Contrary to popular belief, there was once a time when the words “Charlie Sheen” and “Stone” were found in something other than a tabloid headline.
Of course, that was when impactful war films were about Vietnam and stock numbers were listed on computers the size of microwaves.
It’s too easy to take cheap shots at a man who has thrown himself on the ground in fits of insane media-addiction. I don’t condone his recent actions, but it would be a shame to forget the career he had before he let drugs, alcohol, sex and the media take hold.
Sheen’s positive contributions to society include “Platoon” (1986) and “Wall Street” (1987), both written and directed by Oliver Stone. These were the days when being “Stoned” was beneficial to Sheen’s career.
“Platoon” is one of the most difficult films to watch. Sheen follows in his father’s footsteps in this iconic Vietnam film, stalking through the jungle with a cast of up-and-coming actors, such as Johnny Depp and Forest Whitaker.
Stone’s war tragedy famously coined the tagline, “The first casualty of war is innocence.” Watching the characters enter the jungle as wide-eyed boys and exit as hardened men forever shapes the viewer’s perception of war, making it one of the most influential war films ever made.
Sheen gives by far his best performance as Chris Taylor, a new soldier to the platoon. Baby-faced and terrified, he experiences the atrocities of jungle war, including the massacres of Vietnamese civilians, as well as the deaths of fellow soldiers.
Don’t feel bad if you have to stop halfway through — the film is so overpowering, I found it impossible to get through in one sitting. The violence is as real as the war itself. The acting is magnificent. The writing is even better. The message is universal.
One year later, Stone released “Wall Street,” a film very different from “Platoon,” but starring just as many big names. Sheen plays Bud Fox, a Wall Street wannabe who gets ensnared in the insider-trading web of the infamous Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas).
Sheen didn’t stretch himself like he did in “Platoon,” but he nailed the part. For me, however, Bud is not the show. Neither is Daryl Hannah, who plays the main love interest.
The real attraction of “Wall Street” is the antagonist. Douglas plays one of the greatest movie villains of all time, playing a hardnosed investor, armed with relentless greed and a brick-sized cell phone.
One of my favorite parts in “Wall Street” is toward the beginning. Bud tells his father (played by Sheen’s real dad, Martin), “One day you’re going to be proud of me.” This might happen by the end of the film, but in real life Martin Sheen is probably stuck in a perpetual cycle of face-palming these days.
Perhaps popping in one of these DVDs could do him some good, or at least remind him of days when his son was an actor and not a gossip-rag king.