THOR + RENEE ZELLWEGER = ?????
Remember him? How could you forget? Vincent D’Onofrio? The actor that played the real life comic book hero, Thor, in 1987’s Adventures in Babysitting….(Yes the same individual that Renee Zellweger thanked during her speech for her Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2004). Correct me if I’m wrong, but I just find that totally bizarre. I mean, why would Renee thank Thor? Her words: (I’d like to thank) “Vincent D’Onofrio for teaching me how to work.” Yes, they were co-stars in The Whole Wide World back in ’96, but that does not explain why she thanked him. Something must have HAPPENED on that set! What did he do? Could he have really changed her life that much? I mean I didn’t question it when she thanked Tom Cruise right after Vincent…I mean…he “had her at hello”…duh! But what did Thor have her at? If anyone knows this…please tell me …it’s really starting to bother me.
Like Flight of the Navigator, Adventures in Babysitting is one of those movies that I reflect upon from time to time. On average, I’d say I’ve thought about A.I.B about eight times a year since 1987. (More when I lived in Chicago… 1998-2003.) Sometimes it pops into my mind at random times like when I am beating my brother Rick at tennis, but most of the time it happens because I see something that reminds me of a scene from the movie. I mean obviously when I see a chair with an attached TV…nostalgic memories fill my mind. The way Penelope Ann Miller’s near-sighted character, Brenda, sat in those bleak TV-attached-seats in that Chicago bus station, strapped for cash. Heartbreaking. Couldn’t even buy a hot dog with a check! TOUGH. Then there were times I would be driving into downtown Chicago and spot the Smurfit-Stone Building and think about how poor little Sara Anderson (played by Maia Brewton) hung onto that famous triangle shaped building while her parents partied inside. Again… TOUGH. All she wanted to do was meet Thor (aka: Renee’s muse) and there she was, near-death!! Sara wore that helmet with two horns with pride and I will never forget that moment that Sara and Thor shared when she gave him her beloved headpiece. Touching.
I know you are probably wondering…what’s up with the cast of this underrated 1987 movie? What are they doing now?!?!? So I took the liberty to put togther a little “where are they now segment” so you all can start resting peacefully.
SOOO….WHERE ARE THEY NOW? THE CAST OF ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING….
ELIZABETH SHUE: who played the main character, Chris Parker, just wrapped an untitled Kurt Russel/Dakota Fanning project. If you are wondering who Dakota Fanning is…yeah, she is the little blonde girl that is currently cast in every major film coming out in the next ten years.
MAIA BREWTON: as I mentioned above, played Sara Anderson, lover of Thor. Her last acting gig, a short film titled: Is This Your Mother? She graduated from Yale in ’98.
KEITH COOGAN: who played Brad Anderson, the kid OBSESSED with Chris Parker (how could you forget him?), was last seen in Soulkeeper as “Male Tour Guide.”
ANTHONY RAPP: who played Daryl Coopersmith, has just reunited with the director of A.I.B and is filming the movie version of RENT.
PENELOPE ANN MILLER: the beloved broke Brenda is now filming the movie Personal Effects. She used to date Al Pacino.
GEORGE NEWBERN: the guy who played not only the memorable frat boy E. Shue falls in love with, but also the fiance in 1991’s smash hit Father or the Bride and 1995’s flop of a sequel Father of the Bride Part 2, can be seen currently in the Disney Channel Original Movie, Buffalo Dreams.
And last but not least: VINCENT D’ONOFRIO: THOR!!!! You can currently see him in Thumbsucker with Keanu Reeves and Vince Vaughn.
Well, there ya go.
I’m off to go find me one of those helmets, eat some Captain Crunch, and scale some buildings.