I Like Me Some Jami Gertz - A Film Retrospective

It's hard to peg down actress Jami Gertz. Both her television and film careers have been very successful. In the early 80s she was ubiquitous on the small screen appearing in no less than 5 television series. Most notably as Muffy Tepperman on the short-lived, now iconic, show Square Pegs (which also launched Sarah Jessica Parker). It was not long after Square Pegs, she was ever present on the big screen.

Gertz worked pretty steady in film through the mid 1990's and then segued back into another successful television career. Including shows like ER, Seinfeld, her Emmy nominated role on Ally McBeal, Entourage, and a four year stint over at CBS on the sitcom Still Standing. She also appeared in quite a few made-for-television movies including playing Gilda Radner in Gilda Radner: It's Always Something.

Like most kids of the 80s, I became enamored with Gertz when I saw her in the 1987 Joel Schumacher cult classic The Lost Boys. I had the privilege of working in a video store from the ages of 15 to about 20 years old. It was the perfect place for me to seek out titles of stars I admired-like Jami Gertz. Here within lies some of her films that I enjoyed most.

I do like me some Jami Gertz.

Jami.

CROSSROADS - (1986) - *** - dir. Walter Hill. Ralph Macchio, Jami Gertz, Jon Seneca, Harry Carey Jr., Steve Vai, Joe Morton. Ralph Macchio stars as Eugene "Lightning Boy" Martone-a teenager out of Julliard with a profound talent for and understanding of the blues. His special skill is the classical guitar and his love for the art form has driven him to seek out old time harmonica player Willie Brown (a delightful Jon Seneca.) Not before long, the two hit the road to the Deep South to a place where Willie once made a deal with the devil. Gertz stars as Frances, the girl they find along their journey. Roger Ebert says this of her performance, "Gertz is a newcomer; this is her second major movie this year, after a somewhat thankless role in Quicksilver in which she worked for a bicycle messenger service. She's just right for this movie, with the toughness required by the character, and yet with the tenderness and the romantic notes that remind us that this is really a myth." This was a film I watched many a late night on HBO back in the day. Good stuff.

SOLARBABIES - (1986) - ** - dir. Alan Johnson. Jami Gertz, Jason Patric, Richard Jordan, Lukas Haas,  James Le Gros, Charles Durning. I had to include this film because, honestly, I am mystified by it. First off, let me start by saying not only did I own this on VHS, I had to buy a second copy because I watched the first one too many times and it broke. I'm totally serious. Second-ok, so this is a hall of fame boo-boo but what a wonderful boo-boo to discuss here with you. The movie owes a lot the Mad Max films-you know, desert waste lands, cities made of trash scraps, bleak futuristic settings-but doesn't quite deliver. The actors and the production crew all seem to bring their A game but the producers and the screenwriters seem to have phoned this one in. It's about a futuristic society where kids are in work camps and water is rationed and a group of misfits play rollerball and they befriend a sphere of light from outer space name Bodhi and escape the work camp and skate across the desert to freedom...Or something like that. I remember reading a 1994 Entertainment Weekly with Jason Patric on the cover. He briefly spoke of this film, saying the actors were misled by the producers who claimed that this would be a Star Wars type extravaganza and, needless to say it wasn't. Hey, it was shot in Spain. The actor's got to go to Spain. I quote Roger Ebert a lot, I kinda worship him. Here is his blurb on Solarbabies, "The cast is led by Jami Gertz, a strong, attractive young actress last seen opposite Ralph Macchio in Crossroads and includes Charles Durning in another of those roles where he is sincere and sweats a lot." And boy does he sweat. If you haven't seen it, I recommend watching it with a group of friends when you're stoned.

THE LOST BOYS  - (1987) - *** - dir, Joel Schumacher. Jason Patric, Jami Gertz, Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann, Kiefer Sutherland, Alex Winter, Barnard Hughes. Where to begin? I had the poster, the soundtrack, the VHS. This film, along with The Goonies, Stand By Me and Monster Squad, helped guide me to my love of  the movies. Especially as a 10 year old boy. A family moves to a California beach town where the local teenage inhabitants are vampires. Dianne Wiest (in her first film after winning an Oscar for Hannah and Her Sisters) plays the mother of Jason Patric and Corey Haim. The dynamic they set as a family going through a divorce is heart warming, honest and unexpected in a film of this nature. The relationship between to two brothers is utterly believable. I talk often a good actors making their source material better because of their skill. (Please see American Hustle review) This is a gleaming example of that. Jami Gertz, in the role of Star, joins the ranks of Carrie Fisher from Star Wars in that of fan boys biggest screen crushes. Kiefer Sutherland is the original vampire bad ass. Can you imagine if the Twilight films had an ounce of what The Lost Boys had? Beautiful cinematography from Michael Chapman. And who can forget the song "Cry Little Sister" by Gerard McMann? Fantastic visual effects in the final scene. A must see for vampire aficionados.

LESS THAN ZERO - (1987) - ***½ - dir. Marek Kanievska. Jami Gertz, Robert Downey Jr., Andrew McCarthy, James Spader. When Clay (Andrew McCarthy) returns home from college for Christmas break, he finds that his two best friends, Blair and Julian (Jami Gertz and Robert Downey Jr.) have let their druggie partying lifestyle get the best of them. In front of the glitzy backdrop of Hollywood and Beverly Hills in the 1980s, director Kanievska brilliantly captures the ostentatiousness of that period. The frustration Clay has with his friends fits beautifully with McCarthy, who made a career of playing the normal straight guy. Gertz is pitched perfectly as the young woman in denial of her cocaine abuse. There's a fine line between coking once in a while in the bathroom at a club and buying a bag to get you through the day. In the hands of  a lesser actress, Blair's addiction could have become over the top but Gertz keeps her problems grounded in realism. The film, however, belongs to Downey Jr.'s Julian. He is charming, heartbreaking, funny, and you believe he really wants to get better. In just a short time he goes from graduating high school with his future wide open, to whoring himself out at parties for drugs. His demise is hard to watch and if you have ever known an addict, is pretty spot on. There is also the wonderful James Spader as the lecherous drug dealer Rip. R.I.P.: A great name for a drug dealer. Cinematographer Ed Lachman captures the color and the vibes of the 80s with such vibrant superficiality that watching it today is like opening a time capsule. Fantastic adaptation of the classic novel by Bret Easton Ellis. Let's not forget The Bangles cover of the song "Hazy Shade of Winter."

SILENCE LIKE GLASS - (1989) - *** - dir. Carl Schenkel. Jami Gertz, Martha Plimpton, George Peppard, Rip Torn, Bruce Payne, Yeardley Smith. Gertz plays Eva Martin, a young ballerina who is diagnosed with cancer and admitted to the youth cancer ward where she shares a room with fellow patient Claudia Jacoby (Martha Plimpton). I haven't seen this film for years and it is very hard to find. Most people I come across have never even heard of it. I remember working in the video store and seeing Gertz's gorgeous face on the cover of the VHS box. I was also in love with Martha Plimpton after seeing The Goonies and Runnig On Empty. It is by no means an easy film to watch but the acting is so strong from the two female leads, you're captivated. If you are a fan of either actress, you should seek out this film. German title Zwei Frauen (Two Women.) This would make a beautiful stage play.

SIBLING RIVALRY - (1990) - *** - dir. Carl Reiner. Kirstie Alley, Bill Pullman, Carrie Fisher, Jami Gertz, Scott Bakula, Frances Sternhagen, John Randolph, Sam Elliot, Ed O'Neil. This is one of my Mom's favorite movies. We must have watched it dozens of times together. An absolutely wonderful black comedy ensemble piece. Marjorie Turner's (Kirstie Alley) marriage is on the rocks. She is urged by her sister (Jami Gertz in all her kooky glory) to have an affair and when she does, the man dies. This is just the start of the film. When we find out that the man she had sex with is the brother of her husband-one she has not previously met-shit just gets crazy. It's nice to see Ed O'Neil play it straight for once and Carrie Fisher makes a wonderful bitch. Alley has some fantastic lines, "It wasn't sex, it was good."

JERSEY GIRL - 1992 - *** - dir. David Burton Morris. Jami Gertz, Dylan McDermott, Joseph Bolgna, Sheryl Lee, Aida Turturro, Molly Price, Joseph Mazzello. This movie was never given a fair chance and instead was relegated to a life of "straight to VHS". It's a fine romantic comedy in the vein of Pretty Women and it's just as good if not better than any of this shit Hilary Swank or Katherine Heigl puts out. Gertz plays Toby, a Jersey girl from Hackensack, who wants more outta life than acrylic nails and Italian sausage. She wants a successful man to take her to parties and dinners and fancy places. So, she decides to scope out a man at the local BMW shop. Hey, why not? Better than taking home a hooker. The film's gotta lot of heart and Gertz wears it on her sleeve. Nice performance from Joseph Bologna as Gertz's father. Do not mistake this for that crappy 2004 Jennifer Lopez/Ben Affleck fiasco.

TWISTER - 1996 - *** - dir. Jan de Bont. Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Carey Elwes, Jami Gertz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lois Smith, Jeremy Davies. Made $241 Million at the domestic box office and nearly half a billion worldwide. This is by far the most popular of Gertz's film. It is loads of fun. Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton lead a team of tornado chasers who are about to revolutionize the way scientists study tornadoes. There are also the rival scientists who aim to foil their plans. Don't pay much attention to the plot here; the truly impressive element is the fantastic, Oscar nominated, visual effects. Gertz's Melissa Reeves is the only character in the film that has honest reactions to the storms. I'd be screaming my head off too if I was a few feet away from a crazy- ass storm monster.