It’s easy to forget with leads in movies like Die Hard, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Armageddon that Bruce Willis was viewed as a comedic actor at the beginning of his career. Let’s take a look at some of Willis’ Comedies.
Moonlighting (1985)
While not a movie, Moonlighting catapulted Bruce Willis to stardom. In the romantic comedy, Willis played David Addison, a private investigator who ran the detective agency bought by Cybil Shepard’s character, Maddie Hays, a former model, who had purchased the agency as a tax write-off. The pair decided to keep the agency running, and it was a platform for Willis’s rise to fame. The show ended up being a vehicle for Wills, so much so that when Shepard held out for more money, the ratings didn’t decline and forced her to the negotiating table. Willis brought Addison’s quick wit and carefree demeanor to life. The show ran for four seasons, declining when the on-screen chemistry between Willis and Shepard dried up because of a feud that would last decades.
Blind Date (1987)
Moonlighting’s success led Willis to be cast in the Blake Edwards (Breakfast at Tiffany’s) romantic comedy Blind Date. Panned by critics, the movie was a box office success, in no small part because of Willis. It was the first time he was cast as the lead in a movie, and obviously, it wasn’t the last. In the film, Willis plays Walter Davis, an executive who is set up on a blind date with Kim Basinger’s character Nadia, who is a Jekyll and Hyde character who turns from sweet and bewitching to a raging drunk when she has had alcohol. The film runs through their night of misadventures and a call-it-off wedding scene right out of The Graduate, but with slapstick.
Look Who’s Talking (1989)
The film starred John Travolta and Kirstie Alley as the new parents of Mikey, a narrating embryo and then an infant in the movie. Directed by Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Clueless) the movie follows the pregnancy from a one-night stand and the ups and downs between the parents as told by Mikey. It was a heartwarming film that displayed Willis’s skill in voiceover rolls. It further cemented Willis’s role as a comedic actor. Five years later, Travolta and Willis would work together again in Pulp Fiction.
Besides comedies, Bruce is best known for the “Die Hard” film series. Hear T.J. And Jay review the original classic on the ‘We’ve Seen That!” podcast series by clicking play below,
Death Becomes Her (1992)
After the success of Die Hard and Die Hard 2, Willis returned to his comedic roots, this time in the black comedy and cautionary tale Death Becomes Her, directed by Rober Zemeckis (Back to the Future,Forrest Gump). The film was a star-studded affair, including Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, and Isabella Rossellini. In the movie, Willis plays a spineless and bumbling plastic surgeon, Ernest Menville. The film centers around two aging actresses discovering a potion that makes them young again but at a cost. The two end up injuring each other while Willis’s character keeps covering up the damage the two do to each other.
To Sum Up
While Bruce Willis will undoubtedly be remembered for his action roles and dramatic turns, he is also remembered for his charming on-screen presence so often displayed in comedies, which is why AFI included him on their list: The 100 Top Movie Stars of All Time.
