Stoltzin' Around

Eric Stoltz has certainly been in the news recently! But he's been in my head (and my heart) for a long, long time. For some reason that I don't understand, a lot of people seem to not take Eric Stoltz seriously. Not this girl. He has an extremely earnest delivery that you can't fake, with a slightly creepy edge that makes all of his characters seem like they've got a secret life. I think that if his career ever takes a turn for the weirder and he ends up doing Lifetime movies, he'd be really good at playing a psychopathic boyfriend (like maybe if there's ever a remake of this one).
All this Stoltz-talk inspired me to think about my favorite Stoltz-roles. Here are three:

Kicking and Screaming:
If you haven't seen Kicking and Screaming yet, please, just stop whatever you're doing and watch it. Especially if you've graduated from college with a degree in the humanities. You're going to love it, and Eric Stoltz is the best part. Here he is in a a book club.

Little Women:
Forget Laurie, it's all about Mr. Brooks. Just kidding, Laurie's the best. But Eric Stoltz at least makes Mr. Brooks interesting and weird. He's in the beginning of the trailer, sayin' something creepy, as you'd expect. Also, this trailer is not very good! This was right around the time that Eric Stoltz was suffering from a little disease called Stoltz bloat. Don't worry, though, because he bounced back and he's looking better than ever.


And the number one Eric Stoltz role: Some Kind of Wonderful!
This is a classic movie. It's like Pretty in Pink, but with a happy ending, and also not as good. But still good! Loralei Gilmore made a reference to this movie in an episode of Gilmore Girls I may have watched with friends this weekend. Eric Stoltz takes his dream girl on a dream date that is one part awesome and 15 parts totally weird. Eric Stoltz does a very good, "But I'm 18, Dad! WHEN IS IT MY LIFE????" Coincidentally, a book club is mentioned!

Alls I'm Saying Is

Eric Stoltz must have been pretty hot shit in 1995.

Because he was not even close to being the star of that movie. Not that I'm saying he wasn't one of the best parts. Because he was one of the best parts. He added his creepy, softspoken charm to the role, just as he does in every project. But he was still hardly in that movie at all.
Since I've graduated, I've found myself relating more and more to Kicking and Screaming. I'm not as smart or as male as the characters, but I think it's hard not to identify with them when you are in a transitory phase. Also, I've been talking about the Will Ferrell version in this paragraph. Sorry for any confusion.

I'm glad that the trailer doesn't give you any illusions about how 90s this movie is. It is super 90s. And even though I kind of feel like Kicking and Screaming maybe is some sort of precursor to the whole mumblecore thing, I still love it.
Also, Chris Eigeman. My secret, creepy crush ever since I saw him on Malcolm in the Middle as a child.