#vincent ventresca

[isabellaofparma]

cold case rewatch (4/∞)

1.06 - 'Love Conquers Al'

[jackharkness]

DARIEN FAWKES➔ [3/?]

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[tparadox]

Yesterday's Movies crashes Romy and Michele's High School Reunion

Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion. Touchstone Pictures 1997.

[camyfilms]

FRIENDS 1994-1995

Gum would be perfection. Gum would be perfection. I could have said gum would be nice, could have said I'll have a stick. But no no no no no, for me, gum is perfection. I loathe myself.

[bryan-damage]

Let me try this again.

I'm watching the old tv series Invisible Man, which aired for two seasons back in 2001 - 2002 or so. It's an extremely low-budget science fiction show that was (I think) produced and originally aired on the Syfy Channel when they were new. The SFX are mostly computer generated and the CGI is very rudimentary, but what sells it is the writing and actor Vincent Ventresca, who stars as the title character.

This show is such a great example of how to make something interesting with almost no money. None of the actors on this show are famous but they are all professionals and give it everything they've got. I'm watching the pilot right now and so far the most famous actor I've seen is Joe Polito, who was in a number of Coen brothers movies (Miller's Crossing and The Big Lebowski come to mind), and his role was pretty small.

Vincent Ventresca's most famous role outside of this was probably the tiny role of "Fun Bobby", who made a few appearances on the tv show Friends.

He plays Darien Fawkes, a cat burglar who wears vintage clothing and has amazing hair and is constantly quoting various philosophers so I guess he likes to read. He's kind of a gray-area good guy, an anti-hero of sorts (I guess? The term "anti-hero" is overused), and he botches a job pretty bad and ends up looking at life in prison. Lucky for him, his brother is a scientist working on a top secret project as the creator of an artificial gland that can be implanted into a person's brain and allow them to secrete a substance called "quicksilver", which makes them invisible. Fawkes reluctantly agrees to be the test subject for the gland, undergoes surgery, becomes The Invisible Man, and then his brother gets murdered so now he's stuck with the gland and he wants it out.

He gets paired with a secret agent named Bobby Hobbes, played by Paul Ben-Victor, who has never had a major high-publicity role but has shown up in minor roles in a lot of movies and shows. Bobby Hobbes is basically a top agent who is burdened with a lot of mental health problems and he struggles to be taken seriously. He and Fawkes have a great rapport and are very much one of the highlights of the series.

The two of them work for The Agency. They didn't even give it a name, they just called it The Agency because that's how secret it is.

The Agency is headed by The Official (no name given), played by Eddie Jones. The only other thing I've ever seen Eddie Jones in was C.H.U.D. (the 1984 horror movie). He is usually seated at a desk with his "bean counter" sycophant, Eberts (Mike McCafferty, who was in Idiocracy).

Fawkes can turn invisible, but the bad guy, Arnaud de Ferhn, put some kind of glitch in the gland that causes him to lose his mind from quicksilver toxicity or something, and it has to be regularly controlled with a "counteragent" that has to be injected whenever the plot needs it to happen. When Fawkes has "quicksilver madness", he becomes dangerously malevolent and his eyes get really bloodshot.

The person on staff who studies the gland and Darien, and administers the counteragent, is just called The Keeper (played by Shannon Kenny, I've never seen her in anything else), sometimes called Claire Keeply, but it's hard to say if that's her real name.

Anyway, the show is mostly about them investigating weird phenomena that always turn out to be something that combines science fiction with spy fiction with a touch of horror here and there.

It got cancelled after two seasons. It had a pretty small but vocal fan base but it was never enough to get a third season produced.

[imdonnalynn]

SHIP SERIES

Darien Fawkes / Claire "The Keeper" The Invisible Man (series 2000 - 2002)

The dynamic between these two started off clinical. She was his "Keeper" his medical doctor to keep an eye on him because of the gland. Over the course of its 2 seasons, they grew closer and even once kissed due to Darien being in the middle of quicksilver madness and Claire had been given a drug that lowered her inhibitions (see gif for results). The show was ended way too early, but it was so good.

[spocktaculartea]

XAVIER FROM WEDNESDAY LOOKS LIKE BILLY FROM ROMY AND MICHELE’S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION. 

[duranduratulsa]

Up next on my 90's Fest Movie 🎥 and TV 📺 Marathon...Romy And Michelle's High School Reunion (1997) on classic DVD 📀! #movie #movies #comedy #romyandmicheleshighschoolreunion #MiraSorvino #lisakudrow

#janeanegarofalo #juliacampbell #AlanCumming #elainehendrix #camrynmanheim #vincentventresca #dvd #90s #90sfest #durandurantulsas2ndannual90sfest

[cinematicct]

Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997)

This original ‘90s comedy film stars Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite) and Lisa Kudrow (Friends) as unaccomplished yet carefree best friends Romy White and Michele Weinberger, respectively, who decide to fabricate their lives at their ten-year high school reunion.

The supporting cast includes: Janeane Garofalo as cynical outsider/businesswoman Heather Mooney, Alan Cumming as high school geek/millionaire Sandy Frink, Julia Campbell as A-group leader/mean girl/stay-at-home mom Christie Masters, Vincent Ventresca (aka Fun Bobby on Friends) as former athlete Billy Christianson, Camryn Mannheim as the overly perky Toby Walters, Elaine Hendrix (known for her role as antagonistic fiancée Meredith Blake in Disney’s The Parent Trap) as A-group member/fashion editor Lisa Luder and Justin Theroux as social outcast Clarence.

Mira Sorvino (who speaks with a strong Valley Girl accent) and Lisa Kudrow both excel in this movie in their own comedic style. Romy is a low self-esteemed though assertive woman who works a dead-end job as a clerk for a car dealership. Michele is a ditzy but easygoing person (who happens to have the exact similarities as Phoebe Buffay) who is unemployed. Janeane Garofalo is quite the scene-stealer with her biting satire. Alan Cumming surprisingly pulls off the image of both social nerd and a man of extreme wealth in one minor role.

In terms of observing the everyday lives of the two main characters, (both in high school and adulthood), Romy and Michele were picked on by their peers for their outward appearances (Romy being overweight and Michele having to wear a back brace) and oddities, only to live a casual but unmotivated lifestyle in Venice Beach, California upon graduation. However, they enjoy hobbies that include freakishly elaborate fashion design and dancing at nightclubs. When they receive word of the high school reunion, they feel the need to reinvent themselves by dressing more appropriately, getting in better shape and finding better jobs as well as boyfriends. However, time is running short for them to succeed, so they come up with the idea to impress everyone by claiming to be the inventors of Post-It Notes.

The script is smartly written in the form of a sitcom-like formula that details the central topic of two clueless girls in their late twenties who don’t seem to have gotten anywhere in life. Apart from the intention to rub their so-called business in their tormentors’ faces, Romy and Michele’s friendship is put to the test when they begin to disagree with each other on who came up with what specific part of an everyday item they didn’t really invent. It is during that particular moment Romy and Michele argue over who’s “the Mary” (the lead) and/or “the Rhoda” (the associate), referring to the The Mary Tyler Moore Show. This particular comedic element conveys a hugely entertaining (and delusional) banter.

The reunion is the primary setting of the movie, demonstrating the difference between how people were perceived in high school versus how they’re perceived nowadays as as young adults. But it goes to show that while some people might wish to avoid embarrassment, anyone can still make an impression on others by just being themselves.

The soundtrack contains a collection of popular ‘80s hits. The track list includes: “Just a Girl” (a ‘90s song) by No Doubt, “Blood and Roses” by The Smithereens, “I Want Candy” by Bow Wow Wow, Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” (heard twice in the film, the second time during an offbeat dance routine), “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” by Belinda Carlisle and “We Got the Beat” by the Go-Go’s to name a few.

Lastly, the message of the film is that it doesn’t matter what goal you aim to achieve, but what really matters is having a buddy to support you and your life choices every step of the way. What’s more, this movie proves that blondes do indeed have more fun in a world that differs entirely from reality. All in all, I recommend this tremendously funny cult classic to each and every one of you.

“HAVE A ROMY AND MICHELE DAY!”

[jackharkness]

DARIEN FAWKES➔ [2/?]

[ropermike]

Vincent Ventresca in The Invisible Man - "The Catevari". More pics here.

Darien investigates a patient with unusual powers at a secret hospital.

[livingwithhorrors]

Everyday it seems I add another fanfic I wish to write, but been years and still haven’t written even the first I wanted to!

I love FOREVER and finally started watching Harrow on Hulu. Still such fun to see Ioan as a Forensics Pathologist. He has the same exact way about playing an intelligent Sherlockian figure of solving murders. Sadly no longer with a supernatural twist.  I so wish someone had picked up FOREVER after seeing how similar at times Harrow feels to it and it having 3 seasons. So I haven’t even finished the fist season, know the secret, and want to write a crossover of Forever and Harrow. Another I’ve wanted to do of a crossover is Psych and Invisible Man. Ever since seeing the episode with Vincent Ventresca who played Darien Fawkes the Invisible Man on Syfy in 2000. 

Continuing the crossovers I want to do one of Moon Knight and Night at the Museum and I have happily seen others like the idea and have written some as well.  One I’d love to do, that I don’t know if I’d do any crossovers for would be a Reader insert or OC fanfic, but haven’t pushed myself to do it.  A similar line, I’ve been trying to write an original piece for years and have slowly built up on characters, but never been able to find a place to start and go forward with.  Until then, I do wish to finish my IT / Castle Rock crossover.

[grandmastv]

“Time flies when you're having fun, or in a coma. I'd been unconscious nearly three weeks. Just enough time for every muscle in my body to go on strike. But even though it was nice to be up and around, there are some days when you just shouldn't get out of bed. My brother knew about me and spiders. He knew how I'd react. But only he knew what was coming next.“

The Invisible Man, Pilot (2000).

[prodbionic]

Today I remembered my first introduction to the world of whump.

The Invisible Man

The SyFy 2000-2002 series

God I loved that show to the point of madness.

I think I was 9? 10?

I'm going to find it. And I'm going to watch it for the first time in 20 years.

[bryan-damage]

I'm watching the old tv series Invisible Man, which aired for two seasons back in 2001 - 2002 or so. It's an extremely low-budget science fiction show that was (I think) produced and originally aired on the Syfy Channel when they were new. The SFX are mostly computer generated and the CGI is very rudimentary, but what sells it is the writing and actor Vincent Ventresca, who stars as the title character.

I remember one time visiting Charlie and his family and we were talking about a TV show he liked, and I mentioned that I was watching this show and he immediately started mocking the show, "Yeah, my old lady likes that show" he says, "I have no respect for it". He used those words: I have no respect.

That's kind of his thing. He hates everything.

I always hated that he called his wife his "old lady". I feel like there's something about that phrase that is said with the intent that it cuts her down.

Honestly, he could have just said that he saw the show and didn't care for it. But he had to lay into it, made it into a whole performance, just to be a dick to his wife, and just to be a dick to me.

And every day I ask myself why I have spent so much of my life thinking of this guy as a friend.