Overacting (also called hamming, mugging or chewing the scenery[1]) is exaggerrated acting, positively or negatively.

Uses

Carrey in 2008

Some roles require overly-exaggerated character acting, particularly those in comedy films. For example, the breakthrough roles of Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask (both 1994) saw him portray the lead characters in a very flamboyant fashion, as the script required. He has since played relatively straight roles.[2]

Overacting may be used to portray an outlandish character, or to stress the evil characteristics of a villain.[3] Actor Gary Oldman was almost typecast as an anti-social personality early in his screen career:[4][5] the necessity to express villainous characters in an overtly physical manner led to the cultivation of a "big" acting style that incorporated projection skills acquired during his stage training.[4][6] He noted that he has given "over-the-top" performances, and: "If it's coming from a sincere place, then I think the screen can hold the epic, and it can hold the very, very small."[7]

Reactions

In an article on overacting, Independent critic Leigh Singer wrote: "Unlike theatre's declamatory projecting to the back row, a 'stagey' performance onscreen isn't a compliment... ultimately, it really is a matter of personal taste."[8] Jeff Labrecque of Entertainment Weekly argued that "there's a thin line between overacting (bad) and acting that you're overacting (bizarrely genius)";[9] the publication at one time gave year-end awards for "best" and "worst" overacting in film, with the aforementioned Oldman and Pacino winning the former for their performances in Léon: The Professional (1994) and The Devil's Advocate (1997), respectively.[10][11] Guardian journalist Chris Michael, a proponent of overacting, wrote: "From Hugo Weaving's Agent Smith to Heath Ledger's Joker to the entire oeuvre of William Shatner, mannered or stylised acting is an underrated skill."[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Chew the scenery worldwidewords.org
  2. ↑ Gilliver, David. 1998. "Film Review: The Truman Show". Accessed 29 July 2006.
  3. 1 2 "Why I love … movie overacting". TheGuardian.com. 11 October 2013.
  4. 1 2 Roberts, Chris (August 1999). "Gary Oldman: A sheep in wolf's clothing". Uncut. IPC Media (27).
  5. ↑ Sexton, Timothy. How Gary Oldman Avoided Typecasting as a Weirdo, Villain. Yahoo! Movies. Wayback Machine. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  6. ↑ Popcorn With Peter Travers. Season 5. Episode 15. 9 December 2011. "People who know you ... we remember the big Gary Oldman."
  7. ↑ "Conversations... with Gary Oldman". SAG-AFTRA Foundation. 12 Jan 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  8. ↑ "The overactors - Mad, bad, and dangerous to the scenery". Independent.co.uk. 23 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24.
  9. ↑ "Nicolas Cage in 'Bad Lieutenant': Overacting or acting that he's overacting?". Entertainment Weekly.
  10. ↑ "Our Take on This Year's Movies". Entertainment Weekly. December 30, 1994. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  11. ↑ Gleiberman, Owen (December 26, 1997). "Best & Worst / Movie Campaigns". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
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