I remember heading out to hit every new action film to hit theaters in the eighties. I was in my mid teens, beefcake reigned supreme and the likes of Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme were legitimate box office draws. How times have changed ... Van Damme's fall from grace was swift, brought on by a combination of his own ego, personal troubles and the entire world seemingly realizing that the guy couldn't act his way out of a paper bag if his life depended on it and that maybe, just maybe, acting skill should actually be a requirement for widespread success. And so Jean Claude disappeared into the world of cheap direct to video releases until, in recent years, he started reinventing himself.
We haven't really seen any of these films on local shores yet but Van Damme has increasingly proven willing to take on quirky little roles overseas and has no problems whatsoever poking fun at himself. And, shockingly, the man once known for his enormous ego has proven to have one fantastic sense of humor. Could we have a martial arts Shatner on our hands here? Yeah, I think we do. The Belgian's new starring role comes in French film JCVD a moc-doc about Van Damme himself in which he well ... let's just say that the producers of the film within the film have no interest in Jean-Claude appearing in his own biography and he has rather different feelings on that point.
A lengthy - and hilarious - promo for the film appeared at the Cannes market last year and with the film now wrapping production the first proper teaser has arrived. It doesn't really add anything to the earlier demo reel but it does give me an excuse to point that one out again and that's alright by me. You'll find both the teaser and the original promo below the break in the Twitch Video Player.
You should really check out his recent movies. Wake of Death, In Hell, and his newest, Until Death, all showcase great JCVD performances. Heck, I'd even throw Replicant in there.
Hah! I knew you wouldn't be able to resist chiming in, bee! Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan. I like the guy and always have but there's no denying he was a pretty major contributor to his own demise ...
the guy definitely has a sense of humour! if you can find it, there's a YouTube video of him dirty dancing with this woman on a live TV show. see how he reacts when he gets a stiffy! it's really hilarious.
btw, i remember years ago, Mark Wahlberg said on Letterman that he has a script called Damn Van Damme. it's about, well, Van Damme, who turns out to be a Belgian spy passing himself off as an action star in Hollywood. man, i'd love to see that film made!