Overacting, chewing the scenery, and the hilarious ways actors take over their roles.

Movies are great entertainment. I don't deny that I love them. Most of the time it's because of the stories, and for some odd reason I have developed an encyclopedic knowledge of movies (strange quirk, but I love freaking out my children by remembering them from single frames, or even the opening credits). Anyway, there is a particular part of acting that I grin at nearly every time.

Overacting.

I'd say it's an art form. Sure, when it's done badly it fails horribly. But, in those occasions when actors are gleefully chewing through their lines with such wild abandon that you get swept along for the ride without knowing it, I find myself grinning like a crazy cat. It's hard not to. Think of the early Jim Carrey movies, like "The Mask." Mr. Carrey really cuts loose when he becomes the cartoon hero, and it is glorious! Watching him blow away everyone around him is terrific fun. That's what I mean when I say how great overacting can be.

And then there are actors who growl through their lines to such a degree that nobody else gets noticed. Robert De Niro is famous for it, and so is Clint Eastwood. "Do you feel lucky, punk?" (yes, not an exact quote, but it's turned that way by common usage I think).

My point is that acting doesn't need to always be Oscar-quality seriousness. Make things over the top, crazy, pure outrageous scene chewing. Overact. I dare 'ya. I double dare 'ya. I triple-dog dare 'ya!

- M