#one other thing is that they wrote doc as egging on wyatt to go after sadie marcus

[valleydean]

Since you already wrote a dissertation on Winona Earp’s Doc Holliday, can you please write a dissertation on Val Kilmer’s Doc Holliday?

cannot believe some poor soul asked me this question of their own free will lmao

thanks for the ask anon! but tbh i don’t have too much to say. i mean, i think val kilmer’s portrayal was the closest to actual doc holliday that we’ve gotten so far in the media. i think my only thing is.... and it’s not exactly a complaint... but i think, in the movie, he leans more into the joking/glib side of doc - which is fair. he was definitely that. but he could also be really surly and an asshole - and not in a funny way. and we don’t really see that in the movie. when he’s being a dick, he’s usually funny about it. so, i mean, i think i would have liked to see him lash out and lose his temper and just be like.... mean. at least at some points. because he was that, too. it really did depend on his mood.

but, other than that, i think kilmer got the different sides of doc’s personality down really well, both verbally and in body language. you can really see his vulnerability and longing to fit in on his face. and the movie obviously focuses on how loyal doc was to wyatt, and all the earps, really. and it did a really good job at showing that doc came from a classy upbringing and that he was clearly educated and plays piano and invented fashion (even if it only mentions once that he was a dentist, which is fair because he didn’t practice dentistry in tombstone, so i’m not nit-picking that since it’s not relevant for that point in doc’s life).

i think the only thing i’d really change is doc’s entrance scene (which, i know, how can i say that since it’s so iconic??) but it really does lean into his reputation of being a cheat and a killer, which i didn’t find wholly necessary right off the bat. i mean - especially because doc wasn’t actually the one cheating during that game and he only pulled his knife in self defense. (also, in the scene when he was like “let’s forget the luggage” i’m like - that’s fake doc holliday would never leave his clothes behind!!! lmao.) also what happened historically in that scene is a lot more interesting than what happened in the movie, so i wish they would have expanded on it. tbh, i wish they would have expanded on doc’s role in tombstone a lot more too - because the ok corral likely wouldn’t have happened without him! but that’s a whole thing that i won’t get into here because it’s a very long history lesson lmao. but his role in actual events was extremely fascinating. also, in the court case after the shootout, doc basically represented himself. he had a lawyer and his lawyer worked with the earps’ lawyer, but doc was SUPER involved in the case all while he and wyatt were in jail. so he basically defended himself from a jailhouse, which is PRIMO doc holliday. (also, they wouldn’t let him testify because of his reputation, and they thought it would turn into “the doc holliday case” instead of what it actually was. which is fair. and he knew it was a good move. but the politics behind that always interested me, especially since he was so involved with the defense team.) so yeah, i would have loved to have seen more of doc’s role before and after the ok corral, because his role was HUGE! and i honestly think val kilmer is the only one who could have done that justice!

but anyway, i just went on a whole tangent that’s more of a critique of the actual movie than kilmer lmao. basically, what i’m trying to say is.... my only real complaint about his portrayal is that they didn’t let him stay blonde. other than that, it’s almost near perfect. a cultural reset. i want to shake val kilmer’s hand. at some points i’m like “they could resurrect actual doc holliday and make him play himself in a movie and it still wouldn’t be able to touch val kilmer’s performance.” he should have won the oscar that year and it’s a crime that he didn’t.