Josh Brolin: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked
4. Billy - The Mod Squad (1999)
The big screen adaptation of the critically acclaimed television show, The Mod Squad sees three young ne'er-do-wells given the option between going to jail or becoming undercover police officers, because giving criminals licence to carry guns and go power mad is clearly a great idea. The crims naturally agree to go undercover and are tasked with busting a drug ring, which leads to the murder of the officer who recruited them. Julie (Claire Danes), Peter (Giovanni Ribisi) and Lincoln (Omar Epps) must face challenges from both criminals and their police colleagues who ridicule and underestimate them - for entirely good reason. There are also other notable hurdles the characters can't overcome, such as the film's flimsy plot and indeed its idea of "humour." Most of the choices in this section aren't necessarily terrible performances: Brolin has too much of an on screen presence to be truly awful, but he's been hampered by some terrible material - and must accept some of the blame for his career choices. In The Mod Squad, the material is paper thin and not even his considerable skills are able to save it from mundanity. Playing a villainous ex-boyfriend, Brolin goes through the motions, never offering anything even remotely interesting: his quips fall flat and he never commands the screen when he appears, which is jarring considering his more recent impact. Granted, this was in 1999, and his fame has grown more recently, but this is still a definite low point in his filmography.
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The big screen adaptation of the critically acclaimed television show, The Mod Squad sees three young ne'er-do-wells given the option between going to jail or becoming undercover police officers, because giving criminals licence to carry guns and go power mad is clearly a great idea. The crims naturally agree to go undercover and are tasked with busting a drug ring, which leads to the murder of the officer who recruited them. Julie (Claire Danes), Peter (Giovanni Ribisi) and Lincoln (Omar Epps) must face challenges from both criminals and their police colleagues who ridicule and underestimate them - for entirely good reason. There are also other notable hurdles the characters can't overcome, such as the film's flimsy plot and indeed its idea of "humour." Most of the choices in this section aren't necessarily terrible performances: Brolin has too much of an on screen presence to be truly awful, but he's been hampered by some terrible material - and must accept some of the blame for his career choices. In The Mod Squad, the material is paper thin and not even his considerable skills are able to save it from mundanity. Playing a villainous ex-boyfriend, Brolin goes through the motions, never offering anything even remotely interesting: his quips fall flat and he never commands the screen when he appears, which is jarring considering his more recent impact. Granted, this was in 1999, and his fame has grown more recently, but this is still a definite low point in his filmography.