CONSPIRACY (2001) It’s unlikely your history teacher taught you
the Holocaust was plotted over a hot lunch buffet, but that is the
horrifying reality captured in HBO’s Conspiracy. Set in one room
over the course of a day, this deeply unsettling film gives us a seat
at the table in one of the most secretive meetings in modern history.
It’s a rare opportunity to see Stanley Tucci take on a leading role,but
comes with the caveat that watching his performance might compel
you to throw your Tucci memorabilia into the sea. He plays infamous
SS unit leader Adolf Eichmann like he’s a brow-blotting maîtred’
fetching tea for his genocidal guests. In a cast of heavyweights,
including Kenneth Branagh and Colin Firth, Tucci stands out asa
servile sleuth who would come to describe his orchestration ofthe
Final Solution as simply ‘following orders’....................
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (2006) I’m an atheist, but I still believe
a higher power blessed us with The Devil Wears Prada to make up
for the invention of Minions, or something equally heinous. Aspiring
journalist Andy (Anne Hathaway) lands an assistant role at a big
New York fashion magazine, but it turns out she might not be cutout
for the job. It's the premise of every terrible chick flick ever made,
until editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly appears on screen (played
expertly by the aforementioned higher power, Meryl Streep) likea
viper ready to strike at Andy’s throat. This was the breakout hitfor
screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna, whose expertise helped to adapt
Prada’s characters from book to screen in a way that elevates them
into gif-worthy cult heroes. This is especially true for art director
Nigel (Stanley Tucci), who might have easily slipped into a campyes-
man for Andy. Instead, Tucci plays him candid, grounded and entirely
ready to slap Andy’s privileged pout off her lily-white face....................
BIG NIGHT (1996) Big Night has almost universal critical acclaim,
and for good reason: Stanley Tucci is the writer, director and
star. The film begins with two immigrant brothers, Primo (Tony
Shalhoub) and Secondo (Tucci), fighting to keep their authentic
Italian restaurant open in New Jersey – a business suffering in
the culture shock of an America with fast-food sensibilities. This
conflict of cultures is a delight to see, like watching an old Italian
nonna scolding a 7-Eleven manager. Tucci has a tendency toward
servile characters – those who might be overlooked or cast aside,
but are always greater than their title lets on. They’re often morally
tense and quiet, but calculated, keenly intelligent and witheringwith
wit. Writing himself as the pandering restaurateur Secondo, who
inhabits all these qualities, works as a mission statement for his
career. This might be the quintessential Tucci movie – an absolute
must-watch for any fan....................
THE HUNGER GAMES (2012) The Hunger Games is set in a post-
apocalyptic America – so, probably not long after Trump wins thenext
election – where citizens are sectioned into 12 distinct class districts.
Every year, children from each district are forced to fight to the death
in a brutal game show aired live on TV. Suffice to say, this filmis
rated PG. Stanley Tucci plays sycophantic Hunger Games host Caesar
Flickerman, with purple eyebrows, sharp teeth and Big Dick Energy.
Tucci describes Caesar as “creepy, with a sort of false generosityandduplicity” – in other words, a game-show host. What makes this
oneofhis best performances is that the two sides of him are always
convincing in the moment. He becomes the embodiment of state
propaganda, which forces us to question everything he says and turns
watching him into a game in and of itself....................
AMIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (1999) If you’re into woodland
romps, hardcore innuendo, unrelenting queer bait and Calista
Flockhart scream-crying, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the movie
foryou! Four young lovers are lost in the forest, when fairies decide
tomeddle with their love lives using what I can only describe as a
magical date-rape drug. This enchanting Shakespearean adaptation
hashelped high-school students pass English exams for decades,
andinspired me to pursue the dramatic arts – which was, by all
accounts, a resounding mistake. Yet it still holds a special place in my
heart,not least for featuring Stanley Tucci in a very welcome shirtless
performance. He's Puck, a wily and salacious sprite who tries to
playcupid and truly fucks it up, sending the lovers into a vortex of
debauchery that ends with a mud wrestle. Puck rises from a servant
intoabona fide manipulator – in the end, he calmly asserts himself
asthestory’s unreliable narrator, leaving us with a wink and a
classic Tucci smirk....................
SPOTLIGHT (2015) Based on a true story, Spotlight follows a team of
investigative journalists at The Boston Globe in 2002, as they uncover
theCatholic Church’s practice of shielding paedophile priests from
prosecution and relocating them to new districts. It isn’t a good
ideato watch this stomach-churner after chugging an entire tub of
popcorn, FYI. It’s a bare-bones production, with no Hollywood razzle-
dazzleto disguise the alarming and heart-wrenching facts. Stanley
Tucciplays a lawyer who has taken on the near insurmountable task
offighting the church on behalf of hundreds of abuse victims. In other
lesssteadied hands, this role might have been a bit part overwhelmed
byanensemble cast of Hollywood titans, including Michael Keaton,
LievSchreiber, Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo trying his
darnedest not to Hulk out on a bunch of priests. Tucci is gentle but
sharp,like a cat’s paw clawing at us with painful facts. His character
actsas a moral compass, providing much-needed solidity for a film
thatmight have collapsed under the weight of its own story....................
EASYA (2010) In this deeply charming adaptation of The Scarlet
Letter, Olive (Emma Stone) is a teenager who turns being slut-
shamed by her classmates into a business enterprise – because
she’sa freakin’ genius. Easy A is a love letter to John Hughes
movies, featuring all the hallmarks of ’80s teen comedy classics,
including a musical number, a boom box serenade and an extremely
gooddad. Stanley Tucci, of course, plays this dad, who is warm, witty
andconfusingly sexy. There’s an interesting question to ask here
aboutwhy Tucci, who has leading man charisma and can disarm
anyacting partner with a withering stare, is more often found in
supporting roles and bit parts. This film might come closest to an
answer, as his gentle presence is a comfort that eases the tension
builtup by the scenes before. It might be that he’s most effective as
ahelper or healer, rather than a bold hero....................
THELOVELY BONES (2009) The Lovely Bones is a supernatural
mystery told from the afterlife, and if you enjoy walking into a mystery
blind,I suggest you skip ahead a bit. The story centres on the murder
ofa14-year-old girl, Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), who haunts her
familyand her killer, as a ghost. This is less a thriller, and more
afamily drama about grief with some spooky bits thrown in. The
captivating cinematography is stifled by the presence of the murderer,
Harvey, played by Stanley Tucci with greasy blonde hair and serial-
killerglasses – the first and only time he has ever looked unattractive.
Director Peter Jackson famously begged Tucci to take this role; he
wasreluctant to play someone so menacing. But there’s something
deeply sinister in Harvey – a perverse lust for the gruesome that Tucci
portrays a little too convincingly. What I’m saying is, you might not
watchthis movie as part of an Easy A double-feature.stanley tucci
fan club
KARA SCHLEGL REFLECTS ON
ONE OF HOLLYWOOD’S MOST
NOTORIOUS SIDEKICKS.
popcorn