Rose McGowan gives sharp-tongued characters enough humour to make them worth listening to. We rate her quick, unsentimental work in Scream especially; the reservation is how often the parts ask her to be difficult in much the same way.
Fi1m perspective
In Scream (1996), Rose McGowan's Tatum enjoys a joke without stopping the conversation to admire it. Kevin Williamson's dialogue needs that speed, and McGowan supplies it without making the character sound as though she has prepared every reply. We laughed at Tatum's jokes because McGowan doesn't pause to signal how clever they are. This is the work we value most in her: funny, alert and properly part of an ensemble.
Wes Craven gets the balance right around her, too. Neve Campbell's Sidney gives the danger weight, while McGowan and Jamie Kennedy's Randy keep pace with the knowing script. Tatum has the smaller, best-friend part, but McGowan gives her enough personality to matter beside Campbell. There are moments when Williamson explains horror for longer than the fright can comfortably wait. McGowan helps keep the film lively without making its threat ridiculous.
Her early film identity took shape with Amy Blue in Gregg Araki's The Doom Generation (1995). Jawbreaker (1999) put her haughty confidence to work as Courtney Shayne, a lead role with more room for the mean-girl manner. These parts helped establish a recognisable casting habit: the rebellious woman with a quick, unkind answer. Playing Paige Matthews in Charmed (2001–2006) then gave her a sustained television lead and a wider audience beyond independent and cult films.
The two Grindhouse films in 2007 brought her back to cinema genre work. Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror (2007) gave her the central role of Cherry Darling and called on her physical commitment. Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof (2007) cast her briefly as Pam. We find the latter a qualified pleasure, with too much bar talk before the car chase justifies the wait. Kurt Russell and Zoë Bell do most to make that wait worthwhile.
The reservation is repetition: casting her as another sharp-tongued rebel does not necessarily give her anything new to play. Her comic timing deserves more varied demands than that. Start with Scream, where she has good dialogue, colleagues who can answer it and a director who knows when to keep moving.
Biography
Rose McGowan is an American actress. She made her film debut in a supporting role in Encino Man (1992) and received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her performance in The Doom Generation (1995).
She gained wider recognition for her role in Scream (1996). From 2001 to 2006 she played Paige Matthews in the television series Charmed. In 2007 she appeared as Pam in Death Proof and as Cherry Darling in Planet Terror.
In 2017 McGowan was named one of Time magazine's Silence Breakers for speaking publicly about sexual assault and harassment. She published the memoir Brave in 2018.
