| Jonathon Brandis: A Portrait |
8/18/2003 |
by Tommer
"Jonathon Brandis is a God among men." - Jonathon Brandis's mom
"Jonathon Brandis treads into the acting unknown." – John Stamos
A couple weeks ago, this girl Amy asked me, “Thomas, how come you don’t have more articles on TV’s Jonathon Brandis?” to which I replied, “Who gave you permission to speak to me?!” Though, my anger did subside, my thoughts towards Mr. Brandis did not. Like some sort of demented hobgoblin, visions of Jonathon Brandis in a “Seaquest DSV” wetsuit plagued my mind until it finally clicked: Jonathon Brandis has magical acting powers. He is one of the greatest actors to ever grace filmed cinema and here are two extraordinary examples.
Ladybugs - At first glance, this appears to be a Rodney Dangerfield soccer romp, however, a closer examination reveals it as the first significant showcase for Mr. Brandis’s acting prowess. Watch as he kicks balls into nets, runs his fingers through his angelic and velvety hair, dresses up as a girl, trades wisecracks with Rodney (usually in regards to “balls” serving as a double entendre), runs his fingers through his hair again, and kicks more balls. By the time he has a heart to heart talk with Jackee, you can almost hear the blare of a metaphorical trumpet fanfare heralding a new thespian king (move over, Chad Allen!).
Sidekicks - How do you follow-up such a tour-de-force dramedy? Well, there’s no need to answer that since it was a rhetorical question…but I’ll tell you anyway with two words: karate movie. That’s right. Mr. Brandis wisely chose a vehicle to demonstrate that he’s more than an “art-house poindexter intellectual” (as displayed in “Lady Bugs”), but he could lighten up as well and do Jerry Bruckheimer style popcorn actioners. And what a glorious actioner it is! Chuck Norris kicks stuff, guns go off, bullies explode, special effects pop and sizzle – why, the CGI used in the futuristic cyborg war is simply sublime! Though, Johnny Brandis doesn’t let the action hooey get in the way of his bristling multi-layered performance as a kid who learns karate from Chuck Norris. And ***trivia note*** unlike the other Hollywood pretty-boys (you heard, me, Mr. Voight), Jonathon Brandis did none of his own stunts.
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