Worst Lead Role Casting Decision

The Three Musketeers (1973) - Frank Finlay as Porthos. Finlay was a great actor, but he was short & thin. The character of Porthos was always huge - in every direction - that's what set him apart from the others.


I LOVED Finlay in The Three Muskteers myself

His performance was great because he's a great actor.

But choosing a physically small actor to play a character who's outstanding feature has always been his immense size for over a century and a half just seems an odd choice when I'm sure there were many actors available who would've fit the body type.

Porthos' character is one who's physical girth is matched only by his ego (and willingness to brag & exaggerate his nobility, bravery & exploits when in reality he's quite lazy & gluttonous). Even his name sounds like "portly."

All they did was put a pillow under Finlay's shirt to make him "Porthos."

Kudos to Finlay for playing the physical opposite of what he was.

There's never been a decent version of The Three Musketeers tbh.
It's a French story... yet they always cast Americans... or... English actors/actresses, who then for some weird reason do American accents.

Want to add Stuart Wilson in Lethal Weapon 3 to the list.
I mean... in parts 1 and 2, they went from Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan, rent-a-baddie Ed O'Ross, Joss Ackland and Derrick O'Connor...

... to, erm, Stuart Wilson?
The character was already kinda bland, but an ex-cop, corrupt cop at that, coulda been made better with someone with a track record.
Hopkins, Walken, Dafoe...
Hell, Nolte coming to the franchise off the back of 48 Hours and Down and Out in Beverly Hills coulda made Lethal Weapon 3 far better than even part 2.

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Oh, Taylor Kitsch and Jai Courtney in anything as well.

Is it just me, or are those two box office poison?

True. Although the ones with Michael York are my favorites (some of the closest to the books - but, as far as I know, there's never been one that is completely faithful to the source)
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There are probably some French versions out there???

They did cast Gerard Depardieu as Porthos in a version of The Man in the Iron Mask (1998).

Just a note - I'd grown up thinking the Musketeers were virtuous heroes to be emulated, but after I read Dumas' novels realized they are not very virtuous. They are heroic in a sense, but they are also violent rogues - thieves, liars, drunkards, adulterers, soldiers, mercenaries and killers, willing to murder over the least offence (but then the early 17th century were some brutal times where killing for "honor" was common even among those who were prone to criminal acts).

Chevy Chase for Christmas Vacation. I haven't seen the other vacation movies, but the guy just can't act to save his life.

Wow, yeah, that one was brutal. Just brutal.

I am definitely not refuting your position, as this is all just a matter of personal taste, but I ended up loving Scarlett in the role despite having been an avid Avengers reader and Black Widow fan for 40 years. I mean, most everybody's a little different in the movies, glaringly the likes of Gamora (who I still can't reconcile with), Drax, and perhaps most bigly, Tony Stark. I mean, the tone they went with for Stark was in such... stark (?) contrast to the character in almost 50 years of comics, it was really jarring for me. But, over time, I came to appreciate what the MCU's version was over what he was not. The same has been true of Drax, although that was much harder for me. But Black Widow ultimately became one of my favorite characters in the MCU and her scenes are often the highlights of all the Avengers movies for me. I was sad to see how things have played out.

Huge fan of Taylor Kitsch. So handsome & I love his voice.

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Ohh, ya don't like Chevy in Christmas Vacation It's basically his movie. But you know what? Even though I like his Vacation films, you're right, he can't act. Luckily the Vacation films are structured so that his lack of acting actually makes them all the more funny. At least I think so, or maybe it's Beverly D'Angelo that makes them work

That's an odd one - especially since it's a screwball comedy where acting ability isn't usually scrutinized.

A big factor here is you haven't seen any of the others and most people (myself included) feel the first movie of the series is the best. Since Chevy has played the same character multiple times he's become expressly associated as that character.

(Personally, I feel 'Christmas' breaks with the others as it's not a travel movie like the other 3. For me, Christmas Vacation is a holiday movie while the others are "road trip" movies. Not that it's lesser, just a different premise from the rest.)

Clark Griswold is an entirely tongue-in-cheek character to begin with - he's kind of like the baser instincts of everyone's dad manifest in one person - he's not a great guy: he's conniving, sarcastic, not always honest, often self-centered, he's concerned about impressing others, he's vain, let's his temper get the best of him, does not always set a good example to this children, is lustful (coming close to committing adultery but never crossing that line), likes to gamble, becomes reckless & irresponsible when under stress, and is easily frustrated while always trying to maintain an air of coolness and a façade that he's in control.

From things I've heard about Chevy Chase - it seems like "Clark" isn't all that far off from his own character.

For fans of the series, it would be hard to imagine anyone else in the role - strangely enough, he and Beverly D'Angelo were the only true consistencies throughout the 4 films (as their children were played by different actors in each one).

I felt the same way about Tony Stark (he was never as sardonic, witty or wise-cracking as Downey Jr.'s version). But since Stark never had a very definitive personality (outside or being the cliched, comic book, rich inventor / playboy) adding some depth to his character was a somewhat welcome addition.

I could see Scarlett J. actually in the role of founding-Avenger: the Wasp (yes, I know they have since got another actress to play her.) Janet Van Dyne started out as a sassy American debutante and always seemed petite - having a similar body type to Scarlett.

I still haven't seen the last Avengers movie - so I don't know how it played out.

Very good point. For those who've followed the character through the 4 movies, it's like Chevy's acting ability (or lack thereof) is translated directly into Clark's quirkiness - and Clark is nothing if not quirky!

Since Clark is really kind of disingenuous - he's almost always putting on an act to some extent that the audience can clearly see through and which we assume most of the other characters can as well... (consider the story he tries to feed Christie Brinkley in the first movie) - the fact that he (and his alter ego Chevy) aren't really that good at acting - makes him look all the more foolish - and looking foolish is the whole point of his character.

And Beverly has always been a great "straight man" to Chevy's "Clark."

Yeah it's hard to say for me, what went wrong, because even though it's a screwball comedy and tongue and cheek, he just couldn't do it for me for some reason, and I just cringe at his acting all the time for some reason.

Maybe give the original a try - the chemistry between all the actors (including the kids) is better. And it's just a fun road trip movie as each location along the way is another chapter in the story. It might provide a different perspective on the sequels.

I kind of wish Rusty and Audrey could have remained the same 2 actors from the first movie - I always wondered if the sequels would have been better received if the kids didn't keep changing from one movie to another.

Sure I will, thanks, I am actually interested in seeing the other two.

Keanu Reeves in Constantine. Much as I love him, he's just not John Constantine. I'd add that he was miscast in Bram Stoker's Dracula too (I see that has already been mentioned) but only because of his accent.

Sofia Coppola in Godfather 3

Speaking of Godfather I saw a movie set in the 60s in which the Godfather books were portrayed as lowbrow literature, was this ever the popular opinion ?

I read somewhere before that when the first The Godfather movie came out, people who read the book, thought the movie was a lot better and a huge improvement, if that's true.

It's funny, I actually really liked Chevy Chase in everything he did up through Fletch and then the wheels kinda came off for me. I mean, I even liked him in Oh Heavenly Dog and Under The Rainbow and definitely in Foul Play and Seems Like Old Times.
It was really at European Vacation that things started to fall apart for me as he began to cultivate that Fool persona that he had started but played with much greater freshness (in my opinion) in the original Vacation but then overdid and ran into the ground with EV, Spies Like Us (which I'm not saying isn't fun), Three Amigos!, and Funny Farm. By the time you get to Christmas Vacation, it's just so tired.
Having been a fan of his it was actually kinda painful to watch his career go down the ****ter so fast. Either he was lazy and just wanted to keep playing that character or that was all Hollywood wanted him to do. Shame, really. I actually don't like or watch Christmas Vacation and never have because I think everything is just overdone and stupid, whether it's Clark or Cousin Eddie or just the script in general.
But I'll watch Foul Play, Seems Like Old Times, Caddyshack, or Fletch any day.