WasteOfTechnology.com » Randy Quaid

Some actors are great, and some actors have careers that are based on "right place at the right time" roles. Randy Quaid fits both of these bills. His list of films spans a few decades now and features some of the best comedies of all time. A Kevin Bacon of the comedy circuit, Randy Quaid (the good Quaid) seems to have done it all, and with just about everyone. From the successful Vacation movies to Kingpin to Quick Change, Quaid has proven himself as a comedy giant in his own right.

His first great role, and arguably one of his best came in 1983 as Cousin Eddie in the memorable classic Vacation. His role in this series is perhaps enough for him to be a Man of the Week candidate, as a prominent comedic force along the then-funny Chevy Chase. His role in Vacation may only be bettered by his role in Christmas Vacation. From eating squirrels to kidnapping employers in the name of the Yuletide spirit, Eddie was a great character in the great pair of films.

In 1986, Randy Quaid took a change of pace from outright funny movies to the realm of movies that weren’t supposed to be funny but ended up being funny when he teamed up with Charlie Sheen and a cast of Hollywood up and comers in The Wraith (read review here). In this he starred as the sheriff out to foil a gang of local racers who are being outdone by a mysterious ghost car that disappears after heated and fatal races between automatic transmission autos. Yes, it is as good as it sounds.

He hassled Richard Prior in Moving, he was part of that atrocious sequel to Caddyshack. He was there while Tom Cruise tore up the race track in Days of Thunder and helped Bill Murray hold up banks in Quick Change. He was in Freaked along with Alex Winter and Mr. T and was a heckling Indians fan in Major League II.

In 1994 he starred in a classic TV movie with James Woods called Next Door. Unknown to many it features Woods and Quaid as feuding neighbors, features comical feuding, James Woods mooning Quaid and turning sharply in a cul de sac while yelling.

In 1996, he was among the star-studded cast of Independence Day. Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, some guy who I thought was Lou Diamond Phillips, Bill Pullman and a large slew of aliens accompanied Quaid in this blockbuster smash/critical flop which featured such original one liners as "Welcome to Earth." Quaid chimed in with the classy quote of "I’m back." He played a former pilot who was abducted and probed by aliens and was facing ridicule for it. He went on to be a hero. A realistic movie on many levels.

This same year Randy Quaid appeared in what may be his best film to date. Sticking to what he does best, comedy, Quaid starred in the Farrely Brothers’ great Kingpin. The movie told a classically funny tale of an Amish man on his quest to the real world in an effort to save his family’s farm through the lucrative sport of bowling. The film is a non stop laugh ride yet Quaid flexes his dramatic muscle, nailing the portrayal of an Amishman perfectly.

One would find it hard, after watching this accurate portrayal of a Mennonite bowler to argue that Randy Quaid is not a method actor.