WANK OR WATCH | 2 Days In The Valley

Charlize Charlize Theron sacked her first manager after he only ever offered her roles for films like Showgirls or Species, and yet 2 Days In The Valley, her first credited role, has her nude on more than one occasion. It is an interesting and yet easily distinguishable difference for anyone familiar with these films for, while 2 Days In The Valley is shit, those others, along with the Poison Ivy series, are just exploiting ladies for soft-core porn purposes. Theron would go on to get topless in films that ranged from so bad it was hard to even get hard to right through to one that would grab her an Oscar, and she has always said that nudity is not an issue if the role requires it. But did her role as Helga in 2 Days In The Valley necessitate her boobs to make an appearance?

Simply put, no. A  pretty mediocre, forgettable thriller that has four, maybe five, narrative threads that end up intertwining in a predictable fashion with almost no surprises along the way. James Spader is slightly entertaining but not particularly convincing, Jeff Daniels is fine but underused, Eric Stoltz has moments but the best aren’t explored, Teri Hatcher is as annoying as always and so it is left to Danny Aiello and his criminal who care to steal the show as he continuously berates a twat with a terrible British yuppy accent for belittling his PA, who Aiello takes a shine to. Even before the characters start to cross paths you both know that they will and are aware of exactly how they will, and so this is a thoroughly unthrilling thriller.

As I said in my opening paragraph, Theron has always shown a willingness to bare all and it is difficult to say where her career might had she refused this role entirely based on the topless scenes or asked to have those removed, perhaps the people behind The Devil’s Advocate would have disregarded her as a possibility for that movie based on its nude scenes and she might never have become the cinematic draw that she is now. With that in mind, this might have been a good decision from her even if the film is not worth watching.

Verdict: Wank

DAN