02/24/2007
Alec Baldwin, David Mamet, and me
In an article in today's Salon.com , Stephanie Zacharek gives Alec Baldwin an honorary Oscar for his roles in The Departed, The Good Shepherd, and Running With Scissors.
Ms. Zacharek goes on to give a general appreciation of Baldwin, which (of course) mentions his killer monologue in Glengarry, Glen Ross, topping off her appreciation of that performance with these kind words:
The lines from Baldwin's "Glengarry" monologue have been quoted so many times, too often by drunken yobbos in bars, that they've become a cliché. ("Fuck you, that's my name! You know why, mister? 'Cuz you drove a Hyundai to get here tonight, I drove an $80,000 BMW. That's my name.") But if Baldwin's delivery is easy to ape, it's impossible to duplicate: As he berates a group of underachieving real-estate salesmen, his precision, his air of entitlement, his up-by-the-bootstraps inflections, blend into a rattling, percussive solo, a celebration of ego and bravado. The most exacting, and also the most admiring, critique of Baldwin's "Glengarry" monologue isn't a piece of writing, but a piece of music, done by mash-up artist Steinski on his CD "Nothing to Fear." Steinski chops up Baldwin's dialogue, repeats it, sends it chasing after itself, and after us. And yet the essence of Baldwin's delivery survives, intact if more potent than ever. Mashing it only makes it stronger.
Baldwin's one of my favorite actors (Miami Blues, yeah!), and to be mentioned with him in a context like this is extremely gratifying.
Thanks to Ms. Zacharek, and to Krup for bringing this to my bleary Saturday morning attention.