Spending Time With Michelle Pfeiffer

Me and my wife, Stephanie have been watching several of Michelle Pfeiffer's films lately and a few of them I had never seen before. I've always loved Michelle Pfeiffer, going back to the 80's with such films like Married to the Mob, The Witches of Eastwicke, Tequila Sunrise and The Fabulous Baker Boys. She is a very underrated actress that most people can't look past her gorgeous beauty and see how very talented she is. My wife loves her like crazy and I will admit the same thing. Michelle has shown an amazing range of acting ability in all kinds of genres in films such as Wolf (horror), Batman Returns (action as the irrepressible Catwoman), Into The Night (comedy), What Lies Beneath (thriller) and Hairspray (musical). So by chance we've been watching some of her films on demand and it has turned into a little marathon.

The first movie we saw was the delightful and criminally under seen 2007 comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman, co-starring the equally talented Paul Rudd. Michelle displays a natural knack for comedy as a recently divorced TV producer and now single mom struggling with keeping her show on the air and also dealing with her love life, or lack thereof. Michelle reminded me of the great Carole Lombard in this film quite a bit because she is very funny and relaxed. She has great chemistry with Paul Rudd and with Saoirse Ronan as her daughter Izzie. This was a very good movie and I especially think mothers and daughters will enjoy it quite a lot.

Then we watched the 2008 drama Personal Effects, which is the total opposite of the first film. It's a very dark piece about two people moving forward with their lives after losing someone close to them. Michelle's co-star this time is Ashton Kutcher, who gives a credible dramatic performance as a young man dealing with the loss of his younger sister. Michelle is dealing with the loss of her husband. So they end up consoling each other and falling in love. The movie has some cheerful moments but for the most part it's very dark and depressing. Michelle manages to keep things from getting too dark thanks to her ever glowing face and a constant beautiful smile. Michelle is one of the few current actresses who can light up the screen with her mere presence. She is definitely a movie star. And a very good actress to boot.

Next up was Stardust, a wonderful fantasy from 2007 which cast Michelle as one of three witches who clash with a dashing young hero on a quest to save a shooting star (played by Claire Danes). When you first see Michelle in this movie, she is heavily made up as a grotesque hag but thanks to some magic, she is transformed into the stunning Michelle we all know and love. It's quite a breath-taking scene when you watch it. You will see that Michelle can still turn heads with quite the ease. Stardust is a fanciful movie that will remind you of The Princess Bride. It co-stars Robert DeNiro and Sienna Miller. And it's the rare film where Michelle gets to play an evil character and she does it quite well. I hope to continue our impromptu Pfeiffer Fest with several more of her films. I will have to dig through my DVDS to see what else I've got and what may be showing on demand as well. Regardless it's been great spending time the last few nights with such a talented and lovely woman. I hope she continues acting for a long time to come.