More Miscasting
A while back I mused about George Lucas’ casting errors in the current “Star Wars” episodes. Oliver Stone’s “Alexander” seems to suffer from even more fatal casting errors.
Where to start in playing casting critic for “Alexander?” Let’s see, there’s Angelina Jolie cast as Alexander’s mother. That would be okay if, say, Haley Joel Osmont were cast as Alexander the teen tyrant, but in the lead is Colin Farrell. He’s 28, she’s 29. Add Val Kilmer, who’s not much older, and we have casting that stretches the bounds of believability. Plus does anyone really buy Farrell as a blond bisexual pretty boy, which is what Alexander apparently was?
Let’s start from scratch here. Into the role of Alexander we’ll plug Jude Law or Guy Pearce, still the right age, closer to the look, and more capable of capturing the nuances between being straight and gay. As the mom, Susan Sarandon is exactly the right age (58), and in my book, she is still as awesome as Jolie. (Visions of her in “Rocky Horror.”) Michelle Pfeiffer, at 46, is a little on the young side, but not as much so as Jolie, is also smoking hot and is an excellent actress. Either would be top choices. For papa Alexander, how about Brian Cox? Like Sarandon, he’s in his mid 50’s, and he’s a much better actor than Kilmer could be in his best dreams. Finally, we'll slide Jolie into the role of Alexander's wife and Farrell into the role of his lover to keep them in the flick. Recasting in this vein might not save the apparently putrid film but it’s a start.