I just learned that Chris Penn passed away while reading Down With Pants! and was saddened to see that. I've been a fan of Penn (Sean's younger brother) going back to Footloose and The Wild Life from 1984 and have felt he hasn't really been able to deliver the type of character roles he could deliver. Now, we'll never know.Five Penn movies that you should see:
1/ Short Cuts (1993). Robert Altman's epic look at working class Los Angeles with a terrific ensemble cast of which Penn is a part of. His repressed pool cleaner is sad and dangerous at the same time as he's driven mad by his sex phone operator wife (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh by the way).
2/ Reservoir Dogs (1992). Penn plays Nice Guy Eddie Cabot who helps set up the robbery gone wrong in Quentin Tarantino's first film. Penn's death will end his involvement of a rumored return to Cabot and the Vega Brothers (Vic and Vincent) that have shown up in Tarantino films.
3/ The Funeral (1996). Another gangster role for Penn--he was made for cops and bad guys--in Abel Ferrara's period gangster film.
4/ Footloose (1984). Penn plays the sweet farm kid who just wants to dance and lets Kevin Bacon lead the boogie down rebellion into another town.
5/ At Close Range (1986). Penn joins Sean in this gripping crime coming of age tale that also stars Christopher Walken.
1 comment:
So many people forget the great movies he was in--thanks for reminding us. So sad.
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