{"id":2945,"date":"2017-04-13T16:01:31","date_gmt":"2017-04-13T16:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=2945"},"modified":"2018-08-30T20:23:13","modified_gmt":"2018-08-30T20:23:13","slug":"theatre-in-film-the-tall-guy-1989","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-the-tall-guy-1989\/","title":{"rendered":"Theatre in Film: The Tall Guy (1989)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-header-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h3>Theatre in Film: <i>The Tall Guy<\/i> (1989)<\/h3>\n<font size=\"2\" color=\"grey\"><span style=\"border:1px solid ;-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;-moz-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);margin-right:25px;float:left;\" class=\"fusion-imageframe imageframe-glow imageframe-1 hover-type-none author-image\"><a class=\"fusion-no-lightbox\" href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\" target=\"_self\"> <img src=\"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/authorimage.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"img-responsive\" style=\"-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;\"\/><\/a><\/span><p>Written by Ashleigh Gardner<\/p>\n<p>April 12, 2017<\/p>\n<\/font><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Welcome to Part VIII of Theatre in Film, our weekly feature on a film that depicts a life in the theatre. In Part VIII, we feature films where characters in the theatre must overcome a struggle in their personal lives while also managing the world of performance. This week, we feature the 1989 madcap British comedy directed by Richard Curtis (of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Love, Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bridget Jones\u2019s Diary<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) about an American actor looking for love, a stable acting job, and a cure for hay fever &#8212; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Tall Guy.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>(Be advised, this film contains adult sexual situations.)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Instead of the trailer, below is the music video made for the film featuring the song &#8220;It Must Be Love&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><i>The Tall Guy<\/i> (1989)<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bcNJ5izoQEA?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><b>Director: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Richard Curtis<br \/>\n<\/span><b>Starring: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jeff Goldblum, Emma Thompson, Rowan Atkinson, Geraldine James<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\">What happens:<\/h4>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">American stage actor Dexter King (Jeff Goldblum) lives with his quirky, charming, and opinionated landlady (Geraldine James). After finishing his sixth year playing \u201cThe Tall Guy\u201d in a two-person, long-running comedy revue starring his producer and director, Ron Anderson (Rowan Atkinson), Dexter finds himself enamored with a nurse, Kate (Emma Thompson), at a local doctor\u2019s office where he\u2019s gone to see about curing his hay fever. He builds up the nerve to ask her out. She agrees, and after a few months of dating, they begin living together. When Dexter gets cast in a musical version of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Elephant Man <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">called <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Elephant!<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, he begins having a secret relationship with his married co-star, and during the opening-night cast party, Kate suspects that Dexter\u2019s been cheating on her. She moves out, and when Dexter hears a rumor that she\u2019s been seeing his previous co-star Ron, he races to Ron\u2019s theatre, ties him up in comedic fashion, and runs to the hospital to ask Kate for one more chance. Dexter blathers on and presents his case in the middle of the hospital ward, and Kate gives him a second shot at their relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\">Why it matters:<\/h4>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Tall Guy <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">isn\u2019t a particularly deep or thought-provoking film about a life in the theatre, but it does provide a few comedic scenes that mirror the reality of some experiences performers have. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Dexter attends his first rehearsal as the Elephant Man in the musical <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Elephant!<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the camera slowly pans to the left, revealing male singers singing a G. When the camera turns on Dexter, he\u2019s trying to figure out what a G is, let alone how to sing one. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Dexter frets over the opening of the show, Kate helps him memorize and solidify his lines by rehearsing with him in their flat. He paces around the room reciting lines to himself while she sits on the bed marking his mistakes and reading other characters\u2019 dialogue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, on opening night, Kate sits in the balcony section of the theatre\u2019s audience with Dexter\u2019s landlady friend. While the musical opens with an interesting flare, and Kate seems to like it, the show quickly descends into absurdity. Kate looks on in absolute confusion and horror, and at one point, she pulls out a fashion magazine and flips through its pages before she resumes watching the show.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If this film tells us anything about the nature of being a stage actor, it\u2019s that there are moments of comedy that we should recognize as such. When we don\u2019t hit a note right, it\u2019s not the end of the world. When we\u2019re rushing to memorize our lines, even though they should already be memorized, we can take comfort in the fact that that kind of situation happens to all performers. And when our musical flops and our family thinks it\u2019s terrible, we ask them why and then laugh about it. As performers, we shouldn\u2019t take ourselves too seriously; if we do, we miss the point of acting.<\/span><\/p>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\">This film is the fourth film in\u00a0Part VIII. See below for the other films\u00a0in Part VIII.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-birdman-or-the-unexpected-virtue-of-ignorance-%ef%bb%bf2014\/\"><em>Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)\u00a0(2014)<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-a-life-in-the-theatre-1993\/\"><em>A Life in the Theatre\u00a0<\/em>(1993)<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-the-last-metro-1980\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>The Last Metro\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">(1980)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><i>Moulin Rouge!\u00a0<\/i>(2001)\u00a0<em>(Coming soon!)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Want to start with\u00a0<strong>Part I<\/strong>? Begin with\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em><a href=\"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/?p=133\">42nd Street\u00a0<\/a><\/em>(1933)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nMiss\u00a0<strong>Part II<\/strong>?\u00a0Check out\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-the-band-wagon-1953\/\"><strong><em>The Band Wagon<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<strong>(1953)<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<br \/>\nNeed a refresh for\u00a0<strong>Part III<\/strong>? Start with\u00a0our feature on\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-all-that-jazz-1979\/\">All That Jazz\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/strong><strong>(1979)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nHow about a recap from\u00a0<strong>Part IV<\/strong>? Jump into\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-a-chorus-of-disapproval-1989\/\"><strong><em>A Chorus of Disapproval\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong>(1989)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nCheck out\u00a0<strong>Part V<\/strong><em>,\u00a0<\/em>and start with\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-an-awfully-big-adventure-1995\/\"><em><strong>An Awfully Big Adventure\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><strong>(1995)<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<br \/>\nStart reading\u00a0<strong>Part VI<\/strong>\u00a0with\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-camp-2003\/\">Camp\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/em><strong>(2003)<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><hr \/>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\"><em><strong>Ashleigh Gardner<\/strong>\u00a0received her AA in Theatre\/Drama\/Dramatic Arts\u00a0from Valencia College and\u00a0her Bachelors Degree in English Literature and\u00a0Masters Degree in Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies from\u00a0the University of Central Florida. She is a playwright, an actor, and PerformerStuff.com\u2019s Editor.\u00a0<\/em><\/h5>\n<h5>Thumbnail image from\u00a0<em>The Tall Guy.\u00a0<\/em>Copyright Miramax Films, 1989.<\/h5>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [...]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[259,265],"tags":[6,25,72,10,105],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2945"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}