The Best and Worst of Dennis Quaid

“The Best and Worst of” series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of “The Intruder” star Dennis Quaid.

Films starring Dennis Quaid that I've seen:
The Parent Trap
Any Given Sunday
Frequency
The Rookie 
Far from Heaven
The Day After Tomorrow
Flight of the Phoenix
Vantage Point
G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra
Legion
Soul Surfer
Footloose
The Words
Movie 43
Kin

Best Performance: Far from Heaven (2002)
While Todd Haynes' melodramatic style doesn't gel with my tastes, the terrific acting made me enjoy Far from Heaven a bit more than the other movies of his that I've seen. As a successful marketing executive in 1950's Connecticut whose life gets uprooted once he's outed as a gay man, Quaid had arguably the toughest role of the entire ensemble and he absolutely nailed it. The realistic manner in which he slowly unravels after his secret is made known to his wife (Juliane Moore, also brilliant) and employers as well as how he comes to eventually accept his sexuality makes for a staggering performance that deserved every piece of awards attention it got.  

Worst Performance: Legion (2010)
Since he at least attempts to inject a little bit of humor into the droll proceedings, Quaid ends up being the MVP of this god awful genre mashup by default. However, he's still a largely lifeless presence in a stoic B-grade project that was in dire need of some self-aware absurdity.

Best Film: The Rookie (2002)
It may lack the corny yet effective fantastical elements of The Natural and Field of Dreams or the infectious 80's swagger of Bull Durham, but The Rookie is still a damn fine baseball movie. This biopic about Texas science teacher Jim Morris' (Quaid) unlikely journey to the major leagues at the age of 35 has all of the warmth, entertainment value and emotional resonance you want in an inspirational sports underdog story.  

Worst Film: Legion (2010)
With a beautifully dumb premise centered around angels coming down to Earth to exterminate the human race, Legion could've been a excellent piece of action horror trash. Instead, it somehow ended up being a stunningly humorless film with poor pacing, minimal gory action and bafflingly large amount of religious subtext that wasn't even remotely fun to watch.  

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “Poms” star Jacki Weaver.