Thursday, March 12, 2009

Watch woman

I haven't seen “Watchmen” yet. But one of the things I love about these big, showy movies is that sometimes some of the very deserving, under appreciated ladies in their casts finally get some spotlight love. And, for “Watchmen,” that lovely is Carla Gugino. You know Carla, she has been acting steadily for the past 20 years. And, whether you realize it or not, she has always had a spot somewhere on your sexy list. She's the girl next door who keeps handcuffs in the dresser drawer. Gosh, who can resist that? Seriously, just try doing simple addition while looking at her in that first photo. Yep, 2 + 2 = hot damn. [Hat tip, Liz!]

Her work spans the starring role in the all-too-short “Karen Sisco” on the small screen to a varied assortment of films from kiddie stuff (“Spy Kids” I & II) to grown-up fare (“American Gangster,” “Righteous Kill”) and, yes, even a Pauly Shore movie (“Son in Law”). Along the way, she has also become a sort of go-to lesbian stand-in for movies large and small. “Jaded.” Lesbian victim. “Center of the World.” Lesbian stripper. “Sin City.” Lesbian (and naked) parole officer. “Rise: Blood Hunter.” Lesbian vampire who makes out with Lucy Liu.

Sure, not all of those films were winners (sadly I've seen them all). But Carla, well, she has always been worth watching. Here's hoping her work as the original Silk Spectre in “Watchmen” means she will finally be in more movies where we stop pressing the fast forward button and just enjoy the sexy.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Note to self: Find the Sin City DVD and watch it this weekend.

I never would have known Carla's name even though I've seen her in tons of shows and movies.

Thanks Ms. Snarker.

The Gentleman said...

MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Sorry to dissapoint Dorothy, but I've seen Watchmen and I'm not sure it was worth the tkt price and the 2h43' of my life :S
Carla's role is minimal. she plays most of her role in aging makeup (she's the original SilkSpectre so she's around 60-65yrs old). The only occasion we see her in that sexy outfit she ends up getting almost raped by one of her fellow watchmen... :(
And I'm not even talking about the blink and you missed it lesbian charachter Siluette... we see her kiss a nurse to celebrate the end of WWII and then in a pool of blood with the same nurse in what it looks like an hate crime...
It was so bad that I waited for the credits to see if Ilene Chailken had anithing to do with it...

Anonymous said...

thank you, ms. snarker for featuring gugino, she has always been a favorite of mine!

;)) babs

chaiken + watchmen = LOL

Unknown said...

must concur with the gentleman ... watchmen is a pile of right-wing horse-shit, about an hour too long, and with the obligatory watch the lesbians kiss then kill them scene at the very beginning to let us know where we stand. the only other decent female role is carla's daughter, silk spectre II who basically is a superhero only because it gets her just a little bit tingly ... in other words watchmen is for the boys who like to get their thrills from comicbook porn ... tripe.

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't recommend seeing the Watchmen, if the Guardian is on track who said,

"The real disappointment of Watchmen the movie is not its stodgy pacing or its unconvincing climax, it’s the way it treats its female characters."

Even though the actress is hot, her character is a real disappointment...

Anonymous said...

I've got to agree with all the comments about Watchmen. Carla Gugino was the leading reason I let my roommate talk me into going to the midnight showing and besides the visual effects (even though I was more impressed by Sin City and 300), the movie sucked hard. The only thing that made it worse was that I was surrounded by a theater full of comic book nerds who thought it was the best thing since they re-named comic books graphic novels.

Re-watch some Karen Sisco episodes because they're a helluva lot more worth your time that wasting money on that movie.

Anonymous said...

I frickin' love Carla Gugino. She is so hot. And totally underappreciated--thanks for giving her some air time Dorothy!

Definitely check her out in Sin City. Very nice lesbian character. Also Rise is not a good movie but lesbian sex or making out with her and Lucy Liu is...worth it!

00 said...

Is it wrong that I really enjoyed Son in Law?

Anonymous said...

Carla Gugino love. Hooray!
I'm now rethinking seeing Watchmen. Hmmm.

And for your viewing pleasure, a few clips from Karen Sisco when Kate Walsh was guest-starring. They had to go and cancel it just when she and Karen were getting even more interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XlHu6OBTnU&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJkOBZK0dtc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEnmtsHMdEM

Anonymous said...

aoooga aoooga!

Anonymous said...

thanks SHASTA, I've never seen this show!
I guess kate walsh was playing another lesbian role there?

;)) babs

Norma Desmond said...

See, I actually sorta liked Watchmen. Didn't LOVE it, but I enjoyed it. Wouldn't pay to see it again, but wasn't sorry I paid to see it once, even with all the misogyny and lesbian killing.

As for Carla, didn't know who she was before, but she was very good in this movie, for sure.

Anonymous said...

the last pic..
the woman's hair is so interesting.
what kind of style..??

also interesting costum,
sometimes i think
it looks very natural whatever
you guys try, although it's not
usual way. that's amazing.

pantsyzilla said...

You all must've not read the actual graphic novel before seeing the movie. Laurie is pretty much a simpering wisp of a character in the book--very much a product of the times when everything takes place. The movie does her character much more justice.

Amanda said...

Chica... Troop Beverly Hills. Her BEST role, by far!!

Chall said...

Am I the only one who watched her and loved her in Threshold? She got to shoot guns, take down bad guys (and aliens) got to be the smartest person in the room...and was pretty much the only female on the show. Good Stuff!!

pantsyzilla said...

I LOVED Threshold. After I read this thread, I looked into acquiring the series again.

Anonymous said...

Ah-hah! I knew I had seen the Silk Spectre somewhere...She's the charismatic farm-girl turned vixen in son-in-law!

Yeah, I know, terrible, but I love that movie...When I was younger I'd watch it and fantasize about my future crazy college days. Ahhh, how poetic that in the midst of them she'd show up in one of my new favorite dorky movies!

Anonymous said...

I wholeheartedly agree!!! I love her so much, seriously, I'd have her babies in an instant if she'd let me.

Anonymous said...

The movie actually toned down Rorschach's anti-gay comments. I was sad that it left out the part with Hollis Mason's book saying it was wrong to kick out Silhouette and that other Minutemen were closeted.

Neither the movie nor the graphic novel say that Rorschach's, The Comedian's and the others' views or actions are right. They are about so-called superheroes being just as, or even more, flawed and twisted as the rest of society. So, while some well-intentioned protagonists do express hateful sentiments without being depicted as evil, they are depicted as pretty much off their rockers.

The graphic novel is by Alan Moore, the same guy who wrote V for Vendetta. Yeah, there are way too many dead lesbians in entertainment but one more (and she's not really a new one considering it was written in the 80s) doesn't automatically mean its homophobic. And she was so not the only character that was killed.

The movie is pretty much the comic on film. It works surprisingly well. Even my less geeky friends loved it,although it probably is a little harder to follow and holds less appeal for people who are unfamiliar with the comic. Just don't go in expecting any shiny, happy heroes who's biggest concern is hiding their identity from a cute girl.

Anonymous said...

I've never read the graphic novel "The Watchmen" and my main reason for seeing it? Miss Carla G! I have to disagree with those who've said her performance wasn't worth it. It was well worth it. She was absolutely FABULOUS in the role of the Classic Silk Spectre/Sally Jupiter. Sadly, no, she wasn't in it nearly enough but she was fabulous in what she did. I totally enjoyed the movie even though I really only went to see Carla. A friend's husband went with a group of us and he's read the novel and said the movie was pretty spot on. This guy is a tough cookie when it comes to stuff like movies and he really seemed to enjoy it.

I'm hesitant to see Race simply because I'm tired of Hollywood's lack of imagination lately with movies. It's a retooling (not a remake) of Escape to Witch Mountain. However, it's got Carla and I'm planning to see it, simply because she's in it. I ♥ Carla.

She totally ROCKED in Threshold and I was sad to see it canned. :(

LiteraryVice432 said...

I actually fought my friends about paying to see this movie. It's worth waiting for it to be out on DVD. Her role is so small but her costume and small parts are worth the rental fee.

I long for the day she will have a significant role in a well written film.
(as much as I hate to admit this I love her parts in Rise: Bloodhunter despite it being a horrifically bad film.)
Thanks for giving her a little love.