Odd Pairings

Clint Eastwood and Alan Hale, Jr., alias "the skipper" from Gilligan's Island.

Eastwood is no one's "little buddy", and he lets Hale's character know it.

Clint Eastwood and Jim Carrey.

This is interesting because in his standup routine Carrey used to do an impersonation of Eastwood's Dirty Harry. Looking at Carrey's over-the-top rock star character makes you wish Dirty Harry would have made our day and shot him.

Mae West and Alice Cooper.

There's only one thing that I can think of that could connect these two: both are outrageous. But a bombshell from the 30s performing with a shock rocker from the 70s? It's worth seeing just for that.

Actually, Mae West and half the cast sound like odd pairings, but Cooper's was the oddest.

William Shatner and Spencer Tracy, Marlene Dietrich.

The Shats gives a modest and competent performance as the young actor holds his own between two screen legends. Include Judy Garland and you have 'Dorothy Gale meets Captain Kirk'.

George Burns and Brooke Shields.

Actually, the oddness was intentional; a popular child model/actor appearing with the venerable geriatric comedian. This singular premise is illustrated appropriately by the film's poster art: a little rib poke of fun!

James Cagney and Fran Drescher.

Emerging straight from the golden age of cinema Cagney came out of semi-retirement to do his second-to-last movie. Almost any young actor would have looked a bit out of place next to him, let alone a character like Drescher. It would have been fun to see her nasal laugh silenced with a grapefruit halve shove to the face.

John Wayne and Oliver Hardy.

Wayne and Hardy were apparently good friends, and Hardy does a good job playing a more serious character, albeit still with some of his iconic comic mannerisms. Watching this I kept expecting to see a scene where they get their different sized coonskin caps mixed up.

Fred Gwynne and Meryl Streep.

Gwynne is a great dramatic actor, but will always be remembered as the flat-topped Herman Munster, which doesn't exactly strike me as inclusive to Streep's dramatic sphere. Although, her roles of late have been getting more fun and requiring extra make-up. I'd bet that she'd make a great Lilly should there be a Munster remake.

Robert DeNiro and William Shatner.

DeNiro began showing up with a variety of costars that seemed to be pulled from differing cinema worlds. But having Shatner to play off of shows that he had reached a point where he could relax and have a little fun with his career. Actually it was Shatner who thrived specifically by poking fun at himself. It brought him broader recognition by costarring with a multiple Oscar nominee. It shows that taking control with your own self-parody is one way to successfully reinvent your career.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Richard Dawson.

Playing a TV host was an appropriate role for Dawson. But in this movie he had to affect a far more sinister style to pull it off. Was he a convincing nemesis to the Terminator? "Survey SAYS...."

Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick.

Broderick has since proven himself to be an accomplished actor from comedies to drama. He finds a middle ground with a little self-parody help from Brando. I still think the producers chuckled at the premise of pairing Vito Corleone with Ferris Bueller.

Dustin Hoffman and Bill Murray.

Murray was still the young self-assured goofball when he appeared with the veteran of more dramatic fare. A slightly offbeat comedy is a pretty good way to bring together these then unlikely costars.

The Monkees and Victor Mature.

Hunky star of biblical dramas and film noirs gets to hang out with pre-fabbed pop group. I'll bet it looks as odd as it sounds.

David Lynch and Mel Brooks.

Who would believe the outrageous Brooks known for sometimes sophomoric comedy would collaborate with a young filmmaker known for bizarre images of Freudian guilt? Brooks was wise to not be credited for his role as producer in this serious black-and-white drama lest the audience get the impression that John Merrick might at any moment break into a rendition of 'Puttin' on the Ritz'.

The whole cast list reads like one for a Love Boat episode. A veritable cavalcade of actors from multiple dimensions in the acting world. Three generations of sex symbols are represented by Mae West, Raquel Welch, and Farrah Fawcett. Future stars Tom Selleck and Dan Hedaya mix with classic Hollywood types Andy Devine and John Carradine.

Ray Milland and Don Rickles.

Rickles is a pretty good character actor, though it's pretty much one character. When he tones down his persona he has a more serious, even menacing presence (re: Casino). But at any moment I was ready to hear him throw out a 'hockey puck' insult. (inclusion credited to 'Utopius')

Cuba Gooding Jr. and Helen Mirren. Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Mo'Nique.

Gooding is the stepson AND the lover of Mirren, so I guess an odd pairing deserves an even odder plot setup. I can't seem to picture most anyone paired with Mo'Nique. I guess she's just too...U'Nique. (inclusion credited to 'jerrellejames-1')

Ben Kingsley & Mary-Kate Olsen.

Gandhi meets half the Olsen twins. (inclusion credited to 'jerrellejames-1')

Gene Hackman and Hugh Grant.

Both are dramatic actors and can do comedy, but I just don't see these two appearing together. Even the tones of their respective movie lists seem to clash. In my mind I keep seeing Popeye Doyle getting so irritated at Grant's befuddled charm that he ends up pistol whipping him. (inclusion credited to 'yurenchu')

Kevin Costner and John Cleese.

'Silly walk' meets silly apocalyptic film maker. (inclusion credited to 'yurenchu')

John Candy and Ally Sheedy.

And as love interests no less. Also worth noting is Anthony Quinn and Maureen O'Hara. Try picturing them doing scenes with 'Ox' from Stripes. (inclusion credited to 'darbyresearch')

Robert DeNiro & Jerry Lewis.

In contrast to his classic goofball characters Lewis could come off as a pretty serious guy. DeNiro seems to trade places with him and becomes the slightly goofy one. (inclusion credited to 'ZevII')

Katharine Hepburn and Garry Shandling.

Ms. Hepburn was such an iconic symbol of classic Hollywood that more than just Shandling seem a bit out of place next to her.

Jack Nicholson and Sally Struthers.

Nicholson had made a name for himself in Easy Rider but was still not an Oscar darling when paired with the lesser known Struthers. Yet seeing a pre-Gloria Stivik with the iconic Jack was a bit of a surprise.

There's a rather spirited sex scene between the two, which was a slightly jarring image to deal with. What would you think if you came across, say, a movie with Rob "meathead" Reiner doing it with a young Meryl Streep? I hope you weren't eating your lunch while reading this.

Not really any odd pairings, I was just not aware that Sinatra, Kirk Douglas, and John Wayne were all in a movie together. A tough guy test of wills showdown-fest.