WCW: Lili Taylor – Frock Flicks

Gorgeous, fabulous, wonderful Lili Taylor has been playing dowdy, downtrodden, and misfit women for practically her entire career. That said, her characters almost never stay in the shadows for long. Her roles are almost always women who defy opinion, logic, and/or definition, showing an inner strength or an inner turmoil, ending up setting up residence inside your brain for years to come. So, let’s look at her frock flick roles, shall we?

Dogfight (1991)

Set in 1963 the day before the assassination of JFK. Lili Taylor plays Rose, the “dog” in the movie’s title who ends up charming Eddie Birdlace (River Phoenix), who intended to humiliate her but instead falls for her.

Household Saints (1993)

The descriptions of the film aren’t super specific about what year this is in, but the film starts in 1949 and ostensibly ends up in the 1970s, when Lili Taylor’s character, Teresa, is in her 20s.

Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)

Fabulous costumes. I admit I have had a hard time watching Jennifer Jason Leigh as Dorothy Parker chew the ever loving crap out of the scenery, but everyone else in the absolutely gigantic ensemble cast is fantastic. Especially Lili Taylor as fellow Algonquinite (?) Edna Ferber.

I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)

After co-starring together in Mrs. Parker, Martha Plimpton and Lili Taylor team up again in the very weird tale of Valerie Solanas, the radical feminist author of the SCUM Manifesto and unsuccessful assassin of Andy Warhol.

The Impostors (1998)

I really need to cover this throwback to the 1930s screwball comedy … I loved it when it first came out, and it’s packed with great actors. Lili Taylor plays Lily, one of the many characters on the ocean liner where the action takes place.

Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001)

Lili Taylor plays Miep Gies, one half of the Dutch husband and wife team who hid Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis.

The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)

Lili Taylor plays Paula Klaw, who runs covert fetish photography studio with her brother, and who exploits Bettie’s naïveté while making her a star of the underground fetish scene in the 1950s.

Public Enemies (2009)

Lili Taylor plays Sheriff Lillian Holley, whose custody John Dillinger escaped from in 1934. I do like a good historical gangster flick, so I’ve been meaning to watch this one, Johnny Depp as Dillinger notwithstanding.

Leatherface (2017)

Look, I have ZERO interest in watching a slasher pic, but I gotta say, Lili Taylor looks like you probably shouldn’t fuck with her. Hopefully she lives.

Perry Mason (2020-23)

Ugh, this show was so good and of course it got cancelled after the second season. Lili Taylor is in the first season, as Birdy McKeegan, the mother of Sister Alice (Tatiana Maslany), the evangelical preacher who appears to be at the center of the murder that Perry is investigating.

Which frock flick role of Lili Taylor’s is your favorite! Share with us in the comments!

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Tags: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s actual research adapted from books inspired by a true story Lili Taylor Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994) murder mystery Perry Mason (2020-23) playing fast & loose with history Public Enemies (2009) The Notorious Bettie Page (2005) TV

2 thoughts on “WCW: Lili Taylor”

Valerie says:

June 12, 2024 at 7:05 am

I absolutely love Lili Taylor! Two of my favorite roles of hers are Sarah in “High Fidelity” and Cecilia Abbott in “Outer Range”. If she’s in it, I’ll probably give it a go just for her. I’d have to think about “Leatherface” though…
Harriet Langston Wagner says:

June 12, 2024 at 7:24 am

Lili Taylor plays Mary Todd Lincoln in “Manhunt”, which is on Apple TV right now. I recommend watching it for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which is what I think are pretty good costumes. Another reason: Elizabeth Keckley, the famous “dressmaker” was a major, minor character. Yet another reason: Patton Oswalt in a U.S. Army uniform.

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