The Real Blonde (1997)

It’s a tough road to superstardom. The highway to Access Hollywood is paved with day jobs as a tuxedo-clad waiter, with soul-sapping gigs applying makeup at photo shoots to sell cheesy disco jeans, with the crushing rejection of failed auditions and the humiliation of being one among a hundred naked men in the background of a pop diva’s music video. And then there are the lifelong friends who land a spot on a crap soap opera and no longer return your open-mouthed stares of entreaty. Matthew Modine and Catherine Keener are pitch perfect as a struggling couple nurturing their penthouse dreams in a cold-water walk-up in The Real Blonde (1997). Of course it is Matthew that steals the show, both in and out of his boxer shorts. The Real Blonde will have you developing an obsessive bond with Mr. Modine’s pert poutine.