“Just showing up doesn’t get the job done.” said John Wayne,
countering the more famous Woody Allen quip. However, for Dennis Hopper, just
his appearance in Hoosiers seemed, at the time, to be 90% of his success. In fact, Hopper showed up in three outstanding
performances in 1986 (also River’s Edge, Blue Velvet), each one highly unique.
Coupled with his emergence from a decade of hard self abuse and artistic pique,
it’s easy to see why his peers chose this role to nominate for Best Supporting
Actor. Hopper lost to Michael Caine in Hannah And Her Sisters. But he was the sentimental favorite and his
appearance at the Oscars that year, the foreshadow of a moment Lindsey Lohan
still awaits.
The movie and the part have not worn well over the years;
there’ve been better drunks written for the screen. But Hopper invested this
part with a huge amount of personal truth. The fact that he shares scenes with
an old pro like Gene Hackman also helped. The relationship between Shooter and
Coach Dale is clearly a paternal one, with Hackman attempting to give Hopper a
last chance, just as the coach is also on his last legs. This mimics a number
of great screen pairings, for example Dean Martin and John Wayne in Rio Bravo. The
curious thing in this movie is that Shooter’s own son is on the team Hackman is
coaching. This creates the interesting tension of having Hopper attempt to
redeem himself to both father and son.
And this is the importance of the role to Hopper’s body of
work. In earlier movies, he played the hurt and rebellious son, when the 90’s
rolled around he began a string of regretful fathers. In this movie, he is
allowed a chance to bridge the gap. Not from drunk to sober as is usually
harped upon, but, at age 50, from adolescent to adult. In an interview, Hopper said about the part
that, at the end, we have no idea if Shooter is going to sober up. Hopper was
far too familiar with alcoholic behavior to ever suggest such an easy
resolution. Although the team achieves a cliched ‘miracle on pine,’ Shooter is
left at the end still in detox, cheerleading in a hospital gown.
But returning to the opening quote, the job doesn’t even get started without showing up. Hopper’s return to grace ushered in a period of steady work for him. Parts were being written for him and his tempered behavior allowed him a much more productive dialogue with directors. Finally, he was listened to and appreciated and his gift had evolved into a mature and disciplined craft.
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