True West

I believe I have never seen a play acted out and taped for television in front of a live studio audience before, I didn't even know it was a play before I hit the button to watch it - I just thought it was a Bruce Willis movie I somehow overlooked because I'm pretty familiar with his filmography and True West didn't ring a bell to me but once I started watching... oh my.

I know Bruce is a good actor, and despite his works from the last ten years I still believe so. But here he shows a whole other side of his abilities, he shows that he really is a great actor if he puts his soul into what he's doing.

True West is a story of two brothers: Lee, down on his luck bum drinking a new can of beer every two minutes, and Austin, a successful screenwriter in the middle of his new movie deal. Lee is jealous of his younger brother so he tries to make it as a screenwriter too which birthes a wave of jealousy in Austin as well when both of them go off the rails on the edge of insanity and it all snowballs into a huge mess of things down at their mother's kitchen.

Bruce Willis and Chad Smith's duo is uncanny, chemical and very life-like, although with some over the top shouting and throwing stuff around that I didn't really thought was that necessary but they make it seem authentic enough so much so that I don't really know whether to laugh at the whole situation they got themselves into or call the police. Their quarrels, bickering and back and forth fast dialogues are the highlight of this little play in my apartment and acting is absolutely top notch from both of them.

Relatives drive each other crazy all the time, it's in their nature - they're bonded by blood in it - but the most important thing here is that along with arguing there must be some place left for love too, and Lee and Austin surely have that, buried deep beneath twenty thousand layers of beer in them.

My wife and I were fortunate enough to see this at the Liberty Theater in Hailey before it was produced for Showtime. We had front row seats and were many times really nervous about all the flinging and flailing (especially the toast) on stage. Now, that's good theater. We also joined the Company of Fools as donors (Bruce Willis and Demi Moore are on board of directors) so they could continue the good work. The Showtime production does the play justice. It's almost as good as being there.

Not only did I see the movie I saw the play in Hailey, Idaho. I enjoyed the play more than the movie and the movie was great. I have been to many plays, performed by many "name" actors. Many times I have been disappointed; left with the feeling that these people can't act without doing a "take" a number of times; also with the need for perfect camera angles. In a live performance you get one chance. I went to see "True West" with the same expectation, after all it was "Yipee-ki-yay" Bruce, but I was astonished. Bruce's portrayal of "Lee" was amazing. I forgot I was watching Bruce Willis the actor. I was watching the sometime funny, sometime violent, relationship between two very different brothers; Lee (Bruce Willis) and Austin (played perfectly by Chad Smith). Bruce Willis has an acting range that I believe is not acknowledged nor appreciated by the public. I know; I was one of them.

I saw this play in New York with Sinise and Malkovich and was blown out of my seat. It was so good I didn't think I ever wanted to see anyone else in these roles. I was mistaken. Bruce Willis is truly a remarkable talent (as stated by Paul Newman). People who think he can only do 'hotshot' movies with chases and fights should check this out. Starting with an incredible script by Sam Shepard, Willis and Chad Smith chew the scenery with riveting dead-on performances. In the midst of this sometimes scary play about the relationship between brothers, you will also find yourself laughing till you cry. My only regret is, moments like this come along at rare moments. Probably because the general public has forgotten how to appreciate this kind of writing and acting, and has developed the Terminator mindset which precludes watching anything like this. What a shame. DO YOURSELF A BIG FAVOR... WATCH THIS MOVIE! And please, Bruce, please do more work like this. Don't cheat us out of your very wide range of talent.