Geena Davis has come a long way

I watched both Tootsie and "Commander in Chief" today (Tootsie is still brilliant, and CiC is still hugely addictive in that TV serial pulp way), and it struck me just how odd a career path Geena Davis has traversed.

I mean, really... who would've thought that that skinny 6' model girl from Tootsie would be playing the President in 23 years? It boggles the mind. Especially considering that Geena has this hugely comic vibe about her that I still haven't seen her shake. Whenever I see her, I just wanna laugh for some reason - she's just funny. And I mean that in the best way. I just totally couldn't see her as the Commander in Chief when the ads first started airing. But to her credit, she really does a great job. She's very subtle in the role. Humanized, yet commanding. And only very rarely do I feel like laughing at her. The height helps; she's still 6', so she can mix it up with the big boys, but she's filled out over the years from stick-skinny to merely trim. The only thing that doesn't work about her other than that "je ne sais crois" comic quality is her lips - they're way too big. I can't tell if it's collagen or just too much lipstick, but it's really distracting, especially on the first female President.

But anyway, the few flaws aside, CiC is quite excellent as TV shows go, and she's quite fine on it. I kind of hope Geena wins the gloden globe (she probably will; she's never won one). We will see, won't we?

But for the record, as good and iconic as she is on CiC, to me, Thelma Dickenson will always be the definitive Geena Davis role. She's just perfect in Thelma & Louise... and of course, I do love that film to truly scary lengths. I have yet to see The Accidental Tourist, but I don't think ANYTHING Geena has ever done or ever will do can top the divine T&L.