What the Hell Happened to Uma Thurman?

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http://lebeauleblog.com/2013/03/29/what-the-hell-happened-to-uma-thurman/

Posted by lebeau

Uma Thurman has been a Batman villain, Robin Hood’s girlfriend, an
Avenger (the English kind) and Quentin Tarantino’s muse. She’s worked
with Robert DeNiro, Bill Murray, John Travolta and George Clooney.
But these days, she’s shifted gears into supporting roles. What the
hell happened?

Thurman starred her career as a model at the age of 15.

In 1985, Thurman appeared in Glamour, a Vogue supplement and the cover
of British Vogue. Her modeling work lead to acting opportunities. In
1988, Thurman appeared in four movies.

Thurman’s first acting role was in the no-budget thriller, Kiss Daddy
Goodnight. Thurman played a model who picks up older men so she can
drug them and rob them. Steve Buscemi also appears in a small role.

Thurman’s first mainstream movie was Johnny Be Good which co-starred
Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey, Jr.

Hall was desperately trying to escape his image as the brat pack
nerd. He played a star high school quarterback and Downey played his
best bud. A couple of years earlier, Downey had tormented Hall in
Weird Science. It’s funny to remember when Iron Man played second
banana to Rusty Griswold.

Johnny Be Good got bad reviews and currently holds a 0% approval
rating at Rotten Tomatoes. It flopped at the box office dooming Hall
to the fate suffered by most of the Brat Pack. Thurman and Downey
were more fortunate.

Later that year, Thurman had a small but eye-catching role in Terry
Gilliam’s mad fantasy, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen was a famously troubled movie.
Like most Gilliam movies, the flights of fancy put the film over
budget. A regime change at the studio meant that its US distributors
weren’t especially excited about promoting Munchausen. So they dumped
it in relatively few theaters with little fanfare.

Thurman played the goddess Venus who emerged naked from a clam shell.
In her limited screen time, Thurman created one of the more memorably
images in a film full of visual splendor.

Although Baron Munchausen flopped in the US, it fared better
overseas. Reviews were mostly positive and the film has developed a
cult following.

Thurman finished the year with another small but memorable role in
Stephen Frears’ Dangerous Liaisons.

Dangerous Liaisons was an adaptation of the play, Les liaisons
dangereuses which has been adapted several times including the 90′s
version, Cruel Intentions. One year after, Dangerous Liaisons, Milos
Forman released his adaptation, Valmont.

Frears’ adaptation starred Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle
Pfeiffer. Thurman played Cecile, a young lover separated from her
true love played by Keanu Reeves. The couple becomes caught in a web
of social politics and sexual manipulation.

Dangerous Liaisons received positive reviews and was nominated for
several awards. It was also a hit at the box office.

In 1990, Thurman starred opposite Dabney Coleman in the comedy, Where
the Heart Is.

Coleman played a rich demolitions expert who kicks his college-aged
children out of his house to teach them a lesson. The kids go on to
find success in fashion and eventually take their father in when his
company fails.

Where the Heart Is received poor reviews and flopped at the box
office.

Later that year, Thurman co-starred opposite Fred Ward and Maria de
Medeiros in Philip Kaufman’s Henry and June.

The movie is based on books by French author, Anaïs Nin, who had a
relationship with writer Henry Miller and his wife, June. Ward played
Miller and Thurman played his wife. The two have a complicated
relationship which is made more complicated by Miller’s affair with
Nin (played by de Medeiros who would also appear in Pulp Fiction a few
years later).

Henry and June is best-known for being the first movie to receive an
NC-17 rating for its adult sexual content. Thanks to mostly positive
reviews, the film fared reasonably well at the box office in spite of
the NC-17.

In 1991, Thurman starred opposite Patrick Bergin in Robin Hood.

That same year, Kevin Costner starred in Robin Hood: Price of
Thieves. At the time, Costner was at the top of the A-list. The
smaller Robin Hood film could not compete at the box office, so it was
released as a TV movie in the US. Which is a shame, because it was
the better of the two Robin Hood movies released that year.

Around this time, Thurman ended her first Hollywood marriage to Gary
Oldman. Thurman had married Oldman when she was 18. Oldman was
twelve years her senior. The marriage began to crumble when Oldman
was arrested for drunk driving. Oldman was something of a wild man
and complained that Thurman was too perfect. “You try living with an
angel!” he once groused.

In 1992, Thurman starred opposite Richard Gere and Kim Basinger in the
steamy thriller, Final Analysis.

Thurman and Basinger played sisters. Thurman’s character was being
treated by a psychiatrist played by Gere. The whole thing leads to
sex, murder and other Hitchcockian shenanigans. It is over the top
and silly like all of the erotic thrillers of the 90s. Reviews were
mixed and the movie disappointed at the box office.

Later that year, Thurman starred opposite Andy Garcia in another
thriller, Jennifer 8.

Garcia played a loose cannon cop on the trail of a serial killer.
Thurman played a blind woman who “witnesses” her roommate’s murder and
who may be the killer’s next victim.

Jennifer 8 got mostly negative reviews and performed poorly at the box
office.

In 1993, Thurman starred opposite Robert De Niro and Bill Murray in
Mad Dog and Glory.

De Niro played a meek crime scene photographer ironically nicknamed
Mad Dog because he has never drawn his gun. De Niro saves the life of
a mob boss played by Bill Murray. Murray rewards him with the
“personal services” of Thurman’s character, Glory.

DeNiro was originally approached to play the mobster. But instead he
insisted on playing against type as the non-violent police officer.
Audiences didn’t react well to seeing Murray dominate DeNiro, so
reshoots were done to make DeNiro’s character less meek.

Despite mostly positive reviews, Mad Dog and Glory bombed at the box
office.

In 1994, Thurman co-starred opposite John Travolta in Quentin
Tarantino’s game-changing crime drama, Pulp Fiction.

What’s left to say about Pulp Fiction? Its cultural impact can not be
measured. It revived Travolta’s career for the last time, minted
Tarantino as one of the most influential film-makers in Hollywood and
established Thurman as a household name. The image of Thurman and
Travolta dancing together is iconic.

Pulp Fiction received rave reviews and award nominations. Thurman was
nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. The film lost most of
the major categories to Forest Gump in a decision that makes me angry
to this day.

Speaking of the Oscars, Thurman was the subject of a notorious failed
joke by host David Letterman.

Oprah. Uma. Uma. Oprah. Letterman came back to the bit several
times that night and it never got any funnier.

Later that year, Thurman starred in Gus Van Sant’s bizarre road movie,
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.

Thurman plays a woman with strangely large thumbs. This is actually a
key plot point. She uses her enormous thumbs to hitchhike. In her
travels, she crosses paths with Keanu Reeves, Sean Young, Heather
Graham and an assortment of other oddballs.

The film was savaged by critics. After its premiere at the Toronto
Film Festival in 1993, its release was delayed for more editing. But
the changes didn’t save the film which eventually opened to bad
reviews and flopped at the box office. Thurman and Young were both
nominated for Razzie Awards.

In 1995, Thurman reunited with her Robin Hood director, John Irvin,
for A Month By the Lake which starred Vanessa Redgrave.

A Month By the Lake was a small movie that got mostly good reviews.
It performed moderately at the box office.

In 1996, Thurman appeared in the ensemble comedy, Beautiful Girls.
The cast included a who’s who of the mid-90s including Matt Dillon,
Timothy Hutton, Rosie O’Donnell, Natalie Portman, Michael Rapaport and
Mira Sorvino.

In spite of a great cast and mostly positive reviews, Beautiful Girls
was a disappointment at the box office.

Later that year, Thurman starred opposite Janeane Garofalo in The
Truth About Cats and Dogs.

Garofalo played a veterinarian who hosts a radio show about pet care.
Thurman played her friend and neighbor who happens to be a tall,
statuesque model. Through a series of comic misunderstandings, both
women end up in a relationship with a man who listens to Garofalo’s
radio show.

The Truth About Cats and Dogs got good reviews and was a modest hit at
the box office. It was arguably the first hit of Thurman’s career in
which she was the star. Even then, one could argue that Garofalo had
the leading role.

Garofalo has since disowned the movie. Originally, it was intended to
be an independent film. But when Thurman signed on, it was changed
into a more traditional Hollywood romantic comedy. Garofalo distanced
herself from The Truth About Cats and Dogs saying:

“I think it’s soft and corny. The soundtrack makes you want to puke.
And everybody’s dressed in Banana Republic clothing. The original
script and intent was very different. It was supposed to be a small-
budget independent film, with a lot more complexity to the characters.
When it became a studio commercial film, Abby and the guy wind up
together at the end.”

In 1997, Thurman played Poison Ivy in the franchise-killing Bat-film,
Batman and Robin.

Joel Schumacher’s follow-up to the 1995 hit, Batman Forever, was an
over-stuffed, neon-tinted train wreck. It ended the Batman franchise
until it was rebooted eight years later with Batman Begins. It also
derailed Schumacher’s career.

Most of the cast of Batman and Robin suffered career set-backs as a
result. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s career continued to cool off. Chris
O’Donnell and Alicia Silverstone never fully recovered. George
Clooney went on to bigger and better things, but only because he vowed
to stop making big-budget crap after cashing his big paycheck for
Batman and Robin.

Thurman was nominated for another Razzie Award which she lost to
Silverstone. Arguably, Thurman’s campy Mae West-inspired turn is the
best part of the movie. But, that’s not saying much.

Later that year, Thurman co-starred opposite Ethan Hawke and Jude Law
in the sci-fi drama, Gattaca.

Gattaca dealt with the dangers of cloning and genetic engineering
which were hot topics at the time. Hawke’s character wants to be an
astronaut, but is ineligible due to faulty genes. In order to qualify
for his dream job, Hawke’s character switches his results with those
of Law who of course has perfect genes.

Despite positive reviews, audiences skipped Gattaca and it bombed at
the box office. Hawke and Thurman began dating and eventually
married.

In 1998, Thurman starred opposite Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush in a
non-musical adaptation of Les Miserables.

Thurman played the doomed prostitute Fantine. Although the film
received decent reviews, it was not a hit like 2012′s adaptation of
the Broadway musical. Unlike Anne Hathaway, Thurman was no nominated
for anything.

Later that year, Thurman starred opposite Ralph Fiennes and Sean
Connery in The Avengers.

Although Thurman looks like she could be playing Black Widow in that
skin-tight leather, this Avengers movie was based on a British TV
series. Fiennes and Thurman played John Steed and Emma Peel who were
played by Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg in the 60′s TV show.

Realizing that the had a bad movie on their hands, Warner Bros tried
to shorten its runtime. The movie was cut down to 90 minutes and is
missing several key scenes. The end result was a movie that didn’t
make any sense.

Not surprisingly, The Avengers got terrible reviews and bombed at the
box office. It was nominated for several Razzie awards including
Worst Actress for Thurman.

In 1999, Thurman rebounded with a supporting role opposite Sean Penn
in Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown.

Penn played a jazz musician who married a socialite played by Thurman
in spite of the fact he was actually in love with a mute laundress
played by Samantha Morton. Sweet and Lowdown received mostly positive
reviews and performed moderately well at the box office.

Around this time, Thurman and Hawke started a family. Thurman backed
away from her Hollywood career for a few years to focus on raising
children.

In 200, Thurman starred opposite Gérard Depardieu and Tim Roth in
Roland Joffé’s period drama, Vatel. Later that year, she appeared
opposite Kate Beckinsale, Anjelica Huston and Nick Nolte in Merchant
Ivory’s The Golden Bowl.

Both films received mixed reviews and were largely ignored at the box
office.

In 2001, Thurman appeared opposite then-husband, Ethan Hawke and
Robert Sean Leonard in Richard Linklater’s Tape.

Tape takes place entirely in a hotel room which makes it feel like a
play. Hawke and Leonard play old friends who reunite in a hotel room
to hash out some of their issues. Thurman plays a mutual friend who
may or may not have been raped in the past.

I found Tape to be a hard movie to watch largely because I have a low
tolerance for Hawke. Hawke is extra douchy in this movie and there
isn’t much to focus on beyond what a huge douchebag he is.

Critics enjoyed watching Hawke’s douchery more than I. The movie
received mostly positive reviews when it played to film festival
audiences.

That same year, Thurman appeared in Chelsea Walls, a movie directed by
Hawke and seen by very few. It failed to recoup its modest $100,000
budget.

In 2002, Thurman starred opposite Gena Rowlands and Juliette Lewis in
the made-for-HBO movie, Hysterical Blindness.

Thurman played a Jersey girl with a condition that causes her to lose
her sight. When Thurman and Lewis go bar-hopping to relieve their
stress, Thurman’s character comes across as so desperate and needy
that men lose interest in her despite her beauty. Thurman won a
Golden Globe for her performance.

In 2002, Thurman reunited with Quentin Tarantino for the blood-soaked
revenge fantasy, Kill Bill: Volume 1.

Thurman played a member of an elite group of assassins, the Deadly
Viper Assassination Squad. It’s a group similar to the pilot
Thurman’s character in Pulp Fiction starred in. In Kill Bill,
Thurman’s character is known as “The Bride” because she was left for
dead at her own wedding. When she wakes from a coma, The Bride goes
on a two-movie killing spree.

Kill Bill received mostly good reviews and was a hit at the box
office. Thurman was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe.

Thurman’s comeback hit an Affleck-shaped speed bump later that year
when she starred opposite Ben Aflleck in John Woo’s sci-fi thriller,
Paycheck.

Paycheck was based on a short story by Philip K. Dick. Affleck plays
a smug business man who has his memory wiped in order to receive a big
payday. Thurman plays the love interest who must deal with Affleck’s
smugness.

Paycheck came out at a time when audiences loathed Affleck. Although
he has since reinvented himself as a talented director, Affleck was
box office poison at the time.

The critics were unkind to Paycheck which basically ended Woo’s career
in Hollywood. Affleck won the Golden Raspberry for the trio of
Daredevil, Gigli and Paycheck.

Paycheck opened at #5 behind Cold Mountain and Cheaper by the Dozen.
It failed to earn back its $60 million dollar budget in the US but
managed to make a profit internationally.

Fortunately, Thurman had Kill Bill Volume 2 to fall back on in 2004.

The first volume of Kill Bill had a lot of style, but not a lot of
substance. The second film goes back and adds the personal stories
that give both films some weight.

Kill Bill Volume 2 was a well-reviewed hit just like the first film.
Over the years, Tarantino has talked about returning to the
character. But recently he has said a third movie is “unlikely”.

In 2004, Thurman divorced her second husband, Ethan Hawke. Hawke had
started an affair with the couple’s nanny whom he later married.

In 2005, Thurman reunited with John Travolta for the comedy, Be Cool.

Be Cool was a sequel to Travolta’s hit, Get Shorty. The sequel sees
former mob goon, Chili Palmer, take on the music world. Thurman
played the widow of record company mogul who teams with Travolta to
revive the company.

Like most sequels, Be Cool is inferior to the original. Its one
saving grace is a dance scene between Thurman and Travolta meant to
capitalize on the pair’s famous dance scene from Pulp Fiction.

Reviews were negative, but Be Cool was a modest hit at the box office.

Later that year, Thurman starred opposite Meryl Streep in the romantic
comedy, Prime.

Thurman played a divorced woman who takes up with a much younger man.
She confides all of her secrets in her therapist played by Streep who
also happens to be her boyfriend’s mother.

Prime received negative reviews. It opened at #3 at the box office
behind Saw 2 and The Legend of Zorro. While it was a failure in the
US, it did very well overseas.

Thurman ended the year with a supporting role opposite Matthew
Broderick and Nathan Lane in the big screen adaptation of the musical,
The Producers.

Thurman played Ulla, a beautiful Swede who becomes Lane and
Broderick’s secretary when she auditions for their play. Thurman’s
part was small, but she was featured in the film’s promotional
material because she was a bigger film star than Broderick or Lane.

Reviews were mixed and The Producers was a box office disappointment.

In 2006, Thurman starred opposite Luke Wilson in Ivan Reitman’s
romantic super hero comedy, My Super Ex-Girlfriend.

Thurman played G-Girl, a super hero who dates an average guy played by
Luke Wilson. Wilson’s character finds dating a superhero to be
stressful and breaks up with her which causes G-Girl to go crazy and
vow revenge.

The problem is the premise. It is inherently sexist as it revolves
around the stereotype of the crazy ex-girlfriend. Thurman’s spurned
super girl is less funny than she is scary seeing as how she could
kill her ex in half a second.

Reviews were mixed and the movie flopped in the US opening in an
embarrassing 7th place behind Monster House, Lady in the Water and
Clerks 2.

In 2007, Thurman starred in the thriller, The Life Before Her Eyes.
The film was not released in the US until 2008.

Thurman plays the survivor of a school shooting… or does she? Reviews
for the film were mostly negative. Primarily, the criticism focused
on the convoluted and melodramatic script. The movie received a
limited release in which it grossed roughly half of its low budget.

In 2008, Thurman starred opposite Colin Firth in Griffin Dunne’s
romantic comedy, The Accidental Husband.

I have to admit, I was a little surprised to see that Dunne was still
directing movies in 2008. To the best of my recollection, he had
never directed a hit movie. Then I looked up his filmography and saw
he directed Practical Magic. That explains it. One hit can keep a
career going. In 2013, Dunne directed Movie 43. That should just
about do it for him.

The Accidental Husband was released in the UK. But its US
distribution was shelved when its distributor went bankrupt. Instead,
it was released direct to video.

In 2009, Thurman starred in the independently-produced comedy,
Motherhood. Motherhood received a limited release in the US and
showed in one theater in London. This qualifies Motherhood as the
second lowest-grossing film in UK history.

Reviews were mostly negative though critics were kind to Thurman.
Roger Ebert said Thurman was ”doing her best with a role that may
offer her less than any other in her career.”

In 2010, Thurman played Medusa in the fantasy film, Percy Jackson &
the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

Any time you see a title that long, you know the intent was to launch
a franchise. Percy Jackson was directed the Chris Columbus, director
of the first two Harry Potter films. Like those films, Percy Jackson
was based on a series of children’s books.

Unlike Potter, Percy Jackson received mixed reviews and was not a hit
at the box office. It fared well overseas, but failed to recoup its
budget in the US. The sequels never materialized.

Not that any of this really mattered to Thurman who basically made a
cameo in the movie.

Later that year, Thurman appeared in the movie, Ceremony, which was
released on video on demand before receiving a limited theatrical
release.

In 2012, Thurman appeared opposite Robert Pattinson in the period
drama, Bel Ami.

Thurman played Pattinson’s bosses wife who helps Pattinson begin his
career as a writer. When her husband dies, she marries Pattinson who
also has relationships with women played by Kristin Scott Thomas and
Christina Ricci.

Reviews were mostly negative based largely on Pattinson’s
performance. It’s pretty standard period soap opera. Not bad if
that’s your thing. But Pattinson is downright distracting smirking
his way through the entire film.

Later that year, Thurman appeared in the romantic comedy, Playing for
Keeps opposite box office poison, Gerard Butler. The film co-starred
box office poison, Jessica Biel. Thurman, Dennis Quaid and Catherine
Zeta-Jones had supporting roles.

Like all of Butler’s romantic comedies, Playing for Keeps got terrible
reviews and bombed at the box office.

Thurman also appeared on NBC’s musical drama series, Smash. In its
first season, Smash was a ratings hit in spite of mixed reviews. But
ratings dropped in the second season. Despite getting good reviews,
Thurman was not able to boost the ratings and the series was
cancelled.

Thurman was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for her guest spot.

In 2013, Thurman was part of a large ensemble in the sketch comedy
movie, Movie 43.

Movie 43 was the brain child of Peter Farrelly. It features 14
different storylines directed by 14 different directors including the
aforementioned Griffin Dunne.

Thurman played Lois Lane in a segment about super hero speed dating.
The movie includes a lot of talented people and also box office poison
Gerard Butler.

Alas, all of the pooled talent could not overcome Butler’s toxic
presence. The movie received toxic reviews and flopped at the box
office.

So, what the hell happened?

For starters, it could be argued that Thurman was never really that
big of a star to begin with. For such a long filmography, Thurman has
been the star of relatively few movies. She played a lot of
supporting roles and was in a lot of ensemble movies.

Even when Thurman was the lead in the Kill Bill movies, she wasn’t
really the star. The main draw of those films was Tarantino.

In the mid-90′s, Thurman appeared in two big budget summer movies back
to back. Both Batman and Robin and The Avengers were notorious
flops. Those sorts of things are hard to come back from. Were it not
for Tarantino, she probably wouldn’t have made it into the 21st
century.

Thurman has also left the spotlight voluntarily to deal with family
issues. First to raise her kids and then to deal with her divorce
from Hawke. When actresses focus on their personal lives, it is
usually at the expense of their career.

While Thurman is no longer on Hollywood’s A-list, she continues to
work. While she is unlikely to return to being a top draw (assuming
she ever was one), you can never rule out another movie with
Tarantino. I suspect she will continue working in more supporting
roles, independent films and maybe TV for a long time to come.