Denise Richards can be effective when a film makes use of her polish, as Starship Troopers does. We are less persuaded by its romance, where she struggles to give us a reason to care.
Fi1m perspective
In Starship Troopers (1997), Denise Richards looks ready to appear in the military publicity that Paul Verhoeven's satire makes so shameless. Her Carmen Ibañez belongs among these attractive young people who see little reason to question their society. Beside Casper Van Dien's Johnny D. Rico, she supplies exactly the polished appeal the film needs. There is something useful here for a director willing to make attractiveness part of the joke. The problem begins when the film asks that same pairing to sustain a romance.
We grew impatient with Richards and Van Dien's romantic scenes because their stiffness gave us too little feeling for the time spent on them. The romance takes time away from a film with much more interesting things to do. Verhoeven gets a useful contribution from Richards without solving that limitation in her acting. We would not dismiss her casting, but nor would we excuse every awkward passage on the grounds that the satire needs immaculate young faces. Their private lives still have to hold our attention, and too often they do not.
Her first starring film role was Starship Troopers, followed by Kelly Van Ryan in Wild Things (1998) and Christmas Jones in The World Is Not Enough (1999). The erotic thriller ensemble and the Bond role continued a run of casting that emphasised her appearance. Christmas Jones was a nuclear physicist, a part for which Richards's credibility drew criticism. That objection need not become a judgement on everything she does. It does suggest how quickly her polish stops helping when the audience needs to believe in a character's expertise.
Love Actually (2003) gave her a cameo as Carla in a romantic comedy ensemble. The later career has included reality series and recurring soap roles, neither of which is a reason in itself to revise our opinion of her acting. Smaller comic parts offer a sensible alternative to asking her to carry the romantic scenes that proved so laboured for Verhoeven. We would welcome another role that found as clear a use for her as his satire does. Start with Starship Troopers, and be prepared to wait through the courtship.
Biography
Denise Richards is an American actress. She was born on 17 February 1971 in Downers Grove, Illinois.
Richards began her career as a model before moving into acting. She is known for her roles as Carmen Ibanez in Starship Troopers (1997), Kelly Van Ryan in Wild Things (1998) and Christmas Jones in The World Is Not Enough (1999). She has also appeared in films including Love Actually (2003) and Scary Movie 3 (2003), and in television series such as Two and a Half Men and Friends.
