I thought she was so beautiful


 I thought she was so beautiful and enticing in those magazine ads and TV commercials for Yves St. Laurent, Armani Perfume, and Bill Blass. A Times Square billboard for Calvin Klein caught a film producer’s eye leading to her casting in 1984’s Greystoke, The Legend of Tarzan. But her southern drawl was so thick, they resorted to hiring Glenn Close to re-dub her dialogue.

Still, in spite of that inauspicious beginning to her acting career, it seemed only right and natural that Andie Macdowell would go on to film stardom. Especially, since she was honored with a Golden Globe nomination and an Independent Spirit Award for her role in Steven Soderberg’s Sex, Lies, and Videotape. I was delighted to see that she had been cast in St. Elmo’s Fire. But, as she had in Greystoke, she stunk up that film and, in my opinion, pretty much every film and TV program she’s appeared in since.

One observation: Ms. Macdowell’s characterizations seem more palatable, almost human when she’s paired with a gifted actor, as she was with Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. But, still, she seldom shows much depth or emotional range, even on her best days. Her line readings come across wooden and studiously memorized, like the pretty girl in high school, who was cast in the play based solely her comely features rather than any evidence of talent.

As I’ve seen it, Andie Macdowell appears to be incapable of delivering a single line of dialogue with the same conviction and emotional truth with which she’s spoken about Excellence by Loréal. Her acting career peaked in a commercial for a hair product and, over a 30-year span, never surpassed that performance.

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