Bulletin Board of Bad Behavior

don cheadle is a pretty swell actor who is getting fame for his role in "hotel ruanda". in "ocean's 11" and "ocean's 12" he played a cockney safe-heist specialist who occasionally confuses his fellow criminals (and the audience) with some rhyming slang.

now, cheadle is from kansas city which i understand is still pretty far from london. normally american actors are a catastrophy with brit accents (the only exception i can think of is mitchum) but i got the impression that cheadle pulled it off pretty well. tommy, what is your take?

don was perfect in Devil in the Blue Dress. The best film D. Washington ever did. It is a pity he wasn't given the best supporting actor award for that role. for more best supporting actor pity see also Val Kilmer in Tomestone.

Tomestone? I'd like to have a part in Sharon Stone.

Martino,

I thought he did the whole thing OK. It was a bit like when Bob Hoskins does his Brooklyn accent. He was doing an impression of a caricature. In this case the cockney wide boy. (Do people know that phrase?)

I hope I don't sound patronising, but it is great to see black actors getting the chance to do accents. I can't remember another black actor - outside of Robert Townsend in Hollywood Shuffle - doing an English accent. Morgan Freeman was a Moor in the Robin Hood movie and I don't think Denzel Washington did an accent in Much ado about Nothing.

I have to say that Gwyneth Paltrow has English English down cold. Coming the other way Tracey Ullman can do about 20 different american accents like a native.

While we are here....it looks like the house is finally getting bought. I should have some fun money. When are you in New York?

McC (This will make no sense to anybody else except maybe Mav) I talked to Andy in Tokyo. His new wife is giving him grief. She is dropping hints that he is not too welcome around the homestead. All this, while she is pregnant with his kid. He is going to be in Minnesota this summer. I'm going up there, with bit of luck. I might also spend time in Michigan at the cabin. If I drive I'll be passing through sconnie. Do you have a family visit in the works?

I could do. I'll be in Europe in March but this summer I might be able to do that. Why don't you take that fun money to NYC. I'm told it is a good place to have fun.

wide boy tommy, thanks very much for the quick response!

some more low-fi comments on mimes:

gwyneth will be able to practice the generic middle-class english accent now that she is with that twerp from coldplay.

brad pitt is not good but convincingly funny every time he does accents.

mickey rourke was a miserable failure when he tried to do an irish accent. now he is a failure at everything else except looking miserable next to ron jeremy.

dick van dyke on the other hand... there is no other hand. you have children tommy, can you believe mary poppins?

or this: