I'll have the McGowan meal thanks

I've had quite a few comments from friends and colleagues since I did a blog with the movie posters for Robert Rodriguez's latest project Red Sonja. Most of those comments were about Rose McGowan's mega yumminess. Sooo I decided to give all you McGowan fans out there something to squeal over and pay homage to the actress with more attitude than Ice T and Grace Jones combined. Here are my top three favourite McGowan performances:

3. Courtney Alice Shayne
Jawbreaker (1999) McGowan's attitude and X factor are put to full use in this black teen comedy which sees the girls in the popular group accidently kill their BFF in a birthday prank gone wrong. Courtney Shayne is one of the most underrated bitches in cinema history and McGowan plays her to perfection. Everyone else in the cast pales in comparison to McGowan who is the ultimate femme fatale, using her sex appeal and wit to manipulate those around her. The only thing more ridiculous than the fact the audience are supposed to believe these 27-year old’s are teenagers are the corsets and leather Courtney wears to school. She is the ultimate mean girl and other high school Queen Bees have nothing on Miss Shayne.
Best line:
“I killed Liz. I killed the teen dream. Deal with it.”

2. Tatum Riley
Scream (1996)
A testament to McGowan's ability to hold her own in a cast alongside some of the biggest names in nineties Hollywood. While initial attention may have been drawn to the clever plot, sharp script and tongue-in-cheek performances who can forget Sidney Prescott's loyal best friend Tatum Riley. Not only does she have some of the best one liners in the film (“Billy and his penis don't deserve you Syd”) she also has one of the best deaths (garage doors+Tatum =gnarly!). While some people are always cast as the `token black guy' it seems McGowan is always cast as the `knowing slut with attitude' and she pulls it off well as a buxom blonde.
Best line:
“No, please don't kill me, Mr. Ghostface, I wanna be in the sequel!”
1. Cherry Darling
Planet Terror (2007)
I may be a little biased to pick this as my favourite McGowan performance because I'm a Rodriguez whore but honestly, she gets to do what she does best and that's deliver her natural blend of comedy and sass. McGowan plays Cherry Darling, a stripper who has just quit her night-job to pursue a career as a stand up comedian. Anyways, some zombies rip her leg off and her ex replaces it with a machine gun. Awesome much? In the style of some of the greatest exploitation films ever made violence, sex, horror and comedy ensue as Cherry and her machine gun stump blast their way through the movie. Only McGowan would be able to make an amputee one of the sexiest characters on screen in 2007. Notably, her comedic turns are still effective against a back drop of zombies whose genitals explode.
Best line:
There's so many, sigh, so here are a few of the best . . . .

“Useless talent number 66. I'm very pliable.”

Cherry: Name's Cherry Darling...
El Wray: Sounds like a stripper name.
Cherry: No, it sounds like a go-go dancer name. There's a difference.

“I am not leaving you here like this. Motherfuckers around here eat road kill.”

El Wray: So what are you going to do now?
Cherry: I'm going to be a stand-up comedian.
El Wray: You're not funny.
Cherry: That's what I keep trying to tell everybody but they all say I'm hilarious.
El Wray: But you're not.
Cherry: There's a difference between being frank. . .and being dick.