Letters to Juliet

So many movies, so little time!  I watched a few movies over the past week.  Some new, some old, and not all holiday themed.  Now we need to discuss some Bit Actors.

Letters to Juliet (2010) is a nice, light romance filmed in the Tuscany region of Italy.  Amanda Seyfried (b. 1985) stars, and she appears to be quite talented.  Her big movie break was in Mamma Mia! (2008).  I guess I like her because she is from Allentown, PA, not far from me. 

Vanessa Redgrave (b. 1937) plays her role perfectly, and her real life husband, Franco Nero (b. 1941) shows how sexy you can be at 69 years old.

Seyfried's fiance in this movie was played by Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal (b. 1971).  We don't see much of him, and I am glad she called the wedding off.  She opted instead for Christopher Egan (b. 1984), who only has 14 titles on his list, but should do well in his career.  I think we will see much more of him.  He is quite handsome and has a nice voice for film.

All of the above are vying to be (or actually are) stars.  The only true Bit Actor, other than the list of Italians who filled in the smaller roles, was the New Yorker editor played by Oliver Platt (b. 1960).  Platt is talented, and appears to be happy playing supporting roles.  In this movie, his 58th (or so) role he is uncredited.

Platt's career started in the late 1980s on TV and he quickly got into some movies.  He was in Married to the Mob (1988) with Alec Baldwin; Working Girl (1988) with Harrison Ford and Melanie Griffith; Flatliners and Postcards from the Edge in 1990; Indecent Proposal and The Three Musketeers in 1993; Executive Decision and A Time to Kill in 1996; and he is also doing a few TV series.  That's a lot of work.

In the movies I have seen of his, he either blends into the background, or plays his part to the hilt.  A Time to Kill was an excellent courtroom drama with a perfect cast, including Sandra Bullock, Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson.  All talented actors.  Platt plays an assistant lawyer to Matthew McConaughey, and with a southern drawl, pulls it off beautifully.  But he never detracts from the story or the other characters.

Lastly, Ashley Lilley (b. 1986 in Scotland) plays one of Juliet's secretaries.  Lilley only has five titles on IMDb, and she also appeared in Mamma Mia! with Seyfried.  Small world.

Letters to Juliet is worth the rental.