Careers Quentin Tarantino should revive (MSNBC)

[Brian Damage]

Andrew McCarthy
The least bratty and most often overlooked member of the Brat Pack had a brief good run in the mid-‘80s with “St. Elmo’s Fire” and “Pretty in Pink,” and he was even passable in pseudo-Bret Easton Ellis adaptation “Less Than Zero.” Then came the one-two punch of “Weekend at Bernie’s” and the inventively named “Weekend at Bernie’s II,” and McCarthy’s career was down for the count. He kept working, but if you’ve seen him in anything other than bit parts and TV movies, you’ve really been looking hard. The thing is, he’s a solid, understated actor, and OK, yes, maybe subtle characterization isn’t the hallmark of Tarantino’s oeuvre, but McCarthy would be perfect in an impassive, Michael Madsen-type role. And, you know, I love Madsen and all, but it’s time for that pony to be put out to pasture.

[Brian Damage]

Meg Ryan
America’s erstwhile sweetheart is now America’s sad and lonely Nora Ephron rom-com standby, which is a shame, because Meg was good, back in the day. It’s probably a mistake to even mention her in the same sentence as Katherine Hepburn, but at one time, she did share some of the great Kate’s facility with both silly comedy and tear-inducing drama. It’s been at least 10 years since Ryan did anything worth watching, though, which is just about how long Tarantino waited before reviving John Travolta’s career. Make Meg a gritty, wise-ass, smack-addicted housewife who obsessively sings Saturday morning cartoon theme songs, and you’ve got your archetypally quirky Tarantino character right there.

[Brian Damage]

Michael Keaton
Keaton may be the most talented actor not working in Hollywood. Or rather, the most talented actor making pure drivel, which is even worse than not working. Here’s a clue: When you play a talking snowman who snowboards on a toboggan, your career has jumped the shark. That’s almost as bad as Travolta’s deeply disturbing and emotionally scarring “Look Who’s Talking” series. But remember “Batman”? Remember “Beetle Juice”? This is a man who can do funny and tough guy really well, which is ideal for a quick-witted, blood-spattered Tarantino flick. Quentin tried to give Keaton a boost once before, with “Jackie Brown,” but he wasn’t trying very hard. It’s time he gave it another go.

[Brian Damage]

Olivia Newton-John
With Tarantino’s rabid adoration of all things campy and pop-culture, it’s surprising that he hasn’t cast the star of “Grease” and “Xanadu” in one of his films purely for ironic reasons. Frankly, there may not be many other reasons for QT to cast her — it’s not as though those two movies are really any good, you know — but think of the possibilities. The hilarious aerobics-themed video for “Physical” playing on a beat-up old TV in the background during a five-minute suburban gunfight, a thug who models himself after greaser Danny Zuko ? Plus, if Newton-John’s career did recover, we’d get a whole new set of cult-classic camp-fests, and that’s never a bad thing.

[Brian Damage]

John Travolta (again)
Sorry, Quentin, but the first career revival didn’t take; Travolta lasted all of four or five years before he started going downhill, and boy, did he land hard with “Battlefield Earth.” Even L. Ron Hubbard held his nose when that one opened. But what you did with the fleshy onetime disco dancer in “Pulp Fiction” was so great that I’m willing to give you another shot. Just one more. This time, let’s make it stick, mmkay?