Bruce Willis Retires, Probably Years Too Late
March 31, 2022 8:36 AM Subscribe
The news broke first from the Willis family: “To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities,” read the statement. “As a result of this and with much consideration, Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.”
But later the same day, the Los Angeles Times published a story detailing years of apparent decline, to the point that he often wore an earpiece with a fellow actor feeding him his lines while being filmed, and at least one incident where Willis fired a blank on the wrong cue. Some have gone as far as calling it "exploitation of an actor with a debilitating health condition."
But later the same day, the Los Angeles Times published a story detailing years of apparent decline, to the point that he often wore an earpiece with a fellow actor feeding him his lines while being filmed, and at least one incident where Willis fired a blank on the wrong cue. Some have gone as far as calling it "exploitation of an actor with a debilitating health condition."
Is aphasia purely a language processing issue, such that he would otherwise have been capable of making his own choices about whether he did or did not want to continue working? Or is it part of or often paired with a more general cognitive decline?
posted by jacquilynne at 8:44 AM on March 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by jacquilynne at 8:44 AM on March 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
Ahhhh. I’d read critics saying he was “over it” and “just phoning it now.” In hindsight, that’s really tragic.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:45 AM on March 31, 2022 [18 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:45 AM on March 31, 2022 [18 favorites]
I've been a Bruce Willis fan since Moonlighting. I've enjoyed the Die Hard series and so many of his other movies but his most recent films have seemed "off" and low budget. I hope he gets the support and care he needs.
posted by shoesietart at 8:47 AM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by shoesietart at 8:47 AM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
Ahhhh. I’d read critics saying he was “over it” and “just phoning it now.” In hindsight, that’s really tragic.
There was a story a little while back about how several older action stars had sort of retreated to this model: Two or three days of work as a glorified supporting character, put his face way too big on the poster, sell the movie in Europe. It focused particularly on Willis, and it didn't so much as allude to a hint of the possibility of the chance of cognitive decline, instead going more on the "quick cash grab" aspect (with a topping of "No one likes doing publicity, and he doesn't have to bother with it on these movies."). I always figured it was because he could be "MOVIE STAR BRUCE WILLIS" for two or three days before people on the set started realizing that he was really just a kind of cranky old asshole these days. It never occurred to me that he just wasn't capable of doing bigger roles anymore.
I hope he lives comfortably and with as much enjoyment as he gave me over the decades. And I hope his enablers get what's coming to them in this world or the next.
posted by Etrigan at 8:55 AM on March 31, 2022 [23 favorites]
There was a story a little while back about how several older action stars had sort of retreated to this model: Two or three days of work as a glorified supporting character, put his face way too big on the poster, sell the movie in Europe. It focused particularly on Willis, and it didn't so much as allude to a hint of the possibility of the chance of cognitive decline, instead going more on the "quick cash grab" aspect (with a topping of "No one likes doing publicity, and he doesn't have to bother with it on these movies."). I always figured it was because he could be "MOVIE STAR BRUCE WILLIS" for two or three days before people on the set started realizing that he was really just a kind of cranky old asshole these days. It never occurred to me that he just wasn't capable of doing bigger roles anymore.
I hope he lives comfortably and with as much enjoyment as he gave me over the decades. And I hope his enablers get what's coming to them in this world or the next.
posted by Etrigan at 8:55 AM on March 31, 2022 [23 favorites]
.
He knew what he had to do and did it. He was a trouper.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:56 AM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
He knew what he had to do and did it. He was a trouper.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:56 AM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
My previous understanding, which I saw echoed yesterday, is that aphasia is a symptom, not a disease. I experience aphasia during migraines, and my own very mild experience of that supports that it is a specific type of communication disruption that is cognitive in nature. You don't just have aphasia, you experience aphasia because something is wrong.
This is a hedged announcement, and that's fine as we're not owed any details the family chooses not to share, but I suspect the actual diagnosis is one of the ones that would cast even more serious doubt on the behavior of his management team and "entourage" over the past few years. For legal purposes, they may be softballing at this point but recognized they needed to say something because he needs to leave the public sphere. Or, alternately, it can be a bit of a frog-boiling situation when someone is determined to keep doing what they do and don't understand the advance of their own limitations - everyone may have been doing everything they could to not say no, not because he's their cash cow but because it would be very hard to say no, you have to stay home now and can't do the things you want to Bruce Willis.
Getting old sucks. I hope he is able to be comfortable and enjoy time with what appears to be a very close family.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:58 AM on March 31, 2022 [86 favorites]
This is a hedged announcement, and that's fine as we're not owed any details the family chooses not to share, but I suspect the actual diagnosis is one of the ones that would cast even more serious doubt on the behavior of his management team and "entourage" over the past few years. For legal purposes, they may be softballing at this point but recognized they needed to say something because he needs to leave the public sphere. Or, alternately, it can be a bit of a frog-boiling situation when someone is determined to keep doing what they do and don't understand the advance of their own limitations - everyone may have been doing everything they could to not say no, not because he's their cash cow but because it would be very hard to say no, you have to stay home now and can't do the things you want to Bruce Willis.
Getting old sucks. I hope he is able to be comfortable and enjoy time with what appears to be a very close family.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:58 AM on March 31, 2022 [86 favorites]
wow that is a rough diagnosis. I too am a long time fan of Mr Willis, he's had an interesting and often entertaining career. glad to know he has a loving family to help him with this, I'm sure its pretty devastating to face the coming limitations he must accept.
posted by supermedusa at 9:06 AM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by supermedusa at 9:06 AM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Or is it part of or often paired with a more general cognitive decline?
A pattern of behavior problems that stretch across years, aphasia, can point to Fronto-Temporal Dementia. FTD is brutal. It is irreversible, uncurable, rapid cognitive decline.
posted by vacapinta at 9:09 AM on March 31, 2022 [12 favorites]
A pattern of behavior problems that stretch across years, aphasia, can point to Fronto-Temporal Dementia. FTD is brutal. It is irreversible, uncurable, rapid cognitive decline.
posted by vacapinta at 9:09 AM on March 31, 2022 [12 favorites]
Ahhhh. I’d read critics saying he was “over it” and “just phoning it now.” In hindsight, that’s really tragic.
Yeah, just the other day before the news broke I had also seen those very exact words repeated in some AskReddit thread about actors considered past their prime and I thought, ouch, that's harsh but I don't know maybe fair (I haven't seen anything recent with Willis in it). How sad to reread those words now after the news. He's not even 70! I can't imagine what that must be like. Just sad.
posted by bitteschoen at 9:12 AM on March 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
Yeah, just the other day before the news broke I had also seen those very exact words repeated in some AskReddit thread about actors considered past their prime and I thought, ouch, that's harsh but I don't know maybe fair (I haven't seen anything recent with Willis in it). How sad to reread those words now after the news. He's not even 70! I can't imagine what that must be like. Just sad.
posted by bitteschoen at 9:12 AM on March 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
"While filming Glass, staffers worked around him by cutting and editing his lines and making him overdub lines because he had trouble remembering and/or delivering them,” they told the publication, according to the New Zealand Herald.(source)
“In most of the scenes on Glass he has a hood, and they used stand-in and body doubles to replace him. He wouldn’t smile on set and was always accompanied by an assistant to guide him as he walked.’"
I wonder if these limitations are why the movie ended up so disjointed and listless. Bruce's character couldn't carry the picture because he wasn't up to it?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:13 AM on March 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
My previous understanding, which I saw echoed yesterday, is that aphasia is a symptom, not a disease. I experience aphasia during migraines, and my own very mild experience of that supports that it is a specific type of communication disruption that is cognitive in nature. You don't just have aphasia, you experience aphasia because something is wrong.
IAAD, but IANBWD.
You're absolutely right, it's a symptom of something else. The most obvious candidate would be dementia of some kind, or a stroke. Hard to know without more supporting evidence, but either way, very very sad.
posted by greatgefilte at 9:13 AM on March 31, 2022 [29 favorites]
IAAD, but IANBWD.
You're absolutely right, it's a symptom of something else. The most obvious candidate would be dementia of some kind, or a stroke. Hard to know without more supporting evidence, but either way, very very sad.
posted by greatgefilte at 9:13 AM on March 31, 2022 [29 favorites]
Holy heck he's been in some really good movies. He's somehow great and underrated. Sad news.
posted by mazola at 9:13 AM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by mazola at 9:13 AM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
Not sure if this is what Etrigan was mentioning, but here's a similar story previously, Geezer Teasers
posted by Gorgik at 9:14 AM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Gorgik at 9:14 AM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
From the details provided in the exploitation article linked above, it really sounds like Willis is playing along to keep people happy, not that he's refusing to recognize his limitations. It sounds like Eads is the piece of shit who's wringing as much cash as he can out of a prop he controls.
posted by fatbird at 9:14 AM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by fatbird at 9:14 AM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Holy heck he's been in some really good movies. He's somehow great and underrated.
I remember years ago when I saw Twelve Monkeys (still a favorite), I said to my friends, "I never thought these words would come out of my mouth: Bruce Willis should get an Academy Award." I was vaguely annoyed that more attention (and nominations) went to Brad Pitt's performance in that movie, when Willis's was so much more moving.
I've been fond of him ever since, and I thought the news of his aphasia was so sad. I also have a really soft spot for people who manage good, strong blended family relationships, and it looks like he and his family have really done so. I hope they can have some good time together.
posted by dlugoczaj at 9:21 AM on March 31, 2022 [39 favorites]
I remember years ago when I saw Twelve Monkeys (still a favorite), I said to my friends, "I never thought these words would come out of my mouth: Bruce Willis should get an Academy Award." I was vaguely annoyed that more attention (and nominations) went to Brad Pitt's performance in that movie, when Willis's was so much more moving.
I've been fond of him ever since, and I thought the news of his aphasia was so sad. I also have a really soft spot for people who manage good, strong blended family relationships, and it looks like he and his family have really done so. I hope they can have some good time together.
posted by dlugoczaj at 9:21 AM on March 31, 2022 [39 favorites]
I have a real soft spot for Willis, and my sister-in-law's dad had aphasia as his primary symptom (not sure if from a stroke or other dementia) for many, many years. It is a heartbreakingly cruel condition.
posted by misskaz at 9:24 AM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by misskaz at 9:24 AM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
I remember seeing an interview with Willis in the mid-90's when he was doing some of his most commercial work but also some of his finest acting in other films. He said something to the effect of "I do one for the pocketbook, then one for the soul." Made sense to me.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:24 AM on March 31, 2022 [14 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:24 AM on March 31, 2022 [14 favorites]
He wouldn’t smile on set and was always accompanied by an assistant to guide him as he walked.
Jesus. My father suffered from dementia and ultimately succumbed to it. It's wrenching to have a loved one deal with these types of decline, and I can't even imagine what it's like to experience it first-hand. My deepest sympathy to him and his family.
posted by jzb at 9:25 AM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
Jesus. My father suffered from dementia and ultimately succumbed to it. It's wrenching to have a loved one deal with these types of decline, and I can't even imagine what it's like to experience it first-hand. My deepest sympathy to him and his family.
posted by jzb at 9:25 AM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
I’d read critics saying he was “over it” and “just phoning it now.” In hindsight, that’s really tragic.
Just late last year or early this one, one of his new movies got viral a bit on the movie geek fandom spaces because the trailer still had his bits with his voice, but not in the full release which was completely dubbed. People were trying to square the extent of the work with the rep he had developed (not fond of reshoots; 'likes to do as little as possible') because if it required so much work -- they had another actor iirc coming in to deliver the lines in as close to his mannerism as possible and run it through a vocal modulator -- then why hire him at all?
Now we know.
posted by cendawanita at 9:27 AM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
Just late last year or early this one, one of his new movies got viral a bit on the movie geek fandom spaces because the trailer still had his bits with his voice, but not in the full release which was completely dubbed. People were trying to square the extent of the work with the rep he had developed (not fond of reshoots; 'likes to do as little as possible') because if it required so much work -- they had another actor iirc coming in to deliver the lines in as close to his mannerism as possible and run it through a vocal modulator -- then why hire him at all?
Now we know.
posted by cendawanita at 9:27 AM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
Fortunately this is Metafilter and not the Academy Awards ceremony, or the thread title writer might well have expected a slap from one of Bruce's family members for roasting him about his medical condition.
My first instinct was that the title was intended to be a criticism and funny and I recoiled from it because I had already heard he was retiring due to aphasia, but after reading the LA Times article, I think (assume? hope?) it's just a matter of fact reference to the fact that he's been in a declining state of health for awhile now.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:29 AM on March 31, 2022 [10 favorites]
My first instinct was that the title was intended to be a criticism and funny and I recoiled from it because I had already heard he was retiring due to aphasia, but after reading the LA Times article, I think (assume? hope?) it's just a matter of fact reference to the fact that he's been in a declining state of health for awhile now.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:29 AM on March 31, 2022 [10 favorites]
There is definitely the possibility that this actor, who was perhaps not always in full control of his faculties, was being exploited by low rent producers. But there is also the possibility that this person, who was sometimes in full control of his faculties, figured if he could get six or seven figures for a few days work a dozen or so times a year, he could leave his two young daughters the kind of generational wealth his older kids had already enjoyed from his heyday. I could understand that, were it to be the case.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:31 AM on March 31, 2022 [46 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:31 AM on March 31, 2022 [46 favorites]
I think it's unkind to Willis and his family to speculate that he's only been exploited for financial gain. Sure, it's possible, but isn't it just as likely that Willis liked to work in his lifelong profession and wanted to keep going as long as he could?
I've never really thought too much about Willis one or the other, but after reading this story I have a tremendous amount of respect for him.
posted by stowaway at 9:33 AM on March 31, 2022 [10 favorites]
I've never really thought too much about Willis one or the other, but after reading this story I have a tremendous amount of respect for him.
posted by stowaway at 9:33 AM on March 31, 2022 [10 favorites]
Yeah, I also read the article as him doing everything he could during his declining health to ensure that he and his family are provided for in what could be a prolonged period of full-time care.
I suppose exploitation is possible, and maybe there are things left unsaid in the article because they couldn't be adequately supported, but I don't think it's necessarily so.
It can be super complicated when circumstances force someone out of doing things they love - most families are familiar with having to take the car keys away from an elderly driver - or things they feel like they "have to do" for whatever reason and I imagine it is even more complicated when that person is a global superstar.
All the best to him and his family. I'll have to pull up 12 Monkeys one of these days, and maybe renewed interest in his back catalog will encourage some streaming service to finally make Moonlighting available.
posted by Rock Steady at 9:43 AM on March 31, 2022 [7 favorites]
I suppose exploitation is possible, and maybe there are things left unsaid in the article because they couldn't be adequately supported, but I don't think it's necessarily so.
It can be super complicated when circumstances force someone out of doing things they love - most families are familiar with having to take the car keys away from an elderly driver - or things they feel like they "have to do" for whatever reason and I imagine it is even more complicated when that person is a global superstar.
All the best to him and his family. I'll have to pull up 12 Monkeys one of these days, and maybe renewed interest in his back catalog will encourage some streaming service to finally make Moonlighting available.
posted by Rock Steady at 9:43 AM on March 31, 2022 [7 favorites]
A pattern of behavior problems that stretch across years, aphasia, can point to Fronto-Temporal Dementia. FTD is brutal. It is irreversible, uncurable, rapid cognitive decline.
Yeah, my dad had this, and can confirm: it sucks. If this is what Willis has, it's going to be a long hard road and I am very sad for him and his family. Seeing some clips of his recent work in these low budget movies, he was reduced to saying "yeah" and "okay", often cutting off the person he was in the scene with. That's classic FTD aphasia, sort of understanding what's being said to you but being unable to engage with it beyond a few repeated words.
Terry Jones of Monty Python had FTD, and Robin Williams had a close relative, Lewy Body Dementia.
posted by schoolgirl report at 9:45 AM on March 31, 2022 [8 favorites]
Yeah, my dad had this, and can confirm: it sucks. If this is what Willis has, it's going to be a long hard road and I am very sad for him and his family. Seeing some clips of his recent work in these low budget movies, he was reduced to saying "yeah" and "okay", often cutting off the person he was in the scene with. That's classic FTD aphasia, sort of understanding what's being said to you but being unable to engage with it beyond a few repeated words.
Terry Jones of Monty Python had FTD, and Robin Williams had a close relative, Lewy Body Dementia.
posted by schoolgirl report at 9:45 AM on March 31, 2022 [8 favorites]
it really sounds like Willis is playing along to keep people happy, not that he's refusing to recognize his limitations
I should specify, from my response, that people in cognitive decline often don't really know they are declining in an abnormal way*. The limitations are literally not-self-recognizable in many cases, it's nothing to do with conscious refusal. The brain invents reasonable explanations for the gaps, and people are often very good at faking competence to "make people happy" in the sense that they don't frown at you and ask if you're feeling okay. If someone in cognitive decline is "playing along", it's often because they are hanging on to things they deeply innately know how to do - with someone like Bruce Willis, if he has no idea why he's on set, he still knows what the right behavior is when put in that very familiar environment ("I know why you're here, and why you're here, but I don't know why I'm here," was the quote from one of the articles. And if you're uncertain you're talking to a confused person, you might well assume that Bruce Willis thinks your movie is beneath him and is allowed to say so out loud to your face and not that he literally does not know why he's there.).
And it is hard and heartbreaking when someone who is deeply self-identified with their job has to be stopped from doing it. Anyone who's had to stop a parent or grandparent from cooking or going up ladders or driving knows that feeling of trying to decide the right time to intervene and say no, you have to stop now, but without denying their agency prematurely. Especially if they are extremely wealthy and still know who to call to make things happen, and those people could mean well or not even see how bad things are, or they could be exploitative.
*Except, of course, for the horrifying ones where you do know what's happening. Robin Williams knew. Terry Pratchett knew. It was a special kind of torment. But for a lot of people, they coast for a long time on the idea that they're having normal mild symptoms of aging and the people around them are inexplicably being super irrational about it. I have some background training in this stuff so it is easier for me, but I am watching my peers deal with this and they get SO angry at their parents as if they are making these really deliberate choices - to be weird, to get hurt, to not take care of themselves/their responsibilities - and I just like to dispel the myth that most forms of cognitive dysfunction retain clear decision-making capacity.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:50 AM on March 31, 2022 [86 favorites]
I should specify, from my response, that people in cognitive decline often don't really know they are declining in an abnormal way*. The limitations are literally not-self-recognizable in many cases, it's nothing to do with conscious refusal. The brain invents reasonable explanations for the gaps, and people are often very good at faking competence to "make people happy" in the sense that they don't frown at you and ask if you're feeling okay. If someone in cognitive decline is "playing along", it's often because they are hanging on to things they deeply innately know how to do - with someone like Bruce Willis, if he has no idea why he's on set, he still knows what the right behavior is when put in that very familiar environment ("I know why you're here, and why you're here, but I don't know why I'm here," was the quote from one of the articles. And if you're uncertain you're talking to a confused person, you might well assume that Bruce Willis thinks your movie is beneath him and is allowed to say so out loud to your face and not that he literally does not know why he's there.).
And it is hard and heartbreaking when someone who is deeply self-identified with their job has to be stopped from doing it. Anyone who's had to stop a parent or grandparent from cooking or going up ladders or driving knows that feeling of trying to decide the right time to intervene and say no, you have to stop now, but without denying their agency prematurely. Especially if they are extremely wealthy and still know who to call to make things happen, and those people could mean well or not even see how bad things are, or they could be exploitative.
*Except, of course, for the horrifying ones where you do know what's happening. Robin Williams knew. Terry Pratchett knew. It was a special kind of torment. But for a lot of people, they coast for a long time on the idea that they're having normal mild symptoms of aging and the people around them are inexplicably being super irrational about it. I have some background training in this stuff so it is easier for me, but I am watching my peers deal with this and they get SO angry at their parents as if they are making these really deliberate choices - to be weird, to get hurt, to not take care of themselves/their responsibilities - and I just like to dispel the myth that most forms of cognitive dysfunction retain clear decision-making capacity.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:50 AM on March 31, 2022 [86 favorites]
I know how royalties work in the music industry. A friend of mine just received a windfall because a band he'd produced a decade ago suddenly had a viral hit from that period. What's normally a continuing stream of cash was temporarily a deluge, which was a really nice surprise for him.
People like Willis, being A list stars, not only get big upfront payments, but they're also represented by agencies that know how to ensure that they get actual points on continuing revenue. Shouldn't Willis, at this point, be getting residuals from his impressive body of work that more than swamps whatever lucrative, show-up-for-day fee he gets? Like, unless he's actively burning cash, the "he needs the money" story doesn't make a lot of sense, unless I'm misunderstanding the revenue-over-time of movies (which I likely am).
posted by fatbird at 9:52 AM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
People like Willis, being A list stars, not only get big upfront payments, but they're also represented by agencies that know how to ensure that they get actual points on continuing revenue. Shouldn't Willis, at this point, be getting residuals from his impressive body of work that more than swamps whatever lucrative, show-up-for-day fee he gets? Like, unless he's actively burning cash, the "he needs the money" story doesn't make a lot of sense, unless I'm misunderstanding the revenue-over-time of movies (which I likely am).
posted by fatbird at 9:52 AM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
Like, unless he's actively burning cash, the "he needs the money" story doesn't make a lot of sense, unless I'm misunderstanding the revenue-over-time of movies (which I likely am).
Don't forget that he is also under the care of the United States health care system, which is probably pretty much akin to "actively burning cash" insofar as payment for said health care goes...
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:55 AM on March 31, 2022 [20 favorites]
Don't forget that he is also under the care of the United States health care system, which is probably pretty much akin to "actively burning cash" insofar as payment for said health care goes...
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:55 AM on March 31, 2022 [20 favorites]
Aphasia, and ways of losing the ability to communicate, scare the shit out of me. Not being able to speak, or even write, or comprehend language sounds like my idea of hell. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, even the most horrific people in the world.
posted by SansPoint at 9:59 AM on March 31, 2022 [11 favorites]
posted by SansPoint at 9:59 AM on March 31, 2022 [11 favorites]
Shouldn't Willis, at this point, be getting residuals from his impressive body of work that more than swamps whatever lucrative, show-up-for-day fee he gets? Like, unless he's actively burning cash, the "he needs the money" story doesn't make a lot of sense, unless I'm misunderstanding the revenue-over-time of movies (which I likely am).
Plenty of superstars end up in pretty bad shape financially. I doubt he is Mickey Rooney penniless, but just off the top of my head I know he had several fairly big-budget flops (not to mention the attempted music career) which could have played havoc with his earning situation. And especially when you are thinking about trying to provide for multiple children of multiple marriages, I bet every paycheck helps.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:09 AM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
Plenty of superstars end up in pretty bad shape financially. I doubt he is Mickey Rooney penniless, but just off the top of my head I know he had several fairly big-budget flops (not to mention the attempted music career) which could have played havoc with his earning situation. And especially when you are thinking about trying to provide for multiple children of multiple marriages, I bet every paycheck helps.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:09 AM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
A friend of mine's partner suffered from aphasia as part of a larger set of brain damage issues related to cancer treatment. It was a horrible, years-long decline. The irony is my friend is a professional linguist and at the same time this was going on I was also studying linguistics. Aphasia is a very valuable source of information to cognitive science about how the brain processes language; you can learn a lot by the pattern of how things break. But talking to my friend made it clear these stories always have a terrible human tragedy, too.
The thread title "Bruce Willis Retires, Probably Years Too Late" seems like a cheap shot. Surely there's a kinder way to capture the observation that his later career appeared to be affected by his disability?
posted by Nelson at 10:19 AM on March 31, 2022 [14 favorites]
The thread title "Bruce Willis Retires, Probably Years Too Late" seems like a cheap shot. Surely there's a kinder way to capture the observation that his later career appeared to be affected by his disability?
posted by Nelson at 10:19 AM on March 31, 2022 [14 favorites]
Finances could absolutely be a reason for his working so often these last few years. I recall he tried to sell his house here in Westchester County NY inm 2019. He ended up selling it for ~$6 million off the asking price. He paid $12 million for it.. He lost about $5 million actual cash dollars.
I wondered why, at the time he was selling and he was a motivated seller. It struck me as odd. I thought he could be patient. Turns out he was setting up his and his family's future. Cash is king.
I have really enjoyed his work over the years. He appears to have a very supportive family as well as Demi his ex and her family. Demi, G.I. Jane which brings us back to...never mind.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:21 AM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
I wondered why, at the time he was selling and he was a motivated seller. It struck me as odd. I thought he could be patient. Turns out he was setting up his and his family's future. Cash is king.
I have really enjoyed his work over the years. He appears to have a very supportive family as well as Demi his ex and her family. Demi, G.I. Jane which brings us back to...never mind.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:21 AM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
Bruce Willis is a big part of what made Pulp Fiction and The Fifth Element among the more enjoyable romps at the time
"Zed's dead, baby" was fun to say for a while, who's with me.. anyhow, like others have said and will say: getting old sucks
posted by elkevelvet at 10:24 AM on March 31, 2022 [14 favorites]
"Zed's dead, baby" was fun to say for a while, who's with me.. anyhow, like others have said and will say: getting old sucks
posted by elkevelvet at 10:24 AM on March 31, 2022 [14 favorites]
This is horrifying. Especially them trying to make movies around his limitations. Especially the gun thing. I've watched too many people lose their minds and it's a wretched hell.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:27 AM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:27 AM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
As someone who has experienced cognitive decline in recent years (I mostly have problems with names; I'm not at the "get off my lawn" stage), I understand the heartbreak of remembering when I was the smartest guy in the room and now I'm just mediocre. I compare myself, hilariously and sadly, to Angelina Jolie confronting her mastectomy. My brain is the only thing that kept me alive for decades and to lose that, that one thing that made me special, is terrible.
posted by SPrintF at 10:28 AM on March 31, 2022 [43 favorites]
posted by SPrintF at 10:28 AM on March 31, 2022 [43 favorites]
The Last Boy Scout is tragically underrated. Also, The Whole Nine Yards.
posted by chavenet at 10:28 AM on March 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 10:28 AM on March 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
This quora comment about the business of being an aging superstar is really interesting.
I think we see these big paychecks (say $75 million dollars for Die Hard 2) and think "he is set for life." Which might be true but (1) I think this money includes all the "points" "backend" so it could be paid out over 20+ years, and (2) actors nowadays are self-employed. Out of that money he is paying business taxes and for all the employees that keep Bruce Willis working.
He has two young daughters, I really feel for his wife and kids. I can imagine how tough this has been and will be. I think it's easy to suspect he was being taken advantage of but this doesn't seem like a Harper Lee situation where he is isolated.
posted by muddgirl at 10:29 AM on March 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
I think we see these big paychecks (say $75 million dollars for Die Hard 2) and think "he is set for life." Which might be true but (1) I think this money includes all the "points" "backend" so it could be paid out over 20+ years, and (2) actors nowadays are self-employed. Out of that money he is paying business taxes and for all the employees that keep Bruce Willis working.
He has two young daughters, I really feel for his wife and kids. I can imagine how tough this has been and will be. I think it's easy to suspect he was being taken advantage of but this doesn't seem like a Harper Lee situation where he is isolated.
posted by muddgirl at 10:29 AM on March 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
(and of course Demi Moore and his extended family who all seem very close).
posted by muddgirl at 10:36 AM on March 31, 2022
posted by muddgirl at 10:36 AM on March 31, 2022
Willis suffered from stuttering when he was a child, and learned to cope through drama and acting. He gave a short speech for the American Institute for Stuttering which is an emotional watch. It doesn't relate medically to the current situation I assume, except maybe to add to one's sympathy for him and his family.
posted by rollick at 10:41 AM on March 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by rollick at 10:41 AM on March 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
"Zed's dead, baby"
So is Nils!
I have been meaning to rewatch "Death Becomes Her" for a while now. Might be time.
posted by Eideteker at 10:41 AM on March 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
So is Nils!
I have been meaning to rewatch "Death Becomes Her" for a while now. Might be time.
posted by Eideteker at 10:41 AM on March 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
Fortunately this is Metafilter and not the Academy Awards ceremony, or the thread title writer might well have expected a slap from one of Bruce's family members for roasting him about his medical condition.
I saw the post title, read the article, and immediately thought of this classical statue.
I don't think any insult was intended. Much like that statue, I think it was a blunt and profound way of expressing how much Willis has given it his all until there was nothing left to give.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 10:45 AM on March 31, 2022 [8 favorites]
I saw the post title, read the article, and immediately thought of this classical statue.
I don't think any insult was intended. Much like that statue, I think it was a blunt and profound way of expressing how much Willis has given it his all until there was nothing left to give.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 10:45 AM on March 31, 2022 [8 favorites]
D'oh, it was $7.5 million for Die Hard 2. Very important decimal point.
posted by muddgirl at 10:58 AM on March 31, 2022
posted by muddgirl at 10:58 AM on March 31, 2022
Holy heck he's been in some really good movies. He's somehow great and underrated.
Sometimes it's hard to remember that Die Hard was a HUGE risk for Hollywood. Prior to that, action movies starred big, muscular guys (Stallone and Schwarzenegger were the biggest two, but there were a gajillion others) where the drama never came from worrying that the protagonist was ever in any danger, only how he would dispose of all those pesky bad guys. The better movies had more creative ways of disposing. Somehow there are always rocket launchers involved.
So to make a movie with a scrawny guy, who is vulnerable (running around with glass shards in his bare feet, not believed by the police, one regular guy against an entire band of well-armed terrorists) was not the norm. Add to that the casting of a tv actor, in an age when tv is almost entirely dreck, and that risk goes through the roof.
And then Bruce Willis comes along and gives us an action movie that has such good action, but more importantly, such good drama, it was like watching a magic trick: an action movie that felt relatable, instead of some weird sci fi that falls into that category because of how unbelievable it all is (even if it is great fun.)
I have never in my life quoted Schwarzenegger without my tongue firmly in my cheek. But I have quoted Willis non-ironically plenty.
posted by nushustu at 11:04 AM on March 31, 2022 [38 favorites]
Sometimes it's hard to remember that Die Hard was a HUGE risk for Hollywood. Prior to that, action movies starred big, muscular guys (Stallone and Schwarzenegger were the biggest two, but there were a gajillion others) where the drama never came from worrying that the protagonist was ever in any danger, only how he would dispose of all those pesky bad guys. The better movies had more creative ways of disposing. Somehow there are always rocket launchers involved.
So to make a movie with a scrawny guy, who is vulnerable (running around with glass shards in his bare feet, not believed by the police, one regular guy against an entire band of well-armed terrorists) was not the norm. Add to that the casting of a tv actor, in an age when tv is almost entirely dreck, and that risk goes through the roof.
And then Bruce Willis comes along and gives us an action movie that has such good action, but more importantly, such good drama, it was like watching a magic trick: an action movie that felt relatable, instead of some weird sci fi that falls into that category because of how unbelievable it all is (even if it is great fun.)
I have never in my life quoted Schwarzenegger without my tongue firmly in my cheek. But I have quoted Willis non-ironically plenty.
posted by nushustu at 11:04 AM on March 31, 2022 [38 favorites]
I don't think any insult was intended. Much like that statue, I think it was a blunt and profound way of expressing how much Willis has given it his all until there was nothing left to give.
Agreed. I think all of us are just stunned today to find out he has full-blown dementia, or close to it, and has been trotted out (with his cooperation) to do profitable films for the past couple of years.
I knew something was brewing when Cracked ran an article a few months ago about how the Razzies created a new category just for him, but I'm still stunned now about how ill he has been.
posted by Melismata at 11:05 AM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
Agreed. I think all of us are just stunned today to find out he has full-blown dementia, or close to it, and has been trotted out (with his cooperation) to do profitable films for the past couple of years.
I knew something was brewing when Cracked ran an article a few months ago about how the Razzies created a new category just for him, but I'm still stunned now about how ill he has been.
posted by Melismata at 11:05 AM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
The Bonfire of the Vanities is flawed, but it's better than its reputation (or its box-office take) would suggest.
posted by box at 11:09 AM on March 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by box at 11:09 AM on March 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
He wouldn’t smile
The inability to smile is a symptom of fairly advanced dementia (there is a term for it but googling for [something mask] is hard these days). If this was already present when filming Glass then his 'team' rode him hard for the last three years because he has 28 credits since then any many were filmed during the pandemic.
My father has dementia and he didn't lose his smile until halfway through last year right before we placed him in permanent long term care. He was completely out of touch with reality and that was at least about two years after he had lost his ability to consent to anything.
I watched a lot of the Geezer Teasers and they were generally awful and at the time I suspected they may have been some sort of money laundering mob thing and I was puzzled why Bruce was willing to trash his reputation with such dreck. Turns out it may have been elder abuse in addition to those things.
posted by srboisvert at 11:15 AM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
The inability to smile is a symptom of fairly advanced dementia (there is a term for it but googling for [something mask] is hard these days). If this was already present when filming Glass then his 'team' rode him hard for the last three years because he has 28 credits since then any many were filmed during the pandemic.
My father has dementia and he didn't lose his smile until halfway through last year right before we placed him in permanent long term care. He was completely out of touch with reality and that was at least about two years after he had lost his ability to consent to anything.
I watched a lot of the Geezer Teasers and they were generally awful and at the time I suspected they may have been some sort of money laundering mob thing and I was puzzled why Bruce was willing to trash his reputation with such dreck. Turns out it may have been elder abuse in addition to those things.
posted by srboisvert at 11:15 AM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
His performance in Moonrise Kingdom fully redeemed that film from an overdone Wes Anderson twee parade to a genuinely moving story. In hindsight, it's clear that in many ways the character is reflecting someone who struggles to express and connect and that is just...heartbreaking, now.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 11:16 AM on March 31, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 11:16 AM on March 31, 2022 [7 favorites]
What a sad story. I really liked 12 Monkeys, and of course, he will always be the inspiration for Japanese Bruce Willis.
posted by snofoam at 11:44 AM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by snofoam at 11:44 AM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
This is just so sad. He's been a presence in my life as a star entertainer for as long as I can remember. And, yes, my mom and I also watched Moonlighting together back in the day. I don't think I've ever gone out of my way to see a Bruce Willis movie necessarily but he's been in so much and he has this every-guy presence that is manly but also not overly threatening that I think I appreciated in his many roles. I could easily believe that he was invested in continuing to work even in decline. I can also easily believe that the people around him propped him up in ways that may have been inappropriate. I can't say that I'd know exactly what to do in that situation. I do think that all these stars are in the business of being a business of themselves. It makes things tricky. I have friends with small businesses who agonize over providing for their employees and the dependents of their employees and it's part of why I am hesitant to expand my own business - it's a lot of responsibility, if you care. And when the business is a person, their likeness, their character, it's even more intimate and strange. Who is going to stand up and tell their boss not just that they are no longer competent to be the boss but it's time to shut down the business and you are going to fire yourself now on their behalf? Anyway, I wish him and his family the best. He's far too young for this nonsense. How scary.
posted by amanda at 11:51 AM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by amanda at 11:51 AM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
I remember Kevin Smith didn't get along with him during the making of Cop Out -- from Bruce's POV Kevin was a pothead hack, and from Kevin's POV Bruce was lazy and cantankerous. Now both of them have medical issues that have changed their lives, others' perception of them, and their perceptions of each other. Getting old is a land of contrasts.
posted by credulous at 12:04 PM on March 31, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by credulous at 12:04 PM on March 31, 2022 [6 favorites]
I am very surprised (as a couple others are) to see this is being presented as aphasia when it's clearly a form of early onset dementia. It's like saying someone has "lost the ability to walk" when they actually have ALS (Lou Gerig's disease). Dementia is a terminal illness, even though it's often not thought of that way. The confusion certainly does not seem like it's a difficulty communicating, but rather memory issues. I have a relative with dementia who no longer understands the concept of a haircut. They repeatedly ask what's going on, every few minutes. That behavior seems a lot closer to what's happening to Willis.
posted by wnissen at 12:04 PM on March 31, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by wnissen at 12:04 PM on March 31, 2022 [9 favorites]
Am guessing they don't want to say he has dementia. Very sad. My father was so frustrated by his aphasia in the last few months of his life - it's very hard. I feel for Willis and his family.
posted by leslies at 12:18 PM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by leslies at 12:18 PM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
Never an action fan so passed on the Die Hard franchise but loved him in Pulp Fiction and a few other quirky roles - but my enduring memory of Bruce Willis remains from a long sojourn my wife and I took in '93, seven months around America in our Westfalia, mostly just seeing the country but also considering places we might like to live at least part of the year. Of those we found several but fell quickly and wildly in love with Hailey, Idaho, a small mining town tucked in the glorious mountains just enough south of Ketchum and Sun Valley as to have so far escaped their gathering A-list glitter, glamour and star power at that time. We stayed a night at the sole hotel, a real old west holdover with creaky ancient worn wood floors and a bath down the hall and a saloon below. Camped a few more days in the surrounding highlands and loved it so much we actually took a day to meet an agent and look at some real estate, then filed it away as we headed east for Wyoming. Not long after we got back home, I decided to do some more research on Hailey but alas, the first thing that popped up was that mere weeks after we'd fallen so hard for her, Hailey, Idaho had been purchased - damn near the entirety of the whole freakin' town - by Bruce and Demi Moore, who were already well on their way to transforming it into their own little celebrity hobby heaven. All we could think was damn, man, people really do that kinda shit?
Can't imagine what it's like now, on the cusp of 30 years later - maybe some of you have seen it since?
posted by thecincinnatikid at 12:18 PM on March 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
Can't imagine what it's like now, on the cusp of 30 years later - maybe some of you have seen it since?
posted by thecincinnatikid at 12:18 PM on March 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
Take up acting, they said.
Make some movies, they said.
It'll be fun, they said.
He spends forty years entertaining us by doing Bruce Willis. I wish he'll spend the rest of his years being Bruce Willis.
Yippie kai yay, motherfucker.
posted by mule98J at 12:35 PM on March 31, 2022 [17 favorites]
Make some movies, they said.
It'll be fun, they said.
He spends forty years entertaining us by doing Bruce Willis. I wish he'll spend the rest of his years being Bruce Willis.
Yippie kai yay, motherfucker.
posted by mule98J at 12:35 PM on March 31, 2022 [17 favorites]
The Red Letter Media guys did a video a while ago goofing on the endless cheapo movies Willis was putting out and his seeming willingness to do anything for a quick check, then more recently they did a follow-up where they addressed "tabloid rumors" that he was ill. They'd heard that Willis had some sort of cognitive decline and he was working as hard as he could, while he still could, to earn money he could leave to his family. I don't know where they heard that, but if it's true this might not be exploitation so much as his family getting out of his way to let him do this thing he was stubbornly determined to do.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 12:46 PM on March 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by Ursula Hitler at 12:46 PM on March 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
I knew something was brewing when Cracked ran an article a few months ago about how the Razzies created a new category just for him, but I'm still stunned now about how ill he has been.
The Razzies people feel bad now.
posted by dlugoczaj at 12:48 PM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
The Razzies people feel bad now.
posted by dlugoczaj at 12:48 PM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
thecincinnatikid, there's an entire podcast about Hailey, Idaho called Haileywood, run by the woman who does Noble Blood, Dana Schwartz. I've been meaning to listen to it, but with this news, I think I will wait even longer.
Despite him being a colossal dick to a friend of mine in the industry and the fact that I've disliked so much of his catalog, I have always had a soft spot for him. I wouldn't wish this on anyone; it's truly tragic.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 12:52 PM on March 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
Despite him being a colossal dick to a friend of mine in the industry and the fact that I've disliked so much of his catalog, I have always had a soft spot for him. I wouldn't wish this on anyone; it's truly tragic.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 12:52 PM on March 31, 2022 [5 favorites]
I see him as a rare bird for his ability to combine his authority and his comedic timing.
There's a place for each part in almost any film and they combine really well in some of his better roles. I'm thinking especially of Die Hard and 5th Element where he's basically a straight man who creates the dramatic space for either his own or fellow actors' comedic release. There's something kinda Hans Solo-esque about a lot of those types of characters that he plays. It must not be easy to do well otherwise we wouldn't love those roles so much.
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 12:52 PM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
There's a place for each part in almost any film and they combine really well in some of his better roles. I'm thinking especially of Die Hard and 5th Element where he's basically a straight man who creates the dramatic space for either his own or fellow actors' comedic release. There's something kinda Hans Solo-esque about a lot of those types of characters that he plays. It must not be easy to do well otherwise we wouldn't love those roles so much.
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 12:52 PM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
He’s been in a lot of things, some of which I’ve really enjoyed. I’ll always first associate him with Moonlighting. His whole deal in that show was that he was quick-witted, and never at a loss for words, and so it strikes me as a painful irony that he will live out his days constantly at a loss for words. My mom is currently suffering from dementia and it is heartbreaking. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
posted by wabbittwax at 1:06 PM on March 31, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by wabbittwax at 1:06 PM on March 31, 2022 [10 favorites]
So to make a movie with a scrawny guy, who is vulnerable (running around with glass shards in his bare feet, not believed by the police, one regular guy against an entire band of well-armed terrorists) was not the norm. Add to that the casting of a tv actor, in an age when tv is almost entirely dreck, and that risk goes through the roof.
And then Bruce Willis comes along and gives us an action movie that has such good action, but more importantly, such good drama, it was like watching a magic trick: an action movie that felt relatable, instead of some weird sci fi that falls into that category because of how unbelievable it all is (even if it is great fun.)
Not only was he a TV actor, he was a TV comedy actor. The gulf between TV and movies was so much wider back in the day; imagine that in the next Batman movie, they give the role of the Joker to somebody who makes funny TikTok videos.
And Die Hard so transformed the action movie world that you can look at the next 5-10+ years of action movies - and not just the shameless derivative ones - and mentally work out how their pitch was "Die Hard..." (on a bus) (on a boat) (on an airplane) (in a prison)
I have a theory that there are great movies that are innovative; they introduce innovations that become so fundamental that years later the original feels like a cliche because that's where the cinematic language comes from, like the fight scenes in Raging Bull. And other great movies are executional; they don't need to cover new ground, but every little aspect in how they are made works perfectly together, like Casablanca.
To me, Die Hard is a little bit of both of these - it left a legacy of overmatched everymen (and very occasionally everywomen) scrambling to use their wits and guts to stop bad guys, but it is also so perfectly plotted, perfectly edited, and Willis and Rickman in particular are so perfect in their roles that it's just like a little clockwork; every piece is needed and the overall result is magical.
posted by Superilla at 1:33 PM on March 31, 2022 [14 favorites]
And then Bruce Willis comes along and gives us an action movie that has such good action, but more importantly, such good drama, it was like watching a magic trick: an action movie that felt relatable, instead of some weird sci fi that falls into that category because of how unbelievable it all is (even if it is great fun.)
Not only was he a TV actor, he was a TV comedy actor. The gulf between TV and movies was so much wider back in the day; imagine that in the next Batman movie, they give the role of the Joker to somebody who makes funny TikTok videos.
And Die Hard so transformed the action movie world that you can look at the next 5-10+ years of action movies - and not just the shameless derivative ones - and mentally work out how their pitch was "Die Hard..." (on a bus) (on a boat) (on an airplane) (in a prison)
I have a theory that there are great movies that are innovative; they introduce innovations that become so fundamental that years later the original feels like a cliche because that's where the cinematic language comes from, like the fight scenes in Raging Bull. And other great movies are executional; they don't need to cover new ground, but every little aspect in how they are made works perfectly together, like Casablanca.
To me, Die Hard is a little bit of both of these - it left a legacy of overmatched everymen (and very occasionally everywomen) scrambling to use their wits and guts to stop bad guys, but it is also so perfectly plotted, perfectly edited, and Willis and Rickman in particular are so perfect in their roles that it's just like a little clockwork; every piece is needed and the overall result is magical.
posted by Superilla at 1:33 PM on March 31, 2022 [14 favorites]
and mentally work out how their pitch was "Die Hard..." (on a bus) (on a boat) (on an airplane) (in a prison)
You forgot the greatest "Die Hard...on a" of all time: on a spaceship!
(I personally have never seen Die Hard and I don't really care for it. But I do enjoy that episode of ST:TNG)
posted by RonButNotStupid at 1:36 PM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
You forgot the greatest "Die Hard...on a" of all time: on a spaceship!
(I personally have never seen Die Hard and I don't really care for it. But I do enjoy that episode of ST:TNG)
posted by RonButNotStupid at 1:36 PM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
These kinds of things terrify me.
I have epilepsy; I never worry about a grand Mal but I have to plan (every day) around possibly losing:
As noted above: no one "gets aphasia; they experience it because they're dealing with something else". None of the adult onset options are simple, palatable or fixable.
I don't know the man but I have tremendous sympathy and excruciating empathy and hope to heck that (as mule98j) expressed: "I wish he'll spend the rest of his years being Bruce Willis." Y'know, while he still can.
Truly: Yippie kai yay, motherfucker.
posted by mce at 1:41 PM on March 31, 2022 [19 favorites]
I have epilepsy; I never worry about a grand Mal but I have to plan (every day) around possibly losing:
- language - sometimes just part of speech, sometimes the entire ability to form or understand speech
- short term memory loss - waking up tomorrow if I had a bad night I might only have as firm a grasp on the important things I did today as the quality of the notes I took at the time
- emotional control & recognition - apparently when I feel flat and low affect everyone around me assuming I'm just angry and I have no idea why, what I did, how to fix things or why I find myself defining everything I say, do or am.
As noted above: no one "gets aphasia; they experience it because they're dealing with something else". None of the adult onset options are simple, palatable or fixable.
I don't know the man but I have tremendous sympathy and excruciating empathy and hope to heck that (as mule98j) expressed: "I wish he'll spend the rest of his years being Bruce Willis." Y'know, while he still can.
Truly: Yippie kai yay, motherfucker.
posted by mce at 1:41 PM on March 31, 2022 [19 favorites]
In college I dated a relative of Bruce's, think first cousin once removed type relationship. She hadn't spent a lot of time with him, but he sounded like a decent family man from what she had experienced. The Fifth Element will always been my favorite film of his. I hope his final years are easy.
posted by postel's law at 1:47 PM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by postel's law at 1:47 PM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
Not sure if this is what Etrigan was mentioning, but here's a similar story previously, Geezer Teasers
That's a good previously, and it gets into great detail about why actors do these things.
posted by Melismata at 1:50 PM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
That's a good previously, and it gets into great detail about why actors do these things.
posted by Melismata at 1:50 PM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
"Bruce Willis" used to be my answer for "when you're famous, who do you want to play you in a documentary?"
posted by Foosnark at 1:53 PM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Foosnark at 1:53 PM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
I'm re-reading books by Kylie Scott, one of my favourite contemporary romance authors, and I just arrived at this passage in a book where the female lead has amnesia. For context, Ed, her ex, has been called to the hospital after she had a seizure and wants her to come home with him so he can watch over her and make sure she's okay:
"Ed, why are you being like this? You don't want me in your life."
"You know what I want even less? To have to talk you into letting me look after you for an afternoon, as if it's something I want and you'd be doing me this great favor," he says, jaw clenched. "Honestly, it's like nails scratching down the chalkboard of my soul."
"Well, that's dramatic. Here's your chance to walk away. Take it."
"Not going to happen. Not when you look like you've been running around Nakatomi Plaza fighting Hans."
"Again, no idea what you're talking about."
He just blinked. "It's one of your favourite movies."
"Just assume all cultural references mean nothing to me."
"Really? Huh," he says, taking a step back. Thank God. "You get to watch Die Hard again for the first time. I'm almost jealous of you."
posted by jacquilynne at 2:21 PM on March 31, 2022 [12 favorites]
"Ed, why are you being like this? You don't want me in your life."
"You know what I want even less? To have to talk you into letting me look after you for an afternoon, as if it's something I want and you'd be doing me this great favor," he says, jaw clenched. "Honestly, it's like nails scratching down the chalkboard of my soul."
"Well, that's dramatic. Here's your chance to walk away. Take it."
"Not going to happen. Not when you look like you've been running around Nakatomi Plaza fighting Hans."
"Again, no idea what you're talking about."
He just blinked. "It's one of your favourite movies."
"Just assume all cultural references mean nothing to me."
"Really? Huh," he says, taking a step back. Thank God. "You get to watch Die Hard again for the first time. I'm almost jealous of you."
posted by jacquilynne at 2:21 PM on March 31, 2022 [12 favorites]
So to make a movie with a scrawny guy, who is vulnerable (running around with glass shards in his bare feet, not believed by the police, one regular guy against an entire band of well-armed terrorists) was not the norm.
The franchise is also a study in diminishing returns, as the original concept (vulnerable outmatched everyman survives by his wits) dwindled more with each outing. I think I have seen them all, but post-1995, Willis’ character is exactly the sort of untouchable hyperviolent killing machine (dispensing premortem one-liners) that it’s better to headcanon that these are sequels to Unbreakable.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:26 PM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
The franchise is also a study in diminishing returns, as the original concept (vulnerable outmatched everyman survives by his wits) dwindled more with each outing. I think I have seen them all, but post-1995, Willis’ character is exactly the sort of untouchable hyperviolent killing machine (dispensing premortem one-liners) that it’s better to headcanon that these are sequels to Unbreakable.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:26 PM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
Finally, he can go out to the coast and have a few laughs...for good.
posted by hairless ape at 2:48 PM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by hairless ape at 2:48 PM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
I've also always said that when you google "hairstyles for balding men with curly hair" the only thing that should come back is a picture of Bruce Willis.
posted by Superilla at 3:01 PM on March 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Superilla at 3:01 PM on March 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
He made it through the first two Die Hard movies and a couple of others with hair. He did good.
posted by hippybear at 3:06 PM on March 31, 2022
posted by hippybear at 3:06 PM on March 31, 2022
It's Hudson Hawk that my sweetie and I rewatch. Thanks, Bruce Willis, it's given us a reliable delight.
posted by clew at 4:37 PM on March 31, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by clew at 4:37 PM on March 31, 2022 [9 favorites]
I don't love how close this thread is feeling like an obit thread, but I did love so many of his performances - especially Moonlighting, but even his perfect interpretation of himself as himself in Ocean's 12 was worth the price of admission, even among so many other stars.
Also I'll just leave this least-Bruce Willis-ever Moonlighting clip here.
posted by Mchelly at 4:53 PM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
Also I'll just leave this least-Bruce Willis-ever Moonlighting clip here.
posted by Mchelly at 4:53 PM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
Hudson Hawk is one of the most movies that I've ever seen. Lots of movie, that's for certain -- like it or not, it's got quantities. People should give it a chance.
posted by Countess Elena at 4:58 PM on March 31, 2022 [12 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 4:58 PM on March 31, 2022 [12 favorites]
He said something to the effect of "I do one for the pocketbook, then one for the soul."
Michael Caine on his part in Jaws: The Revenge:
Michael Caine on his part in Jaws: The Revenge:
I have never seen the film, but by all accounts it was terrible. However I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.posted by kirkaracha at 5:11 PM on March 31, 2022 [12 favorites]
I compare myself, hilariously and sadly, to Angelina Jolie confronting her mastectomy.
I wish I had not written that. I have nothing but respect for Ms Jolie who seems like a really nice person. I am just sad that I am not the person that I used to be, and Ms Jolie might be a kindred spirit. I hope for the best for both of us.
posted by SPrintF at 5:14 PM on March 31, 2022 [14 favorites]
I wish I had not written that. I have nothing but respect for Ms Jolie who seems like a really nice person. I am just sad that I am not the person that I used to be, and Ms Jolie might be a kindred spirit. I hope for the best for both of us.
posted by SPrintF at 5:14 PM on March 31, 2022 [14 favorites]
I could easily believe that he was invested in continuing to work even in decline. I can also easily believe that the people around him propped him up in ways that may have been inappropriate...
posted by amanda at 11:51 AM on March 31
Not really eponysterical, but I did jump a bit seeing that username at the end of a post that made me think so much of Sarek.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:34 PM on March 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by amanda at 11:51 AM on March 31
Not really eponysterical, but I did jump a bit seeing that username at the end of a post that made me think so much of Sarek.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:34 PM on March 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
I admit I've never seen the Die Hard movies, never watched moonlighting. I've never given Bruce Willis much of a thought until now. Nothing against him, I'm just not really a movie person.
But I saw this and I was saddened and most especially saddened by something no one seems to be talking about: The statement came from his family. Not him. That's very sad if he's so far gone he can't even put out/approve a statement in his own name. I know someone who has aphasia from a stroke and aphasia is not the same as cognitive decline. She's all in there. Often she can't find a word to say it (she can write it, because the brain is weird) and once someone else says the word out loud, she can say it too. But she can express thoughts and opinions and have a will to do as she pleases as much as anyone, I would say. If Bruce Willis can't even put out a statement in his own name, then whatever is causing his aphasia is causing much more serious symptoms, too.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:04 PM on March 31, 2022 [6 favorites]
But I saw this and I was saddened and most especially saddened by something no one seems to be talking about: The statement came from his family. Not him. That's very sad if he's so far gone he can't even put out/approve a statement in his own name. I know someone who has aphasia from a stroke and aphasia is not the same as cognitive decline. She's all in there. Often she can't find a word to say it (she can write it, because the brain is weird) and once someone else says the word out loud, she can say it too. But she can express thoughts and opinions and have a will to do as she pleases as much as anyone, I would say. If Bruce Willis can't even put out a statement in his own name, then whatever is causing his aphasia is causing much more serious symptoms, too.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:04 PM on March 31, 2022 [6 favorites]
Often she can't find a word to say it (she can write it, because the brain is weird) and once someone else says the word out loud, she can say it too.
I've heard on multiple occasions that singing can help people express words they can't speak. Maybe she could try that sometime if she doesn't think it's silly.
posted by hippybear at 6:14 PM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
I've heard on multiple occasions that singing can help people express words they can't speak. Maybe she could try that sometime if she doesn't think it's silly.
posted by hippybear at 6:14 PM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
I hadn't known anything about his declining health until earlier this month, when news.com.au published the article Bruce Willis reportedly battling memory loss, which included the appalling quote:
It feels like that article has provoked a response.
posted by Pronoiac at 8:39 PM on March 31, 2022 [6 favorites]
Matt Eskandari, who directed several recent Willis films including Hard Kill, Survive the Night and Trauma Center, chimed into the comments section of the video to address the memory loss rumours.I ran across the article thanks to someone who characterized it as: "The guy who directed him being like "Yep its true lol" with total flippancy is just, ugh, douche chills."
“I read somewhere that Bruce Willis has dementia, that’s he’s not really aware of what’s going on around him,” one user wrote.
Eskandari replied, “Yes this is true my guy I directed four movies with him so I know first hand. It’s (a) sad situation seeing a legend like Bruce deteriorating right in front of your eyes. I saw it while working with him (the) last few years.”
It feels like that article has provoked a response.
posted by Pronoiac at 8:39 PM on March 31, 2022 [6 favorites]
I'm not much of a comic book guy, but I can't imagine a better origin story than "Unbreakable," which is also an otherwise perfect movie to me. I bought into the entire thing and he was the perfect schlub for the part.
I'm not going to obit him, not the least because he could easily have another album in him, which can be achieved with the help of many fewer jackasses than a movie and is a process that can tolerate a lot of revisions and edits.
posted by rhizome at 9:08 PM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm not going to obit him, not the least because he could easily have another album in him, which can be achieved with the help of many fewer jackasses than a movie and is a process that can tolerate a lot of revisions and edits.
posted by rhizome at 9:08 PM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Hudson Hawk is one of the most movies that I've ever seen. Lots of movie, that's for certain -- like it or not, it's got quantities. People should give it a chance.By coincidence I recently watched Hudson Hawk, I have to say that I definitely watched it.
I have also, by coincidence, recently watched a lot of DTV action movies from the last decade, and I had been kinda of wondering what was up with Willis because he is in a lot of them. I kinda of thought that was answered by that Geezer Teezers article in Vulture, but then I saw this news. Very sad.
posted by 3j0hn at 10:45 PM on March 31, 2022
The Sixth Sense!! I knew I must have seen a Bruce Willis movie. Yes, he was very good in that. I'm surprised no one has mentioned it.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:54 AM on April 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:54 AM on April 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
He was great in an uncredited role in Nobody's Fool, more than holding his own with Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy, Melanie Griffith, and a young Philip Seymour Hoffman.
posted by Furnace of Doubt at 8:35 AM on April 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Furnace of Doubt at 8:35 AM on April 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
When I heard the news, I assumed that he had had a stroke, but reading the articles that he's been in decline for years it sounds like it is more like Primary Progressive Aphasia .
I remember during the first big covid shutdown that he, ex-wife Demi Moore and his now adult kids had retreated with him to a property he owns in Idaho and rode it out together.
posted by interogative mood at 9:36 AM on April 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
I remember during the first big covid shutdown that he, ex-wife Demi Moore and his now adult kids had retreated with him to a property he owns in Idaho and rode it out together.
posted by interogative mood at 9:36 AM on April 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
man, I LOVE Hudson Hawk!
posted by SystematicAbuse at 10:50 AM on April 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by SystematicAbuse at 10:50 AM on April 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
man, I LOVE Hudson Hawk!
Same! So glad clew finally brought it up.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 11:10 AM on April 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
Same! So glad clew finally brought it up.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 11:10 AM on April 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
Man, I just watched Hudson Hawk last night and enjoyed it a lot! Bruce Willis and Danny Aiello with charisma set to maximum is charming.
I wish I'd seen it when it was new; it's got the same type of quirk as movies like Buckaroo Banzai and Real Genius, which are some of my favorites.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:25 PM on April 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
I wish I'd seen it when it was new; it's got the same type of quirk as movies like Buckaroo Banzai and Real Genius, which are some of my favorites.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:25 PM on April 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
Bruce Willis and Danny Aiello with charisma set to maximum is charming.
Every so often I pull up and rewatch the safe heist "Swinging On A Star" scene.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:24 AM on April 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Every so often I pull up and rewatch the safe heist "Swinging On A Star" scene.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:24 AM on April 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
I wonder if he's been unwell for a very long time. The first thing I thought of when I heard this news was his memorably odd 2013 One Show appearance, which was so bizarre it was critiqued by Philomena Cunk and Barry Shitpeas.
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 10:34 PM on April 2, 2022
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 10:34 PM on April 2, 2022
Any of you whippersnappers who've never seen Moonlighting are in for a treat. Looks like most or all of it is free on YouTube.
Eponysterical: there isn't enough information provided for me to speculate about which type of dementia he has (this is something that I do for a living). I cannot refute PPA or other types of FTD, though.
posted by neuron at 10:24 AM on April 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
Eponysterical: there isn't enough information provided for me to speculate about which type of dementia he has (this is something that I do for a living). I cannot refute PPA or other types of FTD, though.
posted by neuron at 10:24 AM on April 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
"Five-Tone, let me ask you something."
"What, Eddie?"
"Why they got all these rocks and s**t in their backyards in Italy?"
"They're called ruins, Eddie."
"Ruins, hunh?"
"Yeah, ruins."
"Good name for `em."
Seriously, teenage me very deliberately took David Addison in Moonlighting as a role model.
And I've been too chickens**t to rewatch, because rewatching Murray in Meatballs a while ago taught me that some behavior which I thought was cool as a teen was actually really creepy.
I've also been too chickens**t to do some serious essays on why Moonlighting broke ground by breaking through broadcast taboo lines in ways that ignored some of the real-world problems that backstopped those taboo lines.
And any criticisms I would write would have to establish my bona fides as someone who rooted for BW.
- Owned "Cybill and Bruce: Moonlighting Magic" for far longer than I ought.
- Had a promo picture of BW for the Return of Bruno album (ripped from the Sam Goody in-house magazine) on my wall as a good luck charm.
- Owned Nothing Lasts Forever and 58 Minutes in paperback, solely because they were the basis for Die Hard and Die Hard 2
- Saw Die Hard 2 in first-run theater twice in one day.
- Only person in the theater who got the 'Patty Jo Boyarski? I can get you a number on that if you want' line in Hudson Hawk
- Own the Hudson Hawk soundtrack and novelization. (Although those were purchased much much later.)
(Not a complete list.)
But, man, Die Hard 4 and 5 were so far from the emotions that gave 1 and 2 real power. (Liked Winstead as Lucy, though. "Daddy, there are five of them left." was a great character/relationship moment in that script, and she sold the hell out of it.)
And in the 2000s, as he backed Bush and the GOP, I felt he was letting the side down. He made it out of a chemical industrial town in south Jersey, but he couldn't see how the GOPs game plan screwed over the people he used to be.
Hey, maybe this year I'll get around to watching In Country and Mortal Thoughts. I don't think I'll try to watch Bruno the Kid.
I hope he gets to spend the rest of his time comfortable, with his loved ones.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 4:11 PM on April 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
"What, Eddie?"
"Why they got all these rocks and s**t in their backyards in Italy?"
"They're called ruins, Eddie."
"Ruins, hunh?"
"Yeah, ruins."
"Good name for `em."
Seriously, teenage me very deliberately took David Addison in Moonlighting as a role model.
And I've been too chickens**t to rewatch, because rewatching Murray in Meatballs a while ago taught me that some behavior which I thought was cool as a teen was actually really creepy.
I've also been too chickens**t to do some serious essays on why Moonlighting broke ground by breaking through broadcast taboo lines in ways that ignored some of the real-world problems that backstopped those taboo lines.
And any criticisms I would write would have to establish my bona fides as someone who rooted for BW.
- Owned "Cybill and Bruce: Moonlighting Magic" for far longer than I ought.
- Had a promo picture of BW for the Return of Bruno album (ripped from the Sam Goody in-house magazine) on my wall as a good luck charm.
- Owned Nothing Lasts Forever and 58 Minutes in paperback, solely because they were the basis for Die Hard and Die Hard 2
- Saw Die Hard 2 in first-run theater twice in one day.
- Only person in the theater who got the 'Patty Jo Boyarski? I can get you a number on that if you want' line in Hudson Hawk
- Own the Hudson Hawk soundtrack and novelization. (Although those were purchased much much later.)
(Not a complete list.)
But, man, Die Hard 4 and 5 were so far from the emotions that gave 1 and 2 real power. (Liked Winstead as Lucy, though. "Daddy, there are five of them left." was a great character/relationship moment in that script, and she sold the hell out of it.)
And in the 2000s, as he backed Bush and the GOP, I felt he was letting the side down. He made it out of a chemical industrial town in south Jersey, but he couldn't see how the GOPs game plan screwed over the people he used to be.
Hey, maybe this year I'll get around to watching In Country and Mortal Thoughts. I don't think I'll try to watch Bruno the Kid.
I hope he gets to spend the rest of his time comfortable, with his loved ones.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 4:11 PM on April 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
Any of you whippersnappers who've never seen Moonlighting are in for a treat. Looks like most or all of it is free on YouTube.
One fun place to start - an episode called "Camille", which guest-stars Whoopi Goldberg as a con artist and Judd Nelson as the corrupt cop who's chasing her. And there is frequent use of the old Mitch Ryder hit "Devil With A Blue Dress On".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:40 PM on April 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
One fun place to start - an episode called "Camille", which guest-stars Whoopi Goldberg as a con artist and Judd Nelson as the corrupt cop who's chasing her. And there is frequent use of the old Mitch Ryder hit "Devil With A Blue Dress On".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:40 PM on April 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
But, man, Die Hard 4 and 5 were so far from the emotions that gave 1 and 2 real power.
Regret to inform there seems to be an error. I recall the mediocre followup/remake Die Hard 2 and the return-to-form Die Hard with a Vengeance, but then they never made a Die Hard movie again. I have no recollection of the alleged Die Hards 4 and 5.
Owned Nothing Lasts Forever and 58 Minutes in paperback, solely because they were the basis for Die Hard and Die Hard 2
Nothing Lasts Forever was a sequel to The Detective, which was made into a 1968 movie starring Frank Sinatra.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:35 PM on April 5, 2022
Regret to inform there seems to be an error. I recall the mediocre followup/remake Die Hard 2 and the return-to-form Die Hard with a Vengeance, but then they never made a Die Hard movie again. I have no recollection of the alleged Die Hards 4 and 5.
Owned Nothing Lasts Forever and 58 Minutes in paperback, solely because they were the basis for Die Hard and Die Hard 2
Nothing Lasts Forever was a sequel to The Detective, which was made into a 1968 movie starring Frank Sinatra.
posted by kirkaracha at 5:35 PM on April 5, 2022
I'm surprised how sad this makes me. Fifth Element remains one of my favorite movies, and Die Hard is a Christmas tradition. I haven't seen Moonlighting since I was a kid, but I remember it fondly.
I somehow missed his GOP connection (fortunately) and remember thinking it was lovely that he spent the Covid shutdown with his ex and family. That seems so much more bittersweet in retrospect.
posted by Space Kitty at 7:06 PM on April 5, 2022
I somehow missed his GOP connection (fortunately) and remember thinking it was lovely that he spent the Covid shutdown with his ex and family. That seems so much more bittersweet in retrospect.
posted by Space Kitty at 7:06 PM on April 5, 2022
RE: his politics, I just read a thing the other day about how he'd been all over the map politically and had supported both Democratic and Republican candidates. Apparently he was asked about Bush in 2006 and said, "I'm sick of answering this fucking question. I'm a Republican only as far as I want a smaller government, I want less government intrusion. I want them to stop shitting on my money and your money and tax dollars that we give 50 percent of every year. I want them to be fiscally responsible and I want these goddamn lobbyists out of Washington. Do that and I'll say I'm a Republican. I hate the government, OK? I'm apolitical. Write that down. I'm not a Republican."
I'd never seen that One Show appearance. Willis' career was still doing pretty well in 2013 but not long after that his IMDB page started to get taken over by DTV cheapies. In hindsight I have to wonder if his illness was already progressing to the point that he couldn't really handle all the rigors of big movies anymore. That gossip rag story about him walking around CVS without a mask during the height of Covid hits differently now, too. At the time it seemed like entitled Hollywood asshattery, but now it seems like it may have been something much sadder.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 10:43 PM on April 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
I'd never seen that One Show appearance. Willis' career was still doing pretty well in 2013 but not long after that his IMDB page started to get taken over by DTV cheapies. In hindsight I have to wonder if his illness was already progressing to the point that he couldn't really handle all the rigors of big movies anymore. That gossip rag story about him walking around CVS without a mask during the height of Covid hits differently now, too. At the time it seemed like entitled Hollywood asshattery, but now it seems like it may have been something much sadder.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 10:43 PM on April 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
Moonlighting was my favorite of his. He became SUCH a different personality between that and Die Hard--it's like he lost all his fun crazy singing energy to become Stoic Grumpy Action Hero for the rest of his career. I wonder what happened to that old version of him that killed off his fun side so hard and so finally.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:29 PM on April 6, 2022
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:29 PM on April 6, 2022
I wonder what happened to that old version of him that killed off his fun side so hard and so finally.
I don't think it was killed as such. If you look at the Comedy Central roast for him, when he finally got a chance to speak at the end, the first thing he said - if not the only thing - was a mock-furious declaration that "I'd like to set the record straight about one thing - Die Hard is not a god-damn Christmas movie!"
Maybe he played more dour people. But....that's not so much an indicator of his own character change.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:43 AM on April 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
I don't think it was killed as such. If you look at the Comedy Central roast for him, when he finally got a chance to speak at the end, the first thing he said - if not the only thing - was a mock-furious declaration that "I'd like to set the record straight about one thing - Die Hard is not a god-damn Christmas movie!"
Maybe he played more dour people. But....that's not so much an indicator of his own character change.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:43 AM on April 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
I mean, he was doing all the Look Who's Talking's throughout this time, too.
posted by rhizome at 2:51 PM on April 7, 2022
posted by rhizome at 2:51 PM on April 7, 2022
Everybody's talking about Bruce Willis, so why can't we watch Moonlighting?
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:08 PM on April 8, 2022
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:08 PM on April 8, 2022
So because I'm on vacation and that's my time to fill my head and body with garbage, and because it was free through my local library's video/music/audiobook app Hoopla, I half-watched American Siege, which was shot in 2020 and released at the beginning of 2022, this morning.
Hindsight is 20/20, but in the light of all this it's really really goddamn sad to watch. He's obviously (to somebody who knows about all this) confused and uncomfortable; most close-ups are shot such that you can't see one of his ears so somebody can feed him lines, and his delivery is stilted and strange, like he's learned lines in a foreign language by rote and can get the syllables right but without knowing what each word actually means.
I'm glad that whoever he needed to hear from was heard, or that he finally listened to himself and hung it up. Nobody's having a good time here, and in the light of this it is really like seeing a past-its-prime circus animal staggering around in the sawdust and noise.
posted by Shepherd at 11:37 AM on April 24, 2022
Hindsight is 20/20, but in the light of all this it's really really goddamn sad to watch. He's obviously (to somebody who knows about all this) confused and uncomfortable; most close-ups are shot such that you can't see one of his ears so somebody can feed him lines, and his delivery is stilted and strange, like he's learned lines in a foreign language by rote and can get the syllables right but without knowing what each word actually means.
I'm glad that whoever he needed to hear from was heard, or that he finally listened to himself and hung it up. Nobody's having a good time here, and in the light of this it is really like seeing a past-its-prime circus animal staggering around in the sawdust and noise.
posted by Shepherd at 11:37 AM on April 24, 2022
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Good for him for stepping away. I wish he and his family all the best.
posted by thivaia at 8:40 AM on March 31, 2022 [4 favorites]