2. Vince Vaughn - Psycho
Vince Vaughn had barely squelched his way onto the scene in Jon Favreau's surprise smash-hit Swingers when he was approached by indie god Gus Van Sant to appear as Norman Bates in his new latest project, a shot-for-shot reinterpretation of Psycho, arguably Hitchcock's magnum opus. If we are to be generous, Vaughn was flattered to be considered worthy of approaching one of the most iconic roles in the cinema; if we are to be honest, Vaughn is hardly a genius, and probably allowed a decent paycheck to mesmerise him into thinking the film was a good idea. The film proves that one imitates the master of suspense at one's peril, and more than that, it provides compelling evidence for a re-evaluation of Anthony Perkins' original performance as Bates. Perkins' performance of the character is shy yet volatile; he finds Vera Miles attractive, but can barely flirt with her, watching her instead through a hole in the wall, his eyes filled with longing. It is Perkins' childishness which deflects attention from Bates, but which also renders the character disturbing. Just remember his infamous smile, sweet and monstrous.
Cut to Vince Vaughn, looking like a stunt double for Vincent D'Onofrio in Full Metal Jacket. His foolhardy quotation of the Kubrick stare at the end of the film makes him look like a junkie who's just shot up with junk. The only creepy thing he does in the whole movie is masturbate in one of the many laughable attempts to modernise the original. For inspiration, Vaughn almost certainly watched one too many slasher films; his camp, leering interpretation of Norman Bates is absurdly ill-judged, and looks even more ridiculous when compared to the level-headed performances of Julianne Moore and Viggo Mortensen. And am I alone in thinking that Vaughn played the character as a repressed gay man? And is that why Vaughn thinks Bates dresses up as his dead Mother? Who knows? Who the hell even cares?