Dub
The Virgin Suicides
Dick
Bring It On
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
All Good Things
Melancholia
Fargo S2
ANY of those, Reuters. DICKS.
I'm mixed on this. I want Dunst to continue to be able to show her abilities as much as possible. But this seems like a lot of PR hype at the expense of others. She has never been a legit box office draw and critically she at most has a small group of vocal supporters but is hardly some sort darling. And she has been around seemingly forever. As much as I like her, I don't really see the evidence that she's some unheralded talent who gets crumbs. And she's made plenty of duds. She has a career most actresses would kill for, with plenty of leading roles and decent supporting roles in good movies. Her big year in 2017 was IMO overstated. She was solid in both of her big movies but in no world would I have thrown awards her way. I wish her well but the idea she's tossed aside doesn't really have any actual evidence to back that up. But the internet creates it's on narratives I guess.
For those who watched the 1994 race closely: did she have genuine Oscar buzz or seem like she could get a nom? She got a globe nod as well as some critics awards noms and wins (e.g. Boston, Chicago), so did she seem likely?
She’s a great actress and quite versatile. I’ve always been saddened that her performance in Bring It On didn’t come with a Globe nomination to recognize her star turn. They do that way more now with younger stars, but wish she’d been honored then (along with Silverstone years earlier).
Kinda sorta, I remember thinking by the time the nominations were out nobody thought it was going to happen, but I do think she was hanging around outside a top five slot. Outside of Harris I remember it as mostly fairly set in advance, but the race didn’t actually go very deep so I think Dunst was in the conversation a bit more prominently than she would have otherwise been. More likely they would have nominated a Forrest Gump lady but the edgier critical favs were smaller than usual and were in movies that were too weird for the academy. The notoriety of the movie and her challenging role helped her stay in the spotlight and she arguably was one of the best things about the movie.
I don’t know personally I would have nominated her myself but I do think it is a legitimate performance rather than a well coached child performance. It’s clear she has some chops and understands character.
Kiki I feel has gotten underrated over the years. The Virgin Suicides was her break-out performance of someone to be taken seriously. Add the Spider-Man trilogy, Marie Antoinette, The Beguiled, The Cat's Meow, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Bring It On, Hidden Figures, and Melancholia. She's definitely carved an outstanding filmography and she's overdue for some recognition.
Just to mention one more underrated performance: She’s great in Bachelorette. She gives strong performances in the kind of roles and movies awards bodies typically don’t recognize.
I appreciate her candor. It will serve her well.
As far as near misses for an Oscar nomination, she doesn't approach 'egregious' in the same way, say, Sally Hawkins does for "Happy-Go-Lucky" does, but the fact that she has so many movies that were unloved and are now beloved is certainly remarkable - and egregious. I love her, and let's add 'Bachelorette' to the list of underpraised movies/performances.
She is magical in The Virgin Suicides. The only Sofia Coppola movie I really like
She is bitchy and fun in Bring It On
Maybe Dunst has to become older and get some wrinckles to get that late career bam like Mirren, Dench. I dunno
Ha, good one Faye. Usually your comments are an eye roll akin to “Joan Castleman’s”, but you nailed one. Kudos.
She'll win an Oscar. It'll be a wait because it'll encapsulate her career.
Patricia Arquette
Allison Janney
Regina King
Kim Basinger
She's been my favorite actress since I was a kid. She's delivered so many great performances--Bring It On, Crazy/Beautiful, and Melancholia being some of my favs.
I feel like maybe because she's always been around, started with a very strong performance as a child that people take her for granted, but she truly has been one of the most reliable actresses of her generation.
Hoping she wins an Oscar one day feels like a stretch given she's never been nominated, so I pray she at least gets nominated soon. Melancholia nom would've been nice but Oscar really went for the low hanging fruit in Best Actress that year.
/3rtful: I think the Basinger comparison is the closest to fitting, but isn't THAT fitting. But Arquette, Janney and King? Hi, I like Dunst overall (and love her in Interview with a Vampire and Melancholia), and think she has MUCH better in her filmography than Mary Jane in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies, but: NOTHING in her filmography is comparably iconic to Alabama Worley, C.J. Cregg and The Freeman Twins. ScarJo probably WINS at some point, but I wouldn't be surprised if Dunst ends up with anywhere from 0-3 nominations and no wins.
The women I listed are principally one time deals. But have significant histories as actors to give weight to their wins which aren't linked to transient overnight popularity. They offer an example for Kristen to not get consumed with missing out on being Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone, Saoirse Ronan -- for the women the Academy embraces strongly and early usually are the least liked due to award watchers being forced to concentrate on them for a duration of an era.
@Volvagia