Profile of an up-and-coming character actor that has "been in stuff"
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Hey, Who is that Guy?
Profile of an up-and-coming character actor that has "been in stuff"
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Vital Statistics: Born June 10, 1962 in Los Angeles, California. After many years of small roles in TV and film, finally got her big break by starring in the legendary Showgirls.
Proficiencies: Gina almost always plays the bad girl in dramas, thrillers, or films noir.
Where You've Seen Her: As Sasha, Nicolas Cage's girlfriend, in Face/Off; starring in the David E. Kelly TV series Snoops.
Where She'll Be Next: Currently appearing on the big screen in The Insider and Guinevere. Catch her every Sunday evening at 9pm on Snoops.
Gina Gershon isn't exactly the poster girl for women's rights. She's best known for her sexy, femme fatale type roles that leave men drooling and women wondering what the heck she was thinking. I don't think I've ever seen a movie with Gina in it that didn't involve her getting naked in some way. But somehow, for some reason, I just think she is the ultimate in cool. She radiates style, and despite her taste for roles involving sex, she always seems to come out looking confident and powerful, as if she was always the one in control of her own character's choices. I can't say I'd like to live the lifestyle of any of her characters, but I do envy their panache.
After appearing in many small roles, Gina finally started getting some Hollywood attention when she landed the part of Nancy Sinatra in the TV movie biopic, Sinatra. However, I think the general public will agree with me that her real breakout role was as a Las Vegas dancer in the infamous mother-of-bad-movies Showgirls. I haven't seen Showgirls and I never intend too -- I've heard from many that I wouldn't be able to stomach it, and I believe them -- but I don't think calling it truly awful is uncalled for. Gina played Cristal Connors, the queen of the Vegas shows, who it soon turns out clawed her way to the top via sex. Along comes younger, even more ambitious Nomi (Elizabeth Berkely, a LONG way from Saved by the Bell) to challenge Cristal for the crown. Cat fighting at its most celebrated, along with many abuses to the women from the various men in their lives, are the highlights of this story. Definitely a bad film -- but strangely, a good career move. Never has such a bad film received so much press, and its NC-17 rating made it quite the curiosity. Although I'm sure Gina isn't proudest of this film, it definitely made her name unforgettable.
Since I skipped over Showgirls in the theatres, my first real exposure to Gina was in
the 1997 action film, Face/Off. Directed by
Hong Kong action legend John
Woo, Face/Off stars John Travolta as agent Sean Archer, who has spent the last several years
of his life tracking vicious terrorist-for-hire Castor Troy. Sean has a personal grudge against
Castor since Castor had his young son killed. Castor is finally apprehended, and just before
being rendered comatose by a bullet, he tells Sean that he has planted a biological bomb
somewhere in the city. In order to find the bomb, Sean uses a new surgical technique to
actually cut off Castor's face and place it on his own. Disguised as Castor, Sean enters
prison and tries to gain the confidence of Castor's accomplices, so he can locate the bomb.
Meanwhile, Castor awakes and takes Sean's face for his own, and sets out for his own kind of
revenge on Sean's family. Confused yet? Don't worry, everything in the movie is so
incredibly over the top you won't have any problem swallowing this little face switching stuff.
Gina figures into the picture as the fabulous Sasha, Castor's old girlfriend and, it turns
out, mother to his son. I just loved Sasha in this movie; she's a tough and a criminal, but
still has so much heart and so much tenderness towards her son. Sean, still wearing Castor's
face, shows up at her door looking for help, and when he actually treats her decently unlike
the real Castor, you can actually see her falling in love with him. In a film that's all
about action and hamming it up, Gina puts in one of the more subtle but also more moving
performances. At the end of the movie, when she shows up gun in hand to protect the man
she loves, not realising she is about to shoot the "real" Castor to protect the "fake" one,
it's a great dramatic moment. An all-around entertaining film, and Gina was definitely the
standout for me.
I next caught Gina in the odd suspese film,
Palmetto. Sadly, I have to admit
that this was a pretty bad movie. Woody Harrelson, who I never like, stars as writer
Harry Barber, recently released from prison after being put away on a false charge.
Bumbling Harry meets up with the mysterious Mrs. Donnelly (Elisabeth Shue, in a bizarrely
mannered and awkward performance) who asks him to help her set up a fake kidnapping of her
step-daughter, Odette (Chloe Sevigny). Mrs. Donnelly, Odette, and Harry will all split the
ransom money. Predictably, things go wrong, and soon Harry is dealing with the police, an
uncooperative father, and a dead girl. Ho-hum. Gina was the only bright point for me in this
picture; she shows up as Nina, Harry's long suffering girlfriend, who he finally turns to for
help when the scheme starts to get out of hand. Nina isn't much help but she's plenty indignant.
I love Gina when she's laying down the law, and she didn't disappoint in Palmetto; too bad
the rest of the cast couldn't match her performance. Check this one out only if you're
a devoted Gina fan; if you're looking for a movie with actual thrills, this one isn't for
you.
I recently saw Gina in a much better film than all these others: 1996's
Bound.
Gina stars as Corky, a lesbian recently released from prison for "redistribution of
wealth", now working as a handyman in an apartment building. When Corky meets Violet
(Jennifer Tilly), a gangster's moll who lives in the building, sparks fly. Violet wants
out of her life, and she convinces Corky to help her steal two million dollars from her
mob boyfriend, Caesar (Joe Pantoliano). The women lay out their plan, which centres around
their ability to trust one another even though they don't know each other very well. On
the night of the job, the plan goes well -- until Caesar begins to fall apart and the
world turns bloody. Although Bound has a very straightforward plot, what really sets it
apart are two things: the fantastic performances and the beautiful and fascinating
direction. First, the acting: Gina is just perfect as the butchy and tattooed Corky, finding
the right note of vulnerability inside a very tough woman. Jennifer Tilly, as the pretty
girl of the couple, provides all the passion and heart in their relationship. Joe
Pantoliano is also great as the wronged mobster who can't seem to figure out what is really
happening to him. The three leads together are just explosive onscreen. As for the
direction, Bound was written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, who created
The
Matrix, and Bound shows all the same attention to detail and planning that The Matrix does.
Fans of the Wachowski brothers won't want to miss the great shots in this film, including
a zoom out from inside the barrel of a gun, a man's image split into dozens of pieces by a
glass brick wall, and a deep red blood splattering into a pool of white paint. Gorgeous
to look at and a thrill ride to watch, be sure to catch Bound if you think you can take
it.
Most recently, Gina has been appearing on TV screens across America each Sunday as the star
of the new David E. Kelly series, Snoops. Gina
plays Glenn Hall, the head of
a detective agency who uses her excellent hacking and people-reading skills, along with some
legally questionable activities, to solve cases. This is the role I've always wanted to
see Gina playing; Glenn gets great wisecracking lines, doesn't ever take crap from anyone,
and dresses totally fabulous and funky to boot. Snoops is one of the few new shows this
season that I'm actually watching on a regular basis, and it recently got picked up for the
entire season so I have high hopes. It's a fun show, lacking a little in quality storylines
but making up for it with some cool characters. Other than Gina, who is so much fun to
watch, the show also features Danny Nucci (a.k.a. "Fabrizio!" around our house) as a
techo-loving tec with delusions of spydom, and sassy Paula Jai Parker as an up-and-comer at
the agency. The other major star of the series, Paula Marshall, who plays ex-cop Dana,
has just announced that she will be leaving the show in January. Rumour has it she will be
replaced with Jessaly Gilsig, whose few credits include a guest appearance on The Practice;
hopefully she'll fit with the rest of the cast. Personally, as long as I get lots of Gina
in great outfits with great hair and great, snappy one-liners, I'm happy.
Snoops is keeping Gina pretty busy these days, but hopefully she'll have time to return to
the big screen when the show goes on hiatus this summer. In the meantime, catch Snoops if
you can for Gina at her (happily non-naked) best. Or, check out Gina's two films currently
in theatres: The Insider, in which Gina
plays Helen Caperelli, or Guinevere, in which
Gina plays Billie, an ex-protegee of the manipulative photographer Connie (Stephen Rea).
In any case, you'll see for yourself that this offbeat beauty really can act, while
she continues to ooze style all the time.
Partial Filmography:
Pretty in Pink, 1986
Cocktail, 1988
City of Hope, 1991
Out for Justice, 1991
The Player, 1992
Sinatra, 1992 (TV movie)
Melrose Place, 1992 (guest appearances)
Showgirls, 1995
Bound, 1996
Touch, 1997
Face/Off, 1997
This World, Then the Fireworks, 1997
One Tough Cop, 1998
Palmetto, 1998
Guinevere, 1999
The Insider, 1999
Snoops (TV series), 1999
Check out Gina's complete filmography @ the IMDB.
Photos courtesy of:
Gina Gershon, an unofficial tribute page
A Tribute to Gina Gershon