Brendan Fraser was a famous actor of the ’90s. The Hollywood actor has fantastic filmography, even though he isn’t now a leading man.
From his comedic beginnings as a caveman in a Pauly Shore film and a rock star in an Adam Sandler comedy to the pinnacle of his career as the leading man in The Mummy, Brendan Fraser has always been a fan favorite. But, despite continuing to work during his absence, Fraser was never seen again. In 2022, Fraser finally received acclaim from the critics he rightfully earned. As a result of his performance in Darren Aronofsky’s latest film, The Whale, Fraser is being considered for Best Actor honors at forthcoming events and year-end announcements. However, Fraser has amassed an impressive body of work, with some films enjoying high placements on sites like IMDb.
Brendan Fraser hadn’t impressed fans with a prominent role in Hollywood in quite some time until The Whale, but he’s kept himself in the spotlight by providing the voice of Robotman in the DC Universe series Doom Patrol. On the other hand, he has accomplished a great deal and achieved great success in other areas. Examining IMDb’s fan-favorite rankings might be more informative than critics’ recommendations.
Every Fraser film has been given a star rating on the popular movie website, with ratings ranging from 1 to 10 depending on the opinions of site members.
Still Breathing (1997) – 6.5
Stream now on Amazon Prime
Filmmaker James F. Robinson’s first movie, “Still Breathing,” is a charming romantic comedy about a naive young Texan’s attempts to win over a gorgeous con woman who is, quite literally, the lady of his dreams. With some savvy advertising, this entertaining film, starring Brendan Fraser and Joanna Going, might earn a decent box office gross before finding an even larger audience on cable and tape.
All romantics will enjoy Still Breathing. It’s offbeat and, despite its protagonist’s lack of complexity in his thoughts, a profound film. Both Brendan Fraser and Joanna Going are fantastic in their roles. Yet, many viewers may disdain this film due to its implausibility.
John Thomas (“Barcelona”) provides attractive cinematography for “Still Breathing,” which is set in San Antonio and Los Angeles and manages to keep the film’s romantic tone casual and unforced without ever being cloying. The music soundtrack is incredibly varied, with elements ranging from opera to Texan swing to “Harlem Nocturne.” Holm plays a tuba solo over a jazzy arrangement of Chopin’s “Berceuse” at one point with a small band. Much like the rest of “Still Breathing,” the number works surprisingly well.
Blast From The Past (1999) – 6.7
Stream now on Hulu
Adam Webber is leaving his bomb bunker after 35 years and heading outside to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. Blast from the Past is a romantic comedy for the nuclear age about a man who, after spending his entire life in a bomb shelter, ventures out into the world for the first time in hopes of meeting a nice nonmutant girl with whom to repopulate the earth. When he meets a savvy, cynical modern woman, sparks fly, opposites attract, and an incredible chain reaction ensues.
Adam meets Eve as he wanders through the new world of homeless people, adult bookstores, and 24-hour supermarkets. She is wary, knows how to get by, and is unsure of the possibility of romantic love. Her life is a never-ending string of disappointments, from meaningless work to superficial relationships to quickly destroyed dreams. Yet when Eve observes Adam’s wide-eyed wonder, comical misapprehension, joyful enjoyment, and sweetly charming innocence, she falls in love.
Despite being the film’s obvious selling point, the dynamic between Adam and Eve falls well short of being a ringing endorsement of their partnership. Sitting through Eve’s glacial courtship is challenging, with only a few lighthearted moments thrown in for good measure. Hugh Wilson, the director of the lifeless “The First Wives Club” (which he also co-wrote with Bill Kelly), lacks a comedic metronome. As those who wait for nuclear fallout to dissipate, we must eventually wait our turn.
With Honors (1994) – 6.7
Stream now on Kanopy
When struggling doctoral student Monty Kessler (Brendan Fraser) misplaces his thesis and discovers it in the hands of a homeless guy called Simon Wilder, the two worlds collide (Joe Pesci). Despite a rocky beginning, Simon and Monty become good friends and teachers to one another. Though neither Monty’s roommates nor Everett Calloway (Patrick Dempsey’s character) enjoys having Simon there, they eventually come to like and even respect him.
Though they look like they could pass for students at a prestigious Ivy League university, the four young actors portraying the senior housemates who develop romantic feelings for a homeless man are a little too perfect in appearance, looking more like models than scruffy students with occasional complexion woes. Yet, Joe Pesci’s performance as a homeless man is a severe obstacle. As the comic relief, Fraser plays it straight. Fraser’s mission is to become a kinder person as the film progresses so that he might absorb Simon’s wisdom about life. It’s a dangerous role for an actor to play.
The acting is the film’s greatest strength. Pesci, one of the most active performers, has made a name for himself as Hollywood’s favorite annoying eccentric you eventually grow to adore. In this role, he adopts a crooked way of speaking, allowing him to come at simple lines from unexpected angles. Director Alek Keshishian (Harvard ’86) may have included some unforeseen turns for laughs.
The Air I Breathe (2007) – 6.7
Stream now on Peacock
Jieho Lee helms and co-wrote the film, and while it has promise, it only sometimes takes off. The cast becomes solid performances, but no one is given much screen time. The screenplay tries to fit too much into the film’s 95 minutes, preventing the character growth that would have made it more robust. Nobody is engaging or endearing, and the plots all feel hurried. Lee took several independent films, grouped them, and then found a way to connect the storylines inside each group loosely.
The concept seems hazy at first. The plot is as unorthodox as its writing style. The film’s main characters don’t undergo any significant changes in plot or acting during the course of the film. Although some may find one or two performers to be overly deadpan, they do a good job and stay true to their roles. The qualifications are especially true for Whitaker and Fraser. Both are quite stoic, but that’s what the plot requires. Perhaps Sarah Michelle Gellar is the only exception. She has the more significant burden of showing various feelings than anyone else. There is a lot of emotional and physical suffering in her persona.
Gellar is a courageous performer who gave her all in her roles. She will catch many off guard. Bacon is hilarious and plays the part of the would-be hero brilliantly. Andy Garcia is a terrifyingly diabolical antagonist in every scene, but Emile Hirsch’s brief cameo provides some welcome comedic relief. Like a mechanical Rubik’s Cube, “The Air I Breathe” is a fascinating device that keeps you guessing for as long as it spins and clicks. Yet, once it’s done, you may be left wondering why you bothered with such a fancy gadget in the first place.
School Ties (1992) – 6.9
Stream now on HBO Max
David Greene (Brendan Fraser), a Jewish student at an exclusive prep school in the 1950s, feels pressure to hide his religion from his peers and professors out of concern that they may be anti-Semitic. Because of his football talents, he soon rises to prominence in school. But, his greatest fears are fulfilled when his Jewish heritage is revealed, and his pals (Matt Damon, Chris O’Donnell) turn violently on him and publicly shame him.
One of the students cheats on a test. The other students are given the authority to handle the situation following the school’s old honor code, tying together the themes of anti-Semitism and prep-school pressure in the film’s climax. Using anti-Semitism as cover, the guilty student tries to pin the crime on David. The students in the position of making a choice might use this incident as a case study on the destructive power of bias.
Considering how simple it is, “School Ties” manages to be rather powerful. The opening sequence in David’s hometown, where he battles the boss of a motorcycle gang, struck me as cartoonish. Still, the film quickly evolved into a sensitive and brutal drama. This isn’t only a story about anti-Semitism and how hate may lead people to lie to further their agendas. Considering the persistence of comparable racial animosity in the present day, setting the picture in the 1950s is a bit of a cop-out. Nonetheless, I would endorse any play that would let young people see the fatal consequences of intolerance on their souls.
The Secret Of Karma (2020) – 7.0
Rent Now On Prime Video
Czech writer/director Dalibor Stach (himself declared dead twice) based this film on his novel about a man who dies for a second time and travels through time and space before being resurrected. Along the way, he encounters God (Marcia Cross) and discovers how his karma has influenced his life. In addition to Brendan Fraser, who was intended to play many roles, Dawn Olivieri was also cast in a significant one.
Frank, our protagonist, is sure that his current troubles result from karma from previous lifetimes. As Frank travels through time, he sees how his poor karma from the past has set him up for repeating the same awful outcomes—the movie on Karma’s Hidden Teachings. The film takes the concept of karma to a whole new level, revealing that our beliefs shape our world and that whatever you expect to happen will. Positive thinking, gratitude, giving, loving one’s life, and meditation are all factors that have been linked to happier lives.
The Secret of Karma was surreptitiously released online in 2020 and is now available to rent or buy on Amazon. Nonetheless, the film has received mostly negative reviews from critics, who have pointed to issues such as its confused narrative, lackluster CGI, and the fact that despite being labeled as a starring actor, Fraser has relatively little screen time in the picture.
The Quiet American (2002) – 7.0
Stream now on Fubo & Hoopla
In the opening scenes of the film version of Graham Greene’s novel “The Quiet American,” the voice of Michael Caine muses dreamily on the mystique of Saigon in the early 1950s, setting the tone of ironic disillusionment that permeates the rest of the film. Thomas Fowler, one of his main characters, says everything seems more intense there, from the colors, flavors, and rain. If you travel to Saigon with a specific goal in mind, he says in a smooth whisper, you’ll achieve it. Whatever it is, it has everything to do with traveling to exotic locations where one might fantasize about having sexual encounters and exciting adventures.
This film version of Graham Greene’s 1955 novel is directed by Phillip Noyce and was written by Christopher Hampton and Robert Schenkkan. In a performance worthy of an Oscar, Michael Caine shines. Fowler and Pyle’s fight for control of Phuong is only one example of how successfully their psychological chess moves pay off. Their disagreement over how foreigners should be used in Vietnam is more nuanced. The drama effectively portrays the contrast between the jaded optimism of the British journalist and the dogged determination of the young American to prevent the Communist takeover of Vietnam.
The tone established by Mr. Caine’s opening narration is brilliantly maintained throughout “The Quiet American,” which delves deep into Fowler’s mind. According to Fowler, the world is a tattered paradise at the point of collapse. Saigon’s tawdry beauty, though, exerts a sad but compelling pull on him as he contemplates his fate at a riverbank café in the night’s heat, lit by Japanese lanterns.
The Mummy (1999) – 7.1
Stream on TNT
A movie about a guy who slept with the pharaoh’s mistress and lived to (and died from) regret it. As part of his punishment, he is “mummified alive” or confined within a tomb with thousands of flesh-eating bugs. Aeons of time have passed. After meeting and falling in love with Evelyn, a librarian in the 1920s, French foreign legionnaire Rick embarks on a foolish mission with her and her brother to locate Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead. They join a competition with other treasure seekers who’ve heard rumors of great wealth hidden beneath the dunes, but the city’s 3,000-year-old protectors, the descendants of the high priests, are on their way to stop them.
The film’s conception dates back to the late 1980s, and it went through several iterations of plot and creative direction before eventually premiering more than a decade later. The film was well received by critics and audiences alike upon its first release, leading to the creation of several follow-up installments and spinoffs in the franchise. Here are some reasons The Mummy holds up so well, even nearly 25 years after its first release.
Both Fraser and Weisz perform admirably in their roles as rugged heroes. There needs to be an error in Sommers’ screenplay, based on his original story written by Lloyd Fonvielle and executive producer Kevin Jarre, which concerns the Mummy at the film’s end. In his renewed state, Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) has little to do but capture the damsel in distress and sacrifice her at the altar of the sacred knife. Despite this, Mummy is never boring, and the performances from Hannah, Fehr, Djalili, O’Connor, and Bernard Fox (a boozy British eccentric) are commensurate with the visual effects.
Dogfight (1991) – 7.4
Stream now on Kanopy
In Dogfight, six Marines competed to determine who could choose the least attractive woman for a date in San Francisco in 1963. Rose (Lili Taylor), a nervous waitress, chose Birdlace (River Phoenix). She feels ashamed after discovering the nasty contest was the real reason for the date. He explains, treats her to dinner, and then puts her to bed. This rushed story about uncertainty, social pressures, masculine chauvinism, and loneliness isn’t paid much attention by director Nancy Savoca (True Love) or screenwriter Bob Comfort. Nonetheless, they succeed admirably at it.
The events in the film occur in San Francisco in the spring of 1963, just before the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Birdlace, portrayed by River Phoenix, is a young Marine who, along with his fellow recruits, spends his last night on shore liberty. They get together, hire a pub, and organize a contest to see who can locate the ugliest date to have a “dogfight,” a fierce contest. The best Marine “dog” takes home the cash.
The film Dogfight explores our capacity to love over time and space and how our subjective memories might obscure our understanding of the complex paths to get here. Criticism of Dogfight often centers on claims that it overly idealizes the 1960s. That might depend on how romantic you are about young people enjoying brief periods of joy before tectonic upheavals condemn them to uncertain futures filled with trauma. Here’s a movie that doesn’t try to shortcut its way to an easy ending by ignoring that romantic conveniences and shams sometimes go hand in hand.
Gods And Monsters (1998) – 7.4
Stream now on Tubi & Freevee
Like Barker and Whale, British gay actor Ian McKellen utilizes this performance to introduce moviegoers to the wonders of his craft. McKellen reaffirms why many consider him the finest Shakespearean actor of his time, and he is the only decent thing in Bryan Singer’s Apt Pupil. McKellen successfully conveys Whale’s positive and negative characteristics, giving him life via an impressive blend of energy and uncertainty.
We get a feel of the early loss that shaped Whale’s protective approach and the California openness that allowed Clayton Boone to care for a guy he had little in common with, making “Gods and Monsters” a good-hearted but not very profound or compelling picture. It has become clear to James Whale that he no longer had the willpower or the desire to construct himself a lover. However, the film’s look and acting make it enjoyable to watch, and its insight must be considered, despite the uneven quality of Condon’s script.
A body floating in glistening blue water is the most eloquent depiction of Hollywood life and death you can conceive, long after the magnificent architecture of Frankenstein’s imagination has faded from memory.
During its whole 105 minutes, Gods and Monsters manage to keep us engaged in James Whale’s story. Most of us are familiar with his monsters, such as the hunched Karloff creation (whose appearance was suggested by Whale), the bizarrely beautiful Bride of Frankenstein, and Claude Rains’ Invisible Man. Still, we don’t know much about the man who gave them life and struggled daily with his demons. The movie by Condon helps to fix that. Gods and Monsters is a detailed biography of a Golden Era Hollywood filmmaker whose personal life rivaled the drama of his films.
Crash (2004) – 7.8
Stream now on HBO Max
Watch the 2006 Best Picture winner Max Crash and see the furious response to its triumph. In retrospect, the film’s assured execution stands out the most. Paul Haggis (who also co-wrote the screenplay), a director who has complete command over the story he’s telling, wasn’t just tackling racism; he was also demonstrating the subtle but significant chasms that form between people due to differences in age, gender, socioeconomic status, and even the area of Los Angeles in which they live. Well constructed and buoyed by a stellar ensemble that gives the picture its heart, Crash remains as compelling a viewing experience ten years after its first release as it was then.
Everyone in “Crash,” from whites to blacks to Hispanics to Koreans to Iranians to police officers and criminals and the wealthy and the poor and the mighty and the vulnerable, is characterized in some way by prejudice. No one is immune to its effects, and everyone contributes to them. Sure, they sometimes pull through, but it’s rarely that easy. Nobody knows what the other person is thinking, but their destructive impulses may be instinctual, and their positive instincts may be hazardous.
The crash is a challenge, an ongoing manifesto that views the world through the lens of race in practically every scene and word of the conversation but keeps spinning that lens until the colors fade, and we see only what the characters do. What they do is sometimes terrible, to the point that it’s painful to witness, but there’s also potential for courage and dignity. This picture is enjoyable despite its flaws; it’s frequently about as subtle as a car wreck, yet it’s just as captivating.
The Whale (2022) – 8
In Theaters Now
If you were wondering what the film’s title meant, The Whale is fascinated with “honest writing” and Moby Dick. It veers off briefly into territory that may be Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself. Despite its literary pretensions and numerous references, what The Whale is attempting to communicate must be clarified. The character arc is one area where The Whale needs to catch up. You care about Charlie and are secretly cheering for him to succeed, but you have no idea whether or not he feels the same way about himself.
Another issue is that if human misery is the story’s central assumption, the direction might be everywhere. No matter how often you see the film, you will remember Fraser’s fantastic turn as the lead. The eyes make you fall in love with him, not the flesh and prosthetics used to make him appear the part. For every one of us, Charlie will speak to the aspects of ourselves that we’d instead not examine. It may be a daily dose of anxiety for one person and a severe eating issue for another.
This film has been nominated for three Academy Awards. Two of them (makeup and best actor) are almost locks due to the Academy’s fondness for stories in which performers undergo extreme physical makeovers. Character arcs and acting that are genuinely tangled up. And it wasn’t simply Fraser’s natural charisma that was on overdrive; it was also his own. Charlie’s ex-wife, Samatha Morton, is as powerful as ever, and Hong Chau, his friend, and caretaker, Liz, is also excellent.
Conclusion
Brendan Fraser has had a distinguished career, from comedies like The Mummy and George of the Jungle to tragedies like The Whale and School Ties. In celebration of his well-deserved success in the cinema and television industries, we present the following works that, according to the users of IMDb, are among his finest.
