).yes what I like about him is his range, that you wouldn’t assume from his smug charm, from Something About Mary to Singles.
@gano , Something About Mary is a great example in my opinion. It did not affect me in any profound way, it had no deep meaning or underlying serious message that I could ascertain, but I certainly did not consider watching it a waste of time because I found it entertaining (sometimes hilarious) and I am sure that I laughed out loud frequently. Ben Stiller was good (as he frequently is) but I maintain that there are other actors who probably could have done well with his part. Matt Dillon brought something to his role of a devious/sleazy PI who was infatuated/obsessed with Mary that had a flavor to it that I am not sure who else would have done it as nicely.
I remember this particular interaction so well that I found it on a site that quotes dialogue from films:
Matt Dillon: Really, it’s only a side thing for my true passion.
Cameron Diaz: And what’s that?
Dillon: I work with retards.
Diaz: Isn’t that a little politically incorrect?
Dillon: Yeah, maybe, but hell, no one’s gonna tell me who I can and can’t work with.
And that is great dialogue, and anyone could have delivered it, but not everyone would have pulled it off as casually and easily while expressing how shallow his character is as Matt Dillon did.
In American Dreamer, which is basically a lighthearted comedy with some warm fuzziness and redemption worked in as it progressed, there was a subtle interaction between Dinklage and Dillon that particularly stuck with me. Not a spoiler, but Dillon plays a somewhat flamboyant and successful real estate guy who is helping his not so successful and cynical (versus flamboyant) friend, who is played by Dinklage, check out what appears to be the deal of a lifetime on a property that would normally be way out of Dinklage’s league. Part of the deal is that the current owner, Shirley Maclaine, gets to live in the main portion of the estate while Dinklage is relegated to a small room within the house until Maclaine’s death. Over drinks in a bar, Dillon explains to Dinklage that Maclaine wants to die in her own home and not in a convalescent home. I cannot find the direct quote, but he relates to Dinklage that convalescent homes are horrible; he briefly pauses and says that his mom is in one. That loses a lot in translation, but basically this wealthy real estate guy just told his buddy, "Nursing homes are horrific--I know because I put my mom in one." Then the film pans to another scene. A tiny scene that said a lot to me as a viewer, and part of why it worked so well for me was the subtle inflection in his voice, not sad but impressed by how miserable the condition of the place he put his mom in, and the momentary expression on his face.
Subtle.
Anyway . . . ramble on . . . but what I was getting at was that with that quick scene Dillon successfully continued to paint more of the picture of who he was portraying, and he made me laugh at the same time. Which is getting back to what I said about the little/subtle things that I think he frequently does as an actor that makes him so good, and I felt that Something About Mary had many of those Matt Dillon moments.