Speed-the-Plow opens at Old Vic with a bang, a shot of energy that sizzles all through the performance for the next 95 minutes, thanks to Kevin Spacey and Jeff Goldblum. Kevin Spacey, the suave Oscar-winning film actor of American Beauty and many hits such as L.A. Confidential and Usual Suspects takes on the unlikely role of Charlie Fox, the boot-licking, low-life producer, who bursts into the office of Bobby Gould – high-flying studio producer – to announce some life-changing news. Charlie Fox has had a visit from A-list actor Doug Brown, and is ready to make a deal with Bobby Gould’s studio for a lot of money.
The first scene crackles with ambition, with dreams of making big money and friendship all rolled into one. From the moment Charlie Fox makes an entrance it is non-stop fun. It is refreshing to see Kevin Spacey put aside his star status to become a very believable Charlie Fox. He is wonderfully contrasted with Jeff Goldblum’s Bobby Gould, a smooth-talking astute producer, who sweeps the room with grace and movement, like a modern Fred Astaire, fuelled by money. For an exposition scene, the energy is high, and both actors manage to gesture, guffaw, gyrate and giggle, bouncing off each other’s energy in perfect rhythm, never dropping a shoe.
Towards the end of the first scene, Charlie Fox finds out that Bobby is interested in his new temp Karen, and this little secret also reveals Bobby’s aching need for approval. Bobby’s interest in Karen is what drives the plot towards its frenetic climax. Filmmaking is an industry built on money, and Bobby Gould makes no bones about it: “Rich, are you kiddin’ me? We're going to have to hire someone just to figure out the things we want to buy.
However, Karen (played by Laura Michelle Kelly) is an impossibly naïve character in this cynical set-up, and she tries her hardest to influence Bobby’s decision in his final choice of film. If the first scene whizzes past because it is packed with energy and action, the second scene drops a little, lacking some of this vigour. The mood is languid, the language is obscure (Karen’s constant quoting from the book falls dull on the ears), action is scarce and the lack of contrast between Bobby and Karen draws the happy vibe away.
But luckily the third scene is so explosive it makes up for this energy dip. Jeff Goldblum, known for his black comedy edge in sci-fi style movies like The Fly, Jurassic Park and Independence Day, carries his unique sense of humour into Speed-the-Plow, but this time with high status. It is fitting and ironic that his character Bobby Gould reveals the decision to endorse the apocalyptic ``radiation`` script, instead of his friend Charlie Fox’s Doug Brown script. It uncannily echoes Jeff Goldblum’s own career.
In this scene, Charlie Fox is back in Bobby’s office preparing for the big meeting, only to be told his plans may have gone south. The climax shocks, despite its perfect timing. The fact that Charlie and Bobby are both in suits, in a professional office, makes the violence that much more surreal. In this last scene, Kevin Spacey pushes his performance to the max, achieving the cathartic revelation that the audiences have been waiting for. Charlie turns to desperate measures to save his position with Bobby, but only at the expense of revealing this truth – that at the heart of this cynical business, it is only the male friendships that count. Bobby Gould and Charlie Fox have fed their reassurances off each other in this industry and were going to continue.
It is likely that the audience comes away from this performance sensing that though Charlie Fox and Bobby Gould reach a deeper understanding of their relationship, it is one built on a truth that is pragmatic and sad at the same time.
