Performance Profile: Jennifer Tilly in Bullets Over Broadway (1994)

Like last year (literally and figuratively), when Woody Allen gave us a shallow, sketchy, but colorful creation with Linda Ash, from the outset (before screening the film) it looked as though there might be trouble ahead for the actress who had to work within such confining limits. But something wonderful happened when Mira Sorvino ably elevated both her role and film with her uncommonly intelligent performance of a rather unintelligible person. It's always fascinating to watch an actor spin something richer from a (possibly) thin, tepid role as written. Sorvino's subsequent career hadn't seen much more after Mighty Aphrodite, and its something of a loss when a talented, distinctive performer isn't given the right material (or any material at all) to work with after a big high. Such is the case with this next (surprise) nominee whose carved out a pretty interesting career for herself that still leaves us wanting more, much like her performance, the one given by...

 

...Jennifer Tilly in Bullets Over Broadway (1994)

Jennifer Tilly plays Olive Neal, an untalented, but eager chorus-line dancer in the roaring 1920's who has been waiting for her big acting break on the NY Broadway stage, as she believes, that's "where her gifts are".

Olive also happens to be the moll/mistress/girlfriend of crime boss Nick Valenti who is funding an ambitious stage production by a desperate novice playwright named David Shayne (John Cusack doing his usual mannered, paranoid schtick) -- one who needs his show to go on at all costs.

Olive and Nick take quick advantage of this unlikely situation and see it as the perfect opportunity to grab Olive a showcased role in the production as a breakout into the world of fame. Only problem is that Olive is dying to get her hands on the lead role of Sylvia Posten, has no acting experience at all, and has little in the way of natural acting talent.

Olive invites David over to her place to discuss the play and try to win him over, so to speak, and throughout the scene (and the film) Tilly aptly demonstrates just how oblivious Olive is in setting herself up with as a pro. She's at once sharply contradicting herself every which way and yet remaining totally unaware of what she's really up against.

 

And that Tilly instinctively seems to get this, makes Olive a kind of odd, yet delightful spectacle.

Tilly's Olive then begins to try to insinuate herself into this unfamiliar kind of world that requires dedication, professionalism, and, most of all, talent -- all of which she doesn't seem to have much of a knack for; even as she sticks with it trying to get through the exhausting, extended rehearsal process. As she tries to prove that she can be on the same kind of level as the trained actors around her, Tilly's Olive continues to make a show of just how out of place she truly is.

In the process of making her way through her new ensemble of new faces, (including Wiest's Helen, Ullman's Eden, and Broadbent's Warner) she has an "old face" tagging along with her every step of the way in the form of Cheech (Chazz Palmentari in a hilarious, deservedly nominated performance), one of Nick's top goons, who's hatred of Olive is as strong as hers is for him. 

As the rehearsal process spins more and more out of control, it is Olive and Cheech who are the middle of it all, twirling it around to satisfy their selfish demands, at the risk of ruining the play and crushing David's artistic integrity. And in the hands of another performer, the character of Olive -- who likes to throw bold fits and tantrums like a child -- may of easily come of as completely abrasive and highly unlikeable. But at the same time, that's the point. That is the way the character is as written. Yet Tilly's performance, somehow, keeps Olive in just the right pitch, where -- like character herself -- we are of two minds about her.

For a character who's mere mention or presence instigates anxiety and/or frustration in those around her, Tilly is remarkably able to make the most obnoxious character as written into (possibly) the most enjoyable one to watch on screen. But also as written, Olive is merely just an amusing accessory to the action, whose only "there" to really stir up more panic in her surroundings -- and while she might not be able to transcend being a caricature, Tilly provides the film with some genuinely hilarious moments and line readings ("what is she retarded?!").

 

The actress' appealing comic timing and naturally distinctive squeaker of a voice are tailor made for such a role (ironically, those two qualities are both what helped Sorvino give her Linda some more flavor), and Tilly's preternatural loose and imprecise quality -- in a good way -- bridges the contrast between she and Wiest's Helen Sinclair, and yet both are able to tune their characters just enough to make them both shine.

Around the time of the film's release/Oscar season, Jennifer Tilly's performance and nomination were treated with a casual disdain; being written off as a joke and an absurdity by many (and she had not received any prior awards notice). And while I can understand the dislike and potential unappealing nature of the actress/performance, I feel that Tilly's work in this shallow, silly role milks everything for what she can. It's almost impossible to find any substance or depth in such a role, and with that, the actress just simply has an high old time with the scraps she's given.

Like in any Jennifer Tilly performance, I want to see more of her, and can't wait for her to pop back on screen again and do her thing. It's wispy, yet solid work for an unfairly maligned and under appreciated actress.