No Streep-like chameleon acts for Sean Young: Like the stars of golden-era Hollywood, she pretty much brings the same persona to film after film. But that persona-a tough cookie waylaid by nervous fragility-is so unusual that she generally intrigues even if the movie disappoints. Here are the Young ones to watch -and avoid. Not included are cameo appearances in Stripes, Dune, and Wall Street.
Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980)
In her first film, a strained
affair about rival New York theater troupes intent on staging Austen,
Young plays a malleable novice actress. She looks the part. C-
Young Doctors in Love (1982)
A stricken intern in a D.O.A.
hospital parody. It wants to be another Airplane!, but it never takes
off. D
Blade Runner (1982)
Looking like a 21st-century Gibson Girl,
she's the android apple of Harrison Ford's eye in Ridley Scott's
creepy sci-fi cult epic. A new ''director's cut,'' without the annoying
voice-over, has been playing in Los Angeles and will open elsewhere
Feb. 14. B+
Baby...Secret of the Lost Legend (1985)
A paleontologist who
discovers and aids a baby brontosaurus (it looks more like Gumby's
mutant brother). C-
Under the Baltimore Clock (1985)
This PBS Fitzgerald adaptation
starts wittily, with husband-hunting Young snaring a rich nerd. Then
she meets his family, and it turns into bad Jazz Age Twin Peaks. C-
No Way Out (1987)
Her backseat whoopee with Kevin Costner finally made Young a household name. She's only on screen for half of this quick, shivery suspense film — more than enough to
give the movie its conscience and the audience a new star. A
The Boost (1988)
This feel-bad parable about a couple brought
down by cocaine might have been better if the weird vibes between
Young and James Woods had made it in front of the cameras. D+
Cousins (1989)
She hams to a finely tuned fare-thee-well as a
two-timing wife (with William Petersen) — a woman not as
smart as she thinks but not as dumb as she looks. B+
Fire Birds (1990)
In this Top Gun ripoff, Young makes you believe
her chopper pilot falls for piggy Nicolas Cage — now that's acting. D-
A Kiss Before Dying (1991) Young plays twins, both at the mercy of murderous mate Matt Dillon. It was a nifty concept in 1956, but the remake gets hornswoggled by a muddled script and botched editing. D
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