Main Cast: Matthew Modine, Catherine Keener, Daryl Hannah, Maxwell Caulfield, Elizabeth Berkley
Release Year: 1997
Country: US
Run Time: 105 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
This romantic comedy from writer and director Tom DiCillo follows some New York City pals seeking authenticity with the real blonde, a symbol of amorous perfection. Joe (Matthew Modine) is an out-of-work actor struggling for even bit parts in Madonna music videos by groveling in front of a high-powered agent (Kathleen Turner), while his makeup artist girlfriend Mary (Catherine Keener) pays the bills. After six years of cohabitation, Joe's lack of success is wearing on their relationship. In the meantime, Joe's friend and fellow actor Bob (Maxwell Caulfield) has finally hit the jackpot with a role on a soap opera opposite the beautiful Kelly (Daryl Hannah), who just might be the real blonde of his dreams. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Review
If you're not quite sure what's been resolved or what points have been made at the end of The Real Blonde, don't worry. Director Tom DiCillo's plot points are like driftwood colliding as it meanders downriver: if lives touch, it's because of chance and location, not because they compel themselves to. DiCillo's characters are usually living in opposition to their dreams. Joe (Matthew Modine) is an actor who longs for success but is so afraid of artistic compromise that he refuses several jobs. His friend Bob (Maxwell Caulfield) pines for "the perfect blonde" -- the ideal sex partner -- but is so afraid of commitment that he dumps lovely blond model Sahara (Bridgette Wilson), who loves him, for a vacuous relationship with a soap opera star (Daryl Hannah). DiCillo has fun exploring stereotypes and seems more interested in studying the characters' situations than their motivations. The movie's short scenes are sharply observed, wryly funny, and somewhat surprising. Sahara and Tina (Elizabeth Berkley) may seem shallow, but Wilson makes her heartbreak poignant and Berkley gives Tina a "little girl lost" appeal. Berkley also displays a deft comic touch that shows how unfair the whole Showgirls debacle really was. DiCillo gives prominent feminist Marlo Thomas a showy role as a fashion photographer whose work Thomas would probably detest in real life, then he shows how artistic fashion photography can be. Such twists and turns give the movie a mature, sophisticated sensibility that would have been lost with a more linear plot progression. Though seemingly unfocused, DiCillo's approach turns a meandering trip downriver into a satisfying journey. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide
Joe is an aspiring actor working as a bus boy in a high-class restaurant. His long-term girlfriend Mary works as a cosmetician for the fashion industry and largely supports him with her steady income. Joe is more concerned with expressing himself than getting a paying job, and has been unwilling to accept roles that do not live up to his artistic standard. Mary supports Joe, but urges him to accept any role to get his foot in the door. Meanwhile, his co-worker Bob lands a lucrative role on a soap opera. Bob is a classically trained actor, but is willing to overlook the quality of the material for the money. He also has a fetish for natural blonde women, leading him to date Sahara, a naive model, and then dump her after discovering that her hair is dyed.
Joe swallows his artistic pride and meets with an agent, Dee Dee Taylor, who arranges for him to be an extra in a Madonnavideo. Mary is harassed as she walks to work each day and begins taking a self-defense and anger management class on the advice of her therapist. The instructor encourages her to express her anger, and she finds the class extremely empowering. Bob is successful in his soap opera role and begins a relationship with his costar Kelly, a "real blonde".
At the Madonna video, the director treats Joe and the other extras like cattle. Joe meets Madonna's body double, Tina, a friendly aspiring actress, and gets himself fired for protesting an anti-Semitic statement made by the assistant director. Joe's firing sparks an argument between Joe and Mary. The pressure of Joe's career is straining their relationship, and they have not had sex in a long time. Mary's instructor, Doug, gives her a ride home from her class and makes a pass at her. She rebuffs him, but lies to cover up the incident to Joe. Meanwhile, Bob suffers erectile dysfunction and is unable to have sex with Kelly. She mocks his inadequacy and leaves him.
Dee Dee takes pity on Joe and allows him to audition for the role of a "sexy serial killer". He reads his lines with Tina and begins to improvise his dialogue. He impresses the producers and lands the role. Tina invites him out for a drink and he resists her advances with some difficulty. Mary meets with her therapist and tells him about her experience with her self-defense instructor. He tells her that she must become comfortable with men showing their attraction to her and begins sharing his own sexual fantasies about her. She storms out of the session. Meanwhile, Bob is negotiating a long-term contract on the soap opera, but Kelly continues to taunt him on set. Bob threatens to quit the show and then forces the producer to kill off Kelly's character.
Bob goes back to dating Sahara, with whom he is miserable. Joe breaks the big news about his role to Mary and they rejoice. Mary asks him if she is wrong for feeling angry when men hit on her. Joe supports her and threatens to beat up her therapist if he ever sees him again. They have sex for the first time in months and drift off to sleep, happy and satisfied. Mary wraps her hand around Joe's finger, revealing that his improvised monologue had been about his feelings for her.
Cast
Matthew Modine as Joe, an aspiring actor with strong opinions
Catherine Keener as Mary, Joe's longtime girlfriend and a successful makeup artist
Maxwell Caulfield as Bob, an actor with a fetish for natural blondes
