Does anyone know who this native American is?
There was no information provided on the postcard so if you know something about this, please help me out. The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this picture was Geronimo, the main character of the movie with the same title back in the 90s. Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader who, according to the Wikipedia, for several years during the Apache Wars fought against Mexico and the United States against their expansion into Apache lands. His bravery, daring exploits, and numerous escapes from the hands of Mexican and American troops were legendary it is no surprise his character is popular in many Hollywood films and television.
In the 1993 version, Geronimo was played by Wes Studi, one of my favorite albeit underrated stars of Hollywood. Wes himself is an American Cherokee who played several notable performances in his roles as an American Indian. Among the films he starred in were Dances with the Wolves, Last of the Mohicans, and of course, Geronimo: The American Legend. Recently he played the role of Eytukan in the monster blockbuster hit Avatar. I don't know if anybody remembers, but Wes also played the Sphinx in the 1999 comedy film the Mystery Men. Oh my, you should watch this movie - it has the coolest cast in my opinion!!! Wes Studi took the role of the masked and mysterious Sphinx and has the power to cut guns in half with his mind. He was sought by a team of misfits ( I hate to use the word "losers") with "superpowers" who needed to save the day - played convincingly and hilariously by Ben Stiller (as Mr. Furious), Hank Azaria (as The Blue Raja), William H. Macy (as The Shoveler; surprisingly good comedic actor, too!), and my favorite Janeane Garofalo (as The Bowler). The lines are funny and most were improvised by the cast.
Rounding up the amateur team of inept superheroes were:
- Kel Mitchell, as the Invisible Boy: he only becomes invisible when no one is looking, including himself;
- Paul Reubens, as the Spleen: he talks with a lisp and has a zit-ridden face, obviously needing acne medications; he aims his super-smelly-fart power to anyone with such ferocity;
- Tom Waits, as Dr. A. Heller, an eccentric weapons designer who invented the "blame-thrower", "the shrinker", and the "canned tornado".
Of course, the anti-heroes are equally awesome and hilarious, too:
- Geoffrey Rush, as the loony Casanova Frankenstein and the main antagonist.
- Eddie Izzard, as Tony P, Casanova's right-hand man; and Prak Michel as Tony C., Tony P's second-in-command; they are two of Casanova's henchmen who sow terror to the tune of disco classics and other dance hits.
- Lena Olin, as the Dr. Anabel Leek, Casanova's associate... hehehe.
I don't know why this movie flopped in the US but this move is one of my favorites. I so agree with Philippine writer/columnist/blogger Jessica Zafra -- the Mystery Men is hysterically funny, witty, ironic, inventive, and so smart, the American audience didn't get it.
Photo Sources:
Geronimo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geronimo:_An_American_Legend;
Mystery Men: http://vinnierattolle.blogspot.com/2009/05/mystery-men.html
Hehehe, gotta love Jessica Zafra! Watch ko nga din 'tong movie na to.
It's a great film - the lines are funny and the characters are all loonies! Do you have a copy? I can lend you mine :)