John Leguizamo: A Premature Retrospective On His Career
19 July 2007, 12:55 PM. By Carlos Posas
When we check out the encyclopedia entry for Latino actors known for turning in hit-or-miss performances, ones who’re consistent in their inconsistency, we find a picture of John Leguizamo’s mug. Here are some highlights of his roles that have alternately made us cheer and cringe, in light of news that Leguizamo has been cast to co-star in the next M. Night Shyamalan flick. (We already get the feeling it’s a bad decision for all parties involved.)
The Good:
• Pestario Vargas in “The Pest.” The title says it all, channeling his limitless talent to annoy you into a comedy that’s at least honest about its star.
• Toulous-Latrec in “Moulin Rouge!” Convincing as a Bohemian artist in 1920’s Paris, he made us forget he’s just a Colombian kid from Queens with a mild speech impediment.
• Luigi Mario “In Super Mario Bros.” Props to the Latino who can pull off the second-most iconic Italian in pop culture history. [Ed. Note: The guy who played Mario is Australian.]
The Bad:
• Victor Rosa in “Empire.” His turn as a drug dealer who teams up with a gringo Wall Street banker to escape the game set us back lord knows how many years.
• The Violator in “Spawn.” Caking him in pounds of make-up to look like a supernaturally grotesque clown didn’t mask that obnoxious snivel he does.
• Sid in “Ice Age.” Digitally rendering him as a prehistoric rodent encouraged him to do that obnoxious snivel.
The Ugly:
• Lorenzo Daza in the upcoming fall release of “Love In the Time Of Cholera.” We don’t know what to expect from this screen adaptation of the infamous García Márquez novel, but we’ll be entertained by Leguizamo shitting his brains out.
Leguizamo cast in ‘Happening’ [Variety]
John Leguizamo [IMDb]
Romeo & Juliet Image [Hollywood Academy]
Spawn Image [Google]
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He’s a funny cat. I like him…him and his squeaky voice. One day, while I was still attending NYU Film, I went into an old locker on the editing floor stuffed full of junk, and I found one of his early headshots. Pretty wild. He was so young looking, and the things on his rez were plays and unknown stuff. Quite a little time travel find, standing there, thinking about how big he got, and how that face on the headshot had no idea what was in his path.
I thought he did a bitchtastic job as Chi Chi (surely you’ve incorporated “gringa with a pinga” in your lexicon at some point in your life) in To Wong Foo, don’t you? Also, no mention of Summer of Sam? Maybe you can categorize those under “The Indifferent: ” I’m on my way to Netflix Mario Brothers right now.
No mention of “Summer of Sam”? Apparently somebody missed our tribute to the New York Black Out’s 30th anniversary:
http://guanabee.com/2007/07/happy-30th-birthday-new-york-c.php
I also had the fortune of watching him star in an NYU graduate thesis film from the 90s called “That Burning Question.” He owned every moment he was on screen. Definitely a prolific and versatile performer from a very young age, and a patron saint of that 90s multiculturalism. I’m on his wannabe list.
Seriously, how could you leave out Chi Chi? Between that and his turn as his mother in Freak, I realized he makes a much more palatable woman than he does a man.