Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher was an American actress, writer and humorist. Carrie died in December of las year, following a cardiac arrest. Tragically, her mother, Debbie Reynolds, died two days later. Carrie was only 60 and her mum 84. Both had epic careers in the Entertainment industry, but for this journey, it is Carrie’s acting career that we are focussing on.
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY © Disney 2016
FILM ONE: ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (2016)
Our first film today is ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (2016). The film is an epic space drama, set in the Star Wars universe and features a story that takes place just before the events of the very first STAR WARS film from 1977. The story follows Jyn Erso, (played by Felicity Jones), daughter of the unwilling designer of the Galactic Empire’s superweapon the Death Star, and her mission to retrieve the schematics so the Death Star can be destroyed.
The film has been in cinemas since before Christmas, so I don’t think we’re breaking any spoilers now to mention that Carrie Fisher is in the movie; although technically it’s just her likeness and voice as they have used computer generated imagery to put the face of a young Carrie Fisher, onto the body of another actor.
Carrie Fisher ‘Mystery Woman’ THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980) © Universal Pictures
FILM TWO: THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980)
Our second film, THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980) is a total u-turn from Carrie’s most well-known role as Princess Leia in STAR WARS; here she plays ‘Mystery Woman’, turning out to be the jilted bride to be of co-star John Belushi.
It’s a great comic performance, if a little short on screen time. Her character deals with her troubles in a very public way – something Carrie was brave enough to do herself; often openly talking about her mental health issues such as her bipolar disorder and her drug abuse. She was often, and rightly, praised for being open about these kinds of topics, helping many by doing so.
The film is well worth a watch, for Carrie and for some great foot tapping tunes as well.
So what is our final film on this Carrie Fisher Film Journey?
Carrie Fisher in THE ‘BURBS (1989) © Imagine Entertainment
FILM 3: THE ‘BURBS (1989)
Our final film might be considered by some to be an odd choice for us to pick from her career; but I think including THE ‘BURBS (1989) in this list shows off Carrie’s versatility. Her she plays Carol Peterson, the long-suffering wife of Tom Hanks’ character; as he goes slowly insane by a combination of his neighbours actions and his own paranoia. All sounds pretty heavy stuff, but it’s actually very funny.
One memorable scene shows just how natural Carrie and Tom Hanks were together. Hanks is trying to persuade his neighbours that the new family who have moved into the street are actually ok and pose no threat and Carrie, whilst cross with the neighbours, is pleased to see her husband taking the high ground.
This film is perhaps, with everything going on in the world right now, quite a prescient choice for a number of reasons as it is, essentially, an analogy for attitudes towards immigration and how everyone should just simply be more tolerant of other people.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
– All of the Star Wars films, of course,
– AUSTIN POWERS : INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY, where she plays a psychotherapist
– WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
– SHAMPOO
– and also available soon is BRIGHT LIGHTS a documentary about her and her mother
