I say the following with love:

Christian Slater’s career is slightly tragic.

Stay with me.

I admit, the guy had quite a following in the 90s and he has managed to keep himself somewhat relevant thanks to voiceover work and the occasional character arc on shows like “The West Wing”. But when you consider that his major competition for roles in the 90s was Johnny Depp, well, I think we know who won that one.

And that’s what makes it tragic. There was so much potential.

Think about it:

1. Hella sexy voice.
2. Killer 5 o’clock shadow
3. Plenty of impressive celebrity girlfriends (Winona Ryder, Christy Turlington)
4. Cult following (thanks to gems like “Pump Up the Volume” and “True Romance”)
5. Just the right amount of ‘bad-boy’ press (see fights with wife, trashed hotel rooms, stint in rehab (allegedly)

Despite all of those winning qualities, the guy just couldn’t find that one big role that would break him into the George Clooney/Brad Pitt/ or even Charlie Sheen/Matt Dillon category.

In going back through his list of credits, I realized that his career is a collection of those so-so films that all big stars have at least 2 or 3 of. Take George Clooney. Sure he’s got misfires like “One Fine Day” and “Batman and Robin”. But for every clunker there’s a “Three Kings”, “Michael Clayton”, “Out of Sight”, etc.

But, luckily for us, there were some solid contributions to the IMDB database that we have Mr. Slater to thank for.

These are my faves:

Untamed Heart

How could you not be moved by Adam and his baboon heart? Sweet little love story centering around the quiet busboy and the sassy waitress. He likes books. She wants to go to cosmetology school. He watches her sleep. She takes him to a hockey game. Eternal love (well, at least until he dies) ensues.

Mobsters

Okay. I’ll say it. I LOVED THIS MOVIE. I was actually in love with Costas Mandylor (look him up) at the time, but this barely better then a made-for-TV movie, played out like “The Godfather” - if it was written by Danielle Steele. Add it to your Netflix list. You won’t be sorry.

Young Guns II: Blaze of Glory

“Shot doooown in a blaze of glory…” Thanks Bon Jovi. I’m a sucker for a bad western (anything Clint Eastwood directs is entirely too highbrow for me). Throw our boy Christian in there with other 90s Teen Beat cover stars like Kiefer Sutherland, Emilio Estevez, and Lou Diamond Phillips and what you’ve got is cinematic gold.

Pump Up The Volume

This is arguably the film most would site as his biggest hit. It had an enormous cult following. As the underground DJ (Hard Harry, anyone?) who spoke the language of all repressed teens everywhere, he had the ladies swooning. Remember the dramatic finale in the parking lot? No - well, I do.

Bed of Roses

Holy crap this movie is not good. Yet somehow I’ve seen it more times then anyone should admit thanks to the USA network. Basically Christian plays the same guy from “Untamed Heart”, only this time he’s the shy florist who woos a career girl played by Mary Stuart Masterson. Maybe it was their lack of chemistry or the insanely bad dialog, but I’m willing to go out on a limb and say this film was the beginning of the end for our fair Mr. Slater.

My fingers are crossed for the guy. I’d love to see him make an honest to goodness comback (the ABC show where he unknowingly led a double life wasn’t it).

In the meantime, he should give Richard Greico a call. I hear he’s not busy these days either.

 

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