Attribution: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
By Geoff Carter
He is not one of your pretty boys. As his character Lewis Fine says in True Stories, “I’m six-foot-three and maintain a very consistent panda bear shape”. John Goodman is a big guy and a huge presence in every film he in which he appears. His amiable, friendly, and down-home persona is sometimes just what it seems; at other times, it hides something deeper and much, much darker. Characters like Big Dan Teague in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou or Charlie Meadow in Barton Finkhave unfathomable motivations lurking in the depths of their psyches—mostly because they are masked by Goodman’s easy patter and humble disposition—until they emerge suddenly and viciously.
He is also a gifted comedic actor. His bombastic and furious Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski is in equal turns hilarious and frightening. His Gale Snoats character in Raising Arizona is in equal parts conniving, outrageous, bombastic, wheedling, and friendly. Goodman’s portrayal of Frank King, the over-the-top B film producer in Trumbo is fantastic. King is a hustling ball of capitalistic energy without taste, morales, or fear. It is perfectly fitted to the Goodman persona—or vice-versa.
Although the majority of his is relegated to supporting roles, Mr. Goodman—while never seeming to try—dominates the screen with his presence. It could be argued that Walter Sobchak is more of a hero in The Big Lebowskithan Lebowski himself (but that’s not saying too much), but the real draw is Walter’s sputtering fury that toes a delicate line between being funny and annoying. He’s sort of like a drunk uncle spouting conspiracy theories at Thanksgiving.
It’s not only Goodman’s physical stature that draws audience attention, but his voice, which can be booming, smooth as silk or as sharp as a piece of broken glass. When he plays salesmen, his patter is on-the-money perfect. He conveys that kind of reassuring trust and knowing that might make you spend more on a car than you can afford.
Yet below that amiable front—in counterpoint—is a hint of something more, maybe something not so sweet and nice. There seems to constantly something unknown lurking in John Goodman’s persona, a knowledge, a confidence, or something darker. And there is also an undercurrent of sadness and disappointment that seeps through in almost every one of his roles. There’s a lot to the man.
The Ten Best Films of John Goodman
True Stories: In his first breakthrough role in a movie that has been called a satire and a comedy—but which is in essence very nearly undefinable—Mr. Goodman plays Lewis Fyne, a friendly, robust, and gracious man whose mission in life is finding a wife. At first, he haunts the single bars but then turns to a hilariously produced TV ad. Lewis is earnest and up-front about his matrimonial intentions. There is not a duplicitous bone in his body. He is like a child in many ways. During the film’s climax at the town’s “Celebration of Specialness”, he belts out a great version of David Byrne’s (who also wrote and directed the film) “People Like Us”. It is a great moment.
Barton Fink: In this historical psychological thriller by the Coen Brothers, Barton Fink (John Turturro), a successful Broadway playwright is lured out to Hollywood to write scripts. As a self-proclaimed bohemian he decides to stay in a cheap hotel, where he meets Charlie Meadow (Goodman), an inquisitive neighbor who Fink eventually befriends. After he meets with a series of producers, he realizes he’s out of his element and enlists the help of famous drunken novelist W.P, Mayhew (John Mahoney) and his assistant Audrey Taylor (Judy Davis) who helps him with his script. Things take a grisly turn and Barton enlists the help of Charlie, who turns out to someone entirely unexpected. As Charlie, Goodman’s familiar collegiality has an edge lurking just behind his friendly patter. His true self is a surprise but not completely unexpected.
Raising Arizona: In this rambunctious comedy, H.I. (Nicolas Cage) and his wife Ed(Holly Hunter) are having trouble conceiving a baby and decide to kidnap one of Nathan Arizona’s (Trey Wilson) quintuplets—because they have more than they need. As an ex-felon, H.I has no problem (or not many) pulling it off, but things get messy when Gale Snoats (Goodman) and his brother Evelle (William Forsythe) a couple of escaped convict buddies of H.I. come to visit and decide to take the baby with them. Goodman’s raucous energy and physical humor is perfect for the role of the jolly and duplicitous Gale. The gleam in his eye as he’s interrogating H.I. and Ed, and wheedling taunts about who wears the pants in the family is perfect fodder for Goodman’s good old boy criminality.
The Big Lebowski: In probably his most well-known role, Mr. Goodman plays Walter Sobchak, a bitter Vietnam veteran who is on Jeff Lebowki’s (the Dude) bowling team—and probably his best friend. Sobchak is constantly nagging, reviling, complaining, and bellowing, but, by and large, the stuff he’s worried about is trivial. There’s nothing to be angry at, yet Walter is one of those guys who’s pissed all the time, screaming, “Am I the only on here who cares about the rules?” And so, Goodman manages to insert some comedy—sort of a sly irony—into this manic energy. When he volunteers to help the Dude solve a kidnapping plot—and takes charge, his harebrained improvisations are hilarious even though they nearly cost them their lives. It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing—being—Walter Sobchak. This character could very easily have become a caricature; in John Goodman’s hands, it became gold.
O Brother, Where Art Thou: Even though John Goodman’s turn as Big Dan Teague in this film is a short one, it is extremely memorable. As three escaped convicts, Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney), Pete Hogwallop (John Turturro), and Delmar O’Donnell (Tim Blake Nelson) run into problem after problem. After a turn of luck, they run into Bible salesman Big Dan Teague at a restaurant. Eying Delmar’s shoebox—which he is convinced contains cash—Dan convinces them to go on a picnic lunch where he mugs the two. Later, as the trio is trying to rescue their friend Tommy (Chris Thomas King), they happen to see Big Dan again at a Ku Klux Klan rally. After Dan gets his just desserts, the group continues their journey back to Ulysses’ home. In this brilliant comedy, Goodman works a subtle sinister element in Big Dan which the boys, for all their savvy, refuse to see. They are seduced by Dan’s good old down-home hospitality—which turns out to be the business end of a stick. Goodman does a great job playing what could very easily have been a caricature, or even a cliché.
Treme: In this brilliant HBO series depicting the disastrous aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans, Goodman plays Creighton Bernette, an English professor working at Tulane. Irascible, sarcastic, and eminently bitter at the lack of support given to New Orleans in the wake of the tragedy. He goes on a new digital platform, YouTube, to profess his hate and disgust at everyone from George W. Bush, to Governor Blanco to Mayor Ray Nagin and everyone else in between. Yet between his diatribes, he is a loving husband and father, and an eminently respected New Orleanian. Goodman does an excellent capturing the mounting anger and frustration of a man watching his beloved city die, knowing there’s nothing—no matter how hard he tries—that he can do about it.
Argo: During the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, six Americans escaped capture and were given shelter in the Canadian embassy. This Academy Award winning film relates how CIA operative Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) comes up with an outrageous plan to pose as filmmakers who want to scout locations in Iran and, in the process, spirit out the Americans. To do so, Mendez must enlist the help of producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) and make-up artist John Chambers (John Goodman) to help with the deception. Teamed with Alan Arkin, Goodman displays his impeccable comic timing and phenomenal chemistry—especially in the great tag line, “Argo f___ yourself.”
Everybody’s All-American: In this sports drama, fictional star running back Gavin Gray (Dennis Quaid) discovers the difficulties of life beyond the gridiron. Struggling through the grueling NFL after a stellar college career, he enters a downward spiral that affects himself, his friends, and his family. His wife Babs (Jessica Lange) does her best but is frustrated by Gavin’s despondency. His best friend and ex-college teammate Ed Lawrence (Goodman), who worships him and (like a big dumb Labrador) follows him around everywhere. Goodman not only fits the role physically, but his enthusiastic devotion to his friend and hero is a perfect fit for Goodman’s charismatic and amiable persona. When Ed gets into trouble embroiling Gavin in his gambling debts, his heartfelt regret for the betrayal of his friend is doubly endearing. You just can’t stay mad at the guy.
Trumbo: In this biopic of blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston), who would not buckle under the demands of Congress’ Un-American Activities Committee, Goodman plays Frank King, a dynamic B-film producer who hires Trumbo and other blacklisted writers to work on films like Heaven With a Gun, Gorgo, and Gun Crazy, lending them a level of quality rarely seen in those types of pictures. As King, Goodman is aggressive, stubborn, and determined to make and much money as he can. His courageousness in facing Hedda Hopper and the other anti-Communist forces in Hollywood is based on profit, not principle. Again, Goodman’s energy, force of personality, and enthusiasm carries the day. He steals every scene he is in.
10 Cloverfield Lane: In this sort-of-sequel to the sci-fi film Cloverfield, a young woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) named Michelle is knocked unconscious during a car accident and wakes up in an underground bunker owned by an older man named Howard (Goodman) and his assistant Emmett (John Gallagher, Jr.). Howard explains that because of an alien attack, the air has been poisoned and venturing outside would be deadly. Emmett confirms Howard’s story. The three start to adapt to life underground, Michelle discovers evidence that another young woman had been confined in the bunker against her will. She and Emmett confront Howard, who retaliates. Wearing a homemade hazmat suit, Michelle escapes to discover aliens have attacked the planet. Goodman is deliciously sinister as the creepy kidnapper; he beguiles Michelle by pretending to be her rescuer, frightening her with his horror story, and then revealing his true psychotic self.