The Real Blonde (1997)

Joe and Mary live in Manhattan. She's the breadwinner, working as makeup artist. He's a wannabe actor working as waiter. When a friend gets a soap part ($3600/wk), Joe lowers his standard.

Director:

Tom DiCillo

Writer:

Tom DiCillo

Stars:

Matthew Modine, Catherine Keener, Daryl Hannah

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Modine	...	Joe
Catherine Keener	...	Mary
Daryl Hannah	...	Kelly
Maxwell Caulfield	...	Bob
Elizabeth Berkley	...	Tina
Marlo Thomas	...	Blair
Bridgette Wilson-Sampras	...	Sahara (as Bridgette Wilson)
Buck Henry	...	Dr. Leuter
Christopher Lloyd	...	Ernst
Kathleen Turner	...	Dee Dee Taylor
Denis Leary	...	Doug
Beatrice Winde	...	Wilma
Schecter Lee	...	Chang
John Tormey	...	Harassing Man
Wayne Parent	...	Blair's Assistant

Storyline

Joe and Mary have been living together in Manhattan for six years. Joe is an actor, who has no agent and no thesping credits, but whose ambitions are very high. He works as a waiter at a cafe. Mary works as a make-up stylist for hot fashion photographer Blair, and she pays most of the pair's bills. Joe finally lowers his standards and accepts a degrading bit in a Madonna video, while his friend and co-waiter Bob gets a high-paying job on a soap opera opposite siren Kelly.

---

Plot Keywords:

topless female nudity | photographer | waiter | actor | soap | 

---

Taglines:

What you see isn't always what you get.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Buck Henry's character's name, Dr. Leuter, means "Dr. Dick" in Dutch.

---

Goofs

When Bob tells Ernst that he and Joe are not gay, a microphone appears from above.

---

Quotes

Blair: [photographer arriving on set] Morning, ladies.
[hurrying them up]
Blair: Ten minutes.
Sahara: [model, in front of mirror, being prepped, waving] Morning.
Blair: [to all personnel] Let's go!
Sahara: [to make-up artist] I don't know, Mary, I'm sort of giving up on the whole human race.
Mary: Why, honey, what's the matter?
Sahara: Everybody is so superficial.
Mary: Uh.
Sahara: Yeah, I am sick of it. I am sick of all this superficial bullshit.
[...]

---

Crazy Credits

A big wet one to SNIFFY MELONHEAD At D.W.M. Bulldozers

---

Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Kissing a Fool/An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn/Krippendorf's Tribe/The Real Blonde/Dark City/The Long Way Home (1998)

---

Soundtracks

Marry with a Chinese Boy
Performed by Tsai Ching
Written by Chou Lan Ping and Cheung Nu

User Reviews

Muddled but has good moments

Joe is an out of work actor who is also struggling with his relationship with Mary who has lots of rage inside. Joe's actor friend Bob has just got a job on a soap opera but is caught up in his desire for a `real' blonde despite having fallen for the available model Sahara. The films follows their lives in the world of minor celebrity.

Despite having done good with the subject of film making in `Living in Oblivion', the director doesn't do as well when it comes to the world of the minor celebrity. The plot is a little jumbled – it wants to make fun of the world but also seriously follow the people it makes fun of in their relationships. Also it makes fun of Bob's acting but yet has plenty of respect for Joe simply because he keeps quoting `Death of a Salesman'. The satirical edge is nice and produces some funny moments but the relationship stuff is muddled.

There are plenty of famous cameos and most are good. Lloyd, Turner, Leary, Buscemi, Chappelle, Von Bargen etc all show their faces. In the leads Modine is OK but because the director doesn't know if he's part of the joke or a serious character then we don't know how to approach him either. Keener tries hard and is OK but Caulfield is the best of the bunch simply because we know he's meant to be a bit of a comedy figure.

The film manages to loose it's laughs in a sea of serious asides. The worst being the theme of the old black woman and her dog getting stolen. We keep going back to her and she has the last theme in the film – why? If there was a message I must be too dumb to get it and it certainly didn't really fit in with the rest of the movie.

Overall this has enough good moments to justify watching but it clearly lacks focus and loses it's way really easily.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

27 February 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Real Blonde

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$83,488, 1 March 1998

Gross USA:

$83,488

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$83,488

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lakeshore Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1