Thora Birch is an American actress. She made her film debut in Purple People Eater, for which she won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress Under Nine Years of Age, and rose to early prominence as a child star with her performances in films such as All I Want for Christmas,Patriot Games,Hocus Pocus,Monkey Trouble\,Now and Then, and Alaska.
Her breakthrough role came with the highly acclaimed film American Beauty, which brought Birch to international recognition, earning her a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She then played the lead role in Ghost World, for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Birch starred in Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story, which earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie. Birch has since appeared in independent films, including Dark Corners,Train,Winter of Frozen Dreams andPetunia.
After taking a break from acting, she resumed her career starring as Morgan in the first season of the sci-fi television series Colony, as well as starring in four independent films.
Dungeons and Dragons / Thora Birch as Empress Savina
Let’s be clear: this is a terrible movie. A terrible movie. About the only thing that makes it watchable is Jeremy Irons deciding to throw all caution to the wind and chew the scenery with abandon. The costumes aren’t great either, on the whole; they look low-budget and stagey at their best, “local costume shop rental” at their worst.
But still, I feel like this dress shows just a glimmer of possibility for the movie to have been something better, something fun and cheesy in the vein of Flash Gordon. A bit of thought and even worldbuilding went into this costume. The dragon-claw-as-Elizabethan-ruff effect is actually kind of clever, one of the few things that goes beyond the most generic Ren Faire design.
They’ve also incorporated a few Asian-inspired elements, like the flared shoulders. I half suspect someone was watching The Phantom Menace the previous year and busily taking notes.
“But it’s hard to stay mad, when there’s so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once, and it’s too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that’s about to burst… And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can’t feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life… You have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m sure. But don’t worry… you will someday.”
Nice legs. The Hole has that annoying must-have-man-at-any-cost “plot” and the police are depicted as less than clever, but the actors are charming. I love seeing Laurence play such a bouncy and carefree (well, at least until things go wrong) character for a change. And I love that this film shows more male than female nudity. I mean, how often does that happen?
Geoff:What are you having then? Mike: I’m not really hungry. Geoff:You’ve got to have something eventually.
Food/eating = sex? Anyway, Geoff’s jealous because Mike wants to eat Liz’s sausages rather than the salty pasta he’s cooking. Erm… I think I’ll let that one simmer.
American Beauty | 1999 | Sam Mendes RT: 88% A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter’s best friend. Stars: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch
