Whoopie Goldberg
Greatness appears in many forms and in Whoopie
Goldberg it appeared in the form of an outstanding personality.
She is wonderfully quirky and beautifully outrageous. In the
Color Purple she made me laugh and she made me cry and she
picked at my heart like a nervous lover might pull on loose
threads of a shirt... In Jumping Jack Flash she had me, well,
jumping... and in Ghost she had tears raining my cheeks with
pure joy at her performance, especially when she left the
bank and had to hand the cheque to the nun...
Other Whoopie Goldberg films I have liked are:
Made In America where Whoopie starred with Ted Danson, her
boyfriend at the time, and Nia Long, who gave a wonderful
performance. The scene where Whoopie Goldberg's character
rings her bicycle bell and alarms an elephant with Danson's
character upon its back is priceless. And, of course, we cannot
forget Whoopie Goldberg in The Sister Act...
As a huge Star Trek fan I have to mention Whoopie
Goldberg playing Guinan in Star Trek: The Next Generation
TV series and feature film. It is wonderful to see an A-list
Hollywood star taking on these little cameo roles almost as
if she's doing it for fun. I love her for that. Also, we cannot
ignore her appearance in the TV series Law & Order Special
Victims Unit, where she portrays a very dark character who
genuinely chills the viewer to the bone; a foster mother who
sends her fostered sons out with machetes to steal art and
antiques after hacking the families who abide in the house
to pieces. Whoppie Goldberg plays the character with eyes
smouldering evil...
Tim Rees
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