Let's get something clear right off the bat: Big, hammy acting isn't necessarily a bad
thing.
Subtlety and realism have their place, but so do grand gestures, wild screaming, and
jumping up and down like a madman.
Sometimes, overblown acting blends in perfectly with the zaniness of the film, and sometimes
it works as a brilliant juxtaposition to all the serious stuff happening on-screen.
These are some of the greatest over-the-top film performances of all time.
The final frontier
If you're a fan of exaggerated acting, it doesn't get any better than Star Trek II:
The Wrath of Khan.
On one side of the aisle, you've got William Shatner as Admiral James T. Kirk, and on the
other hand you have:
"KHAAAAAAAN.
KHAAAAAAN."
And speaking of Khan, the award for deliciously hammy acting goes to Ricardo Montalban for
playing the genetically engineered Übermensch . With perfect pecs and a twinkle in his eye,
Montalban is having a blast as Kirk's arch-enemy.
Whether he's making death threats or giving romantic speeches, the man literally hisses
with hatred.
"Ahhhhh…
Not so wounded as we were led to believe.
So much the better."
It's even more fun in the scenes where he's playing against Shatner; with all their exaggerated
gestures, it feels like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.
"Kirk… you're still alive, my old friend."
"Still.
Old.
Friend."
It's a true space opera, and Montalban knows exactly what he's doing: boldly going where
no Star Trek villain had gone before.
Say hello to my little friend
Directed by Brian De Palma, Scarface is one of the greatest gangster movies ever made,
and that's thanks to Al Pacino's performance as Tony Montana.
With an outrageous accent, Pacino bullies his way through every scene, dripping with
venom as he drops epic lines:
"Why don't you try sticking your head up your a--.
See if it fits."
The more cocaine he snorts, the crazier his performance becomes, and Pacino is absolutely
mesmerizing as he staggers through a restaurant, telling the patrons
"So say goodnight to the bad guy.
Come on."
Of course, his tour de force moment comes in the film's climax, as the drug-addled kingpin
grabs a machine gun and utters his most iconic line:
"Say hello to my little friend."
It's an incredible scene, big and bloody and unbelievably bonkers, just like Pacino's performance.
Game over, man!
The first four Alien films were all anchored by Sigourney Weaver's lean, mean, and fantastic
turn as Ellen Ripley.
But while Weaver plays a strong, spartan hero, Bill Paxton takes things in a slightly more
eccentric direction in the second film Aliens.
As Private Hudson, Paxton plays the ultimate dude bro who think he's the ultimate badass.
Hudson has a big, dumb grin, a cocksure swagger, and he walks around like a John Wayne wannabe.
If there was an Oscar for obnoxiousness, Paxton would've picked up the prize.
"Is this gonna be a stand-up fight, sir, or just another bug hunt?"
But when the xenomorphs show up, all that frat boy bravado scurries away, leaving a
wide-eyed Hudson in permanent freak-out mode.
It's not a game to Hudson anymore.
In fact:
"well, that's it man, game over man.
GAME OVER."
Hail to the king, baby
While Bruce Campbell's performance as the unfortunate Ash Williams was pitch perfect
in the first two Evil Dead movies, Army of Darkness lets the man go absolutely wild.
There's nothing holding him back here, and Campbell is having the time of his life dropping
one-liners that are oozing with cheese.
"Alright you primitive screwheads, listen up.
See this?
This... is my BOOMSTICK."
When he fights a witch in a watery pit, Campbell plays the part like a WWE star.
And when skeletal arms start popping out of a cemetery, his little dance through the graveyard
is downright delightful.
The greatest showcase of his unique talents comes when he battles an army of pint-sized
Ash monsters and sings "London Bridge is Falling Down."
"London bridge is falling down, falling down.
Falling down."
It's an incredibly bizarre sequence think Jim Carrey meets the Three Stooges.
It's wonderful, schlocky fun, and when it comes to over-the-top performances, well:
"Hail to the king, baby."
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