Richard Dreyfuss Can't Remember His Anti-American Dialogue

Richard Dreyfuss and Elizabeth McGovern have travelled across the pond to star in a play about America’s torture of terrorist suspects. That’s right, not “alleged” torture. It’s a fact as far as this play is concerned. And, the funny thing about the Variety review is that the fact that the whole world knows that America is guilty of torture undermines the effect of the play:

The terrible timing is not Kevin Spacey’s fault: He couldn’t have known “Complicit” — U.S. dramatist Joe Sutton’s fictional indictment of his country’s possible condoning of torture and rendition — would premiere after President Obama had taken steps to dismantle that practice.

Clips of a TV interview with real-life BBC senior political commentator Andrew Marr provide details of Ben’s inflammatory publication, none of which can be news to British audiences with even a cursory knowledge of Guantanamo and other widely exposed scandals.

The idea of starring in a play directed by Kevin Spacey at The Old Vic along with the opportunity to slander and indict his country on foreign soil must have been too great a temptation for Dreyfuss to pass up. But, according to Bloomberg, he should have taken a little extra time in trying to learn his lines before taking to the boards:

The U.S. actor has often spoken of his poor memory. In “Complicit,” the director Kevin Spacey takes the unusual step of allowing Dreyfuss to wear an earpiece for word prompts. In Spacey’s minimalist in-the-round production at the Old Vic, the device is fully visible.

Although this was probably a more elegant solution for Dreyfuss’ problem than Val Kilmer’s infamous use of teleprompters in Ten Commandments, The Musical, it’s still pretty embarrassing to stride the same boards as Edmund Kean, John Gielgud and Alec Guiness with a production assistant whispering lines in your ear… Weak call, Mr. Holland.

But a minor detail like learning ones lines for a play shouldn’t stop an actor from seizing the moment and trashing your country with lies and innuendo. I love how the “US tortures prisoners at Gitmo” is just accepted as common knowledge in some circles. I can’t stand up at a cocktail party and gently question the accuracy of such a statement without being inundated with a barrage of ad hominem attacks on my intelligence. If you don’t agree with the premise, you’re just an idiot!

I may be an idiot, but for the chance to play the Old Vic, I could learn my lines in a week… and I’m not even an actor!

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