If there is one thing you should know about me -- a curly-haired actor living in Vancouver -- it’s my adoration for the work of Christina Ricci.
Early Indoctrination
Casper was the start; I remember my sister received the VHS on the same Christmas I received the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers movie (another obsession for another day). Both were in those bulky white plastic cases, remember those?
If I were to put into words why her portrayal of Kat in the film caught my attention I wouldn't know what to say -- perhaps "above the rest." Others could have done the role but who else would have delivered this soliloquy in a way that has cemented it my head for all time?:
And even after all she's done since, that role is still stuck on IMDb's mind too. When you search her name, this appears:
Then into my life came Gold Diggers. Now And Then. A handful more. Loved 'em. Love 'em. But it was around this time I discovered a love of horror films and teen dramedy. Christina was doing both. Make no mistake, I was way to young too be watching that stuff but old enough to know persistence and being sneaky will pay off, kids. I devoured:
Buffalo ‘66 - it made me feel weird and now … well, I still feel weird;
The Opposite of Sex - "My mother was the kind of mother who always said she was her daughter's best friend. Whenever she did, I thought, great, not only do I have a shitty mother but my best friend's a loser bitch."
Sleepy Hollow - captivating film, the time I noticed that CR films were a pattern in my life;
200 Cigarettes - annual New Year's tradition for me ... adore the character portrayals here;
and of course, Bless the Child (*sob*).
My Name Is Justin and I'm a Ricci-holic
My first email address was a Hotmail account: ricci_fan@hotmail.com. The account was killed by the Hotmail virus that plagued most of us. RIP.
I used it until the end of my first year of college.
It would be a long blog if I were to list off my thoughts of all of the films she has done -- points if you know the film Miranda -- so let me just say that you need to see Black Snake Moan and Around The Block.
Pan Am left us too soon, right Maggie?
Yeah, she's peeved.
My Vice & Inspiration
My money as a youth was spent collecting DVDs and VHS tapes. The VHS tapes were sold (albeit for charity) to make space but the DVDs live on. Christina (along with an esteemed few) has a special section at the back of my DVD binder I put the discs in. (Don't panic, fellow film collectors, I still have the inserts, just not the plastic cases!)
If I haven't convinced you yet of my nerd obsession with her work, let this be a hieroglyph of the subject as written on the modern-day cave walls of Twitter:
ALSO! How exciting is her return to TV with Juliette Lewis in Yellowjackets gonna be?
Watch-party, anyone?
Hi, I'm Casper
So what it is this all getting to? Well, it was just announced she will be attending the Vancouver Fan Expo this winter! (Wanna go? Click the link for tickets!)
Soooooo I am also announcing that I, too, will be there! To say hi, thank you, and geek out over Desert Blue and Cursed.
So, yes, the point of this blog was simply to say that I cannot wait to see Christina!
Thank you for indulging me. Hopefully you can add a movie to your "watchlist" that you never heard of before! Like, maybe, Pumpkin:
* Trailer is a bit spoiler-y, recommend stopping at :30 seconds to get a sense of the film.
Until next time!
PS - Justice for Cheri. #blessthechild
PPS - Can you believe I went the whole post without mentioning The Addams Family or Monster?
Dammit!
Chime in on the convo either here, on my Twitter or at Instagram! Sharing the post with someone who would love it is very appreciated. Would love to hear why YOU like the work of Christina Ricci - faves, best role, stories, etc., etc.
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