Virginia Madsen

From 'nay-list' to 'A-list'

My, how a movie career can wax and wane.

Once a sparkling young starlet, Virginia Madsen's career was rescued from the purgatory of TV guest-star appearances and direct-to-video movies by the success of "Sideways." Her Oscar nomination for that picture has led to several big-ticket roles of late. Most recently opposite Harrison Ford and Paul Bettany in director Richard Loncraine's "Firewall," a thriller opening here Friday.

Madsen's also slated to star in the film adaptation of Garrison Keillor's classic radio anthology "A Prairie Home Companion." Set backstage, the film has one of director Robert Altman's characteristic ensemble casts, with Lily Tomlin, Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Lindsay Lohan, Kevin Kline, Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly joining Madsen.

Meanwhile, Variety reports that Madsen has replaced Elizabeth Shue as the female lead opposite Jim Carrey for "The Number 23," Joel Schumacher's tale of a man "who becomes obsessed with a book that seems to be about his life but ends in murder, with the number 23 woven through the plot."

Madsen, 42, had always worked regularly, but was dissatisfied. She stopped acting for a few years in the early '90s after the birth of her son, partly because she was weary of dreary roles in the nondescript projects she was being offered. It was lean times for a while. "I was on the money train for a long time, and when I stopped that, man, I was seriously, seriously broke," she told Variety last year. "But it's worth it to wait for the right thing to come along." Which was "Sideways."

Now she's "A" list (or at least B+) for the first time, and knows she must capitalize while it lasts.

It'd be a pleasure to see a feature film with Madsen as the lead, rather than playing glorified supporting parts. There's no doubt that Ford is the centerpiece of "Firewall." He plays Jack Stanfield, a bank security expert whose forte is designing fail-safe computer systems. But there's a hidden flaw in the system he didn't account for - himself. When a criminal mastermind kidnaps his family (sound familiar?), Stanfield is compelled to try to beat his own security and lift $100 million.

Also starring is Robert Patrick, but much of our attention will be on the soulful Lady Ginny.

- By Bill Thompson, On Film