This abrupt dismissal of my favorite television family post-Once & Again was due to two things primarily: first there was that sadistic atypical episode in which David was kidnapped and tortured by a john... and how it went from being a show about three families with some fascinating psychologies to three families without a single sane person amongst their ever expanding number. A little insanity and depression was fascinating/fun/revealing. A whole lot of looney was just annoying/sad/redundant.I am a completist to some extent so I knew I'd eventually give the last season a chance. And here I am finally watching it. (Just finished the famous "NARM!" episode --I'm about halfway through the season I think? ) So why am I writing about it now? Well this is all a very long way of giving a shout out to an actress I really like, Tina Holmes, who no one ever talks about and no casting director ever casts for roles of any weight --just guest spots. What gives?
I first fell (hard) for Tina Holmes playing an unwilling faghag in her film debut The Edge of Seventeen which opened in the summer of 99 in very limited release. If you haven't seen it it's worth renting. A lot of indie gay movies are sloppy, low budget, shallow, etc... This one is great. It's about the messy painful memorable coming of age/coming out process. And it does all of that while also painting a funny true portrait of life as a midwestern teenager in the 1980s (trust me I would know). Anyway, Tina is superb in the movie. It's her first film or television role and she just nails it, totally grounding the movie in raw emotional accuracy as the confused yanked around girlfriend of a gay teen (played by Chris Stafford, who apparently has quit acting and gone to law school. Shame.) After seeing this film I expected a big career for Ms. Holmes. Instead there's just been TV guest spots. I was thrilled to see her added to the Six Feet Under lineup, a show which has always given female guest stars great material on which to chew. Illeana Douglas, Kathy Bates, Patricia Clarkson, Catherine O'Hara... they've all had lots of fun with their dips into the Six Feet Under water.
This post is directed at casting directors everywhere: This actress is a keeper so please find her work. She blends into ensembles with ease and she has a beautifully grounded and wistful screen presence. Plus, you can hang really layered emotional material on her and she will never misstep. GIVE THIS WOMAN WORK!
That is all.
P.S. I found the 6FU photo of Tina Holmes on this blog Thoughts on Stuff and swiped it. But he has a long post just about Tina's character "Maggie" which you can click over to read if you miss Six Feet Under.
tags: movies, television, Six Feet Under, Tina Holmes, HBO
