Poltergeist poster
Poltergeist

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Rubinstein’s acting questioned; stronger-actress alternatives; ghost-world racial dynamics

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:08Read transcript
  • Rubinstein may look perfectly cast as a medium while giving an unconvincing acting performance.
  • The response defends the importance of looking like someone who could contact another world.
  • Sally Field with unusual makeup is proposed as an alternative medium.
  • Shirley MacLaine is proposed as a potentially stronger medium.
  • Viola Davis is imagined commanding the room as the medium.
  • Meryl Streep is another imagined medium, with an objection that the role may be too small.
  • A comic theory imagines reversed racial power dynamics in the ghost world to explain why these ghosts target white families.
  • A counterargument attributes the shortage of Black ghost stories to limited opportunities and investment for Black filmmakers.