Way back when, Meg Ryan was the light-hearted romantic lead. And she fitted it perfectly. Any RomCom that came out with her in it was an automatic “watch”. Well, that was the case for me and my circle of friends. And tucked in somewhere between the delightful You’ve Got Mail and Kate & Leopold was a more serious Proof of Life.
And you know what? She pulled off this role very well. I really enjoyed her out of that light-hearted stereotype we’d gotten to know her as.
Here she is Alice Bowman, living in South America with her husband Peter (David Morse), who is kidnapped by guerillas opposing the pipeline plan he is working on. Desperate to get him back, she hires negotiator Terry Thorne (Russell Crowe) to try secure Peter‘s release.
Having had some marital tensions leading up to the kidnapping, she is placed in a full stress situation of getting him back but at the same time spending many long hours with Terry. This stirs up some interesting situations. Which Meg Ryan pulls of so convincingly. What I enjoy about her role here is how she manages to pull us into her conflicting emotions of being the concerned wife but also feeling an attraction to the rescuer. And not once do we “see” her RomCom persona in Proof of Life as can tend to happen when actors focus on one type of role. This just shows how wonderful Meg Ryan was as an actress (“was” because I haven’t seen her in anything since Kate & Leopold).
That final scene always leaves me wondering how things would have turned out if circumstances had been different.
So, here’s to you Meg Ryan. Wishing you a very Happy Birthday for Pfeiffer Pfilms and Meg Movies‘ “The Meg Ryan Birthday Blogathon”.
Speaking of Proof of life.. are you still up for chocolate swap.. how many bars this time and what flavour… sent you an email re this but not sure if it went to your spam folder. Hope all good there…
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Chocolate swap still good. I did answer your mail. Two bars? Same as last time for you, right? For me…totally up to you.
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Yup sounds good to me or maybe 3…??? x Will send you an email re this..
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Perfect. Yours bought and ready to go…☺️
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Are we going for 2 or 3? Did you get my email with new details…
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Is it 2 o3 we going for?? Not sure…
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Let’s do two. Is easier to package. We can do a New Year exchange again.
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Sounds good to me, will get you a package sorted this week!
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No stress. As it comes. Have a lovely evening
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You too… contact me if you up for another crazy tag post next year sometime!
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Ooh…yes…sounds good. I’ll mail you…
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Just sent off your chocolate today xx Usual flavours since I know you like them x
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Thanks. Yours on their way too!
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I’m glad you chose to feature Proof of Life. Like a lot of the later Meg Ryan movies it’s never been given much respect, I’m as much to blame as anyone because I don’t think I’ve ever given it a mention over at my place. For me Meg Ryan seemed to get better as the years went by, her performances in Hanging Up and In The Land Of The Women were great as well. Sadly I do think you’re right, Meg “was” wonderful, but after only one or two movies in the last ten years it’s unlikely we’ll see her on the big screen in the near future.
Thanks as always for your support.
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Thanks for your great comment. And thanks for hosting this Blogathon.
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PS I have yet to see Hanging Up but it has been on my list for years. One day…
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I thought she was really good in this one. She never got enough credit as an actress and then this got a bit overshadowed by the personal life stuff. Still it was a strong performance. Makes me want to go give it a rewatch.
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Yep…I’m also tempted to have a rewatch.
Have a wonderful day further.
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