Where in the Horror are they now? Bridget Fonda!

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

BRIDGET FONDA

THEN: The past couple of weeks I’ve taken a little time to revisit movies that happen to be on cable. I guess it’s kind of the old-fashioned way of just channel surfing to see what comes up, as opposed to just streaming or what have you. Three of the movies I enjoyed had an old crush of mine. First there was LAKE PLACID, and then it was SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, but it was the 90’s grunge themed romantic drama SINGLES (1992) that truly reminded me of the massively charming, and perhaps even approachable, Bridget Fonda. In that film she plays a sweet girl in love with a wannabe rock star played by Matt Dillon. If you’ve never watched this Cameron Crowe directed and musically enriched flick, I highly suggest you do. Okay, thanks for letting me take a walk down my non-genre lane and return to what we love best here at AITH.

Perhaps we may slightly browse outside of scares for Fonda, but thankfully, the actress did have a couple of cool thrillers on her IMDb page. Personally, I don’t remember my first experience with her. And while her career started especially early playing a “child in a commune” in the classic EASY RIDER, it was clearly because her father, Peter Fonda, dug the idea of having her in his film. After that, Bridget didn’t work again until the 80’s, and that only included a couple of flicks like her “unconfirmed” role in PARTNERS in 1982 and she played a “Lover” in the strangely compelling anthology film ARIA in 1987. Yet by the end of the decade, she seemed to be in steady work mode with YOU CAN’T HURRY LOVE (1988), SHAG (1989) and her break-out performance in the critically acclaimed SCANDAL featuring John Hurt, Ian McKellen and Joanne Whalley.

Okay… Finally… in 1990, Bridget appeared in the odd retro horror drama ROGER CORMAN’S FRANKENSTEIN UNBOUND – also with John Hurt.  While I do remember seeing the film, I don’t recall much of it in terms of quality. However I do remember the beautiful actress who played Mary, there was something truly special about her and what she brought to her performances. Of course, 1990 also gave the actress even more profile thanks to her work in the highly anticipated THE GODFATHER: PART III. After coming off of films like THE GODFATHER and SCANDAL, it seemed that she would take on some lighter material the next couple of years. There was DOC HOLLYWOOD and DROP DEAD FRED, but she also appeared in a couple of indies as well, including OUT OF THE RAIN and IRON MAZE, all in 1991.

The next year is certainly a favorite for me personally when it comes to Fonda’s movie choices. It may have been a small role, but some forget that Bridget played Linda in the opening sequence of ARMY OF DARKNESS. It was a brief but satisfying cameo that put a smile on my face. Now we’ve already talked SINGLES, and I did briefly hit on SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, but that one is worth expanding on. This crazy stalker flick featured both Fonda and the incredible Jennifer Jason Leigh. The 1992 Barbet Schroeder directed thriller looked amazing, but it was the film’s stars that helped keep me invested in the over-the-top antics. Sure, Ms. Leigh had the more showy role, but Fonda continued to prove just how damn good she could be. While this was less successful than say BASIC INSTINCT or FATAL ATTRACTION, I for one think it is one of the better sexy thrillers from that period, and it’s definitely worth checking out if you haven’t seen it.

Bridget was pretty hot in the 90’s thanks to movies like POINT OF NO RETURN – a solid remake of LA FEMME NIKITA – and IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU with Nicolas Cage. I personally dug BODIES, REST & MOTION as well. And then there was JACKIE BROWN in 1997. There are many fans of Quentin Tarantino that maybe have this as their least favorite of his, but I dug the hell out of Pam Grier getting all tough again. This flick rocked. And speaking of awesome movies, Fonda was the female lead in the exceptional Sam Raimi thriller A SIMPLE PLAN. Co-starring Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton, this is one of the most underrated flicks from that decade, and one of Raimi’s best. And yes, Fonda was fantastic in both of these fine features. Ironically enough, she was asked to do JACKIE BROWN while on the same flight with Tarantino years back. This makes me glad they shared a plane ride together.

In 1999, Fonda starred in yet another thriller. This time, it was the man vs nature flick from a David E. Kelley screenplay with Steve Miner directing. LAKE PLACID is one of those movies I avoided early on. In fact, I never got around to it until only a couple of years back. And I’m glad I finally got to it. What a fun flick this is, and it has a few wonderfully suspenseful moments. And once again, Fonda really shined opposite the great Bill Pullman – as well as a scene stealing Oliver Platt. The cast in this giant crocodile flick is so good, that it truly elevates the story. It also helps that the script is pretty f*cking clever for a killer animal flick. After battling a giant croc, the actress did work regularly in smaller films such as SOUTH OF HEAVEN, WEST OF HELL (2000), KISS OF THE DRAGON (2001) and finally in 2002, she appeared in the TV movie Snow Queen. And then, she just stopped…

NOW: So what happened to Bridget Fonda? Aside from starting a family with husband – and Oingo Boingo frontman – Danny Elfman, she retired from Hollywood. Other than that, she has done a great job of not making headlines or being in the public eye. Looking for a Twitter account for the actress, all I found was Sarah Silverman asking “Where the f*ck is Bridget Fonda.” Apparently we weren’t the only ones wondering what was up. You could always check out her Facebook page, but it’s not official and offers very little info. Considering she is married to one of the biggest modern day film composers, you’d think she’d be in seen a little bit more. Well, at least we have a ton of great memories and awesome flicks that she was a part of. 

You never know, perhaps one day she’ll return to the big screen. And maybe it will even be a genre flick. One thing is for sure, there is something fascinating about a young and talented actress who just decides to step away from the spotlight. Either way, we at AITH wish Bridget Fonda the best. And I’d like to offer a personal thank you to the actress for the many smiles she brought to my face. If you’ll excuse me, I think a bit of POINT OF NO RETURN may be in my future after writing this.