Escaping the Room of Scorn

As I was staggering about in the dark this morning, trying to make coffee and work out the tiredness and soreness from sleeping (what? everybody doesn't wake up more tired and sore than when they went to bed?), I was thinking about Liam Neesan and his wife's tragic passing. I recalled how it had taken a while for me to like Neesan. As an actor, he had to grow on me. But then I realized that that was the case with a majority of my favorite actors.

Matt Damon -- in "Good Will Hunting" he struck me as a pretty boy punk who'd always had it easy. Natural good looks and perhaps a pushy stage-mom can make up for talent or any other possible area where one might be lacking. I didn't hate the guy or anything, I just figured him for yet another of the pretty boy actors Hollywood churns out (which is also a prime reason why they have so few marketable leading male actors these days -- they went away from the Clint Eastwood and Harrison Fords who were appealing to both the male and female audience in favor of Ben Afflecks and skinny little male-models types who fail miserably when put in a role that requires being something other than pretty or having great hair.). But after a few years and a few good roles he had earned my respect and is now one of my favorites. Like Heath Ledger was in the process of doing, he had crossed the boundary from being loved by women and mostly scorned by men to universal acceptance. THAT is the key to being a leading male in Hollywood. I'm getting tired of having to scream it. Yet Hollywood keeps pumping out the same lame punks, year after year. That High School Musical kid, Ashton Kucher, Orlando Bloom, etc are all famous because they're appealing to girls. But men (by and large) can't stand these guys. Bloom has come very close to breaking out, but I think he would have to shave his head, adopt a sarcastic, I-don't-care attitude and then start taking quirky roles that highlight completely different aspects of his character than we have previously seen. Like Ledger taking on character-actor type roles - the opposite of a heroic leading man.

Brad Pitt is another who made his way out of my Room of Scorn and is now one of my favorite actors (Russell Crowe is probably my favorite who is still in his prime, Ford would have to get the all-time label due to his body of work). Pitt was insanely popular with the ladies when he first arrived on the scene. And this annoyed men greatly. But through wise choices in the roles he took and showing he could be a man's man he made a pioneering leap over the Fan Gender Gap. Once upon a time a guy wouldn't be caught dead claiming Pitt as one of their favorite actors. A blog such as this, printed out and rushed back through time via Trans-Temporal-FedEX (what? You've never used them? They're very handy and reliable. Especially when you absolutely, positively, HAVE to get a package back through time - on time!) a guy like me would be mocked and ridiculed for printing such praise of Pitt. I might even get ex-communicated from the Order of Manliness.

Back to my original thought, though: I never considered Neesan to be part of the pretty boy group. I just didn't care for him. Other actors who have overcome the Room of Scorn include:

Johnny Depp -- it's okay to like him now and even revere him as a guy's favorite actor. But there's still some of that pretty boy stink clinging to him. Somehow being Jack Sparrow solidified him both as a guy's-guy and as a sex symbol for the ladies. That's one remarkablely lucky role selection.

Christian Bale -- he's in a dead heat with Crowe for my favorite "current" actor crown and probably at the top of the heap in Hollywood right now. Any role he wants - he can have it. Superb actor and extremely versatile. However, there was a time when I didn't like him. It was only a brief period of time and my level of dislike was rather small. But I did dismiss him because of his pretty boy status. And he quickly won me over and the hearts, minds, and wallets of America.

Roberty Downey, Jr. -- not only was the guy a star from the 80s (that's one strike), but he was always relapsing into drug problems and being given 2nd, 3rd, 45th chances by Hollywood (another strike with the guys - guys who seem to be of the mindset that an actor who does drugs should be able to handle it and just shut up about it), and to top it off he had made his star by being a pretty boy and protraying a cocky, smart-aleck persona in most of his roles. Not winning over the guys that way. But then this past year he rose from the depths of Scorn-dom and in one summer won a tentative place in the esteem of the male audience. His roles in Iron Man and Tropic Thunder showed a completely different side of RDJ. Or at least a side the male audience had never seen before. We haven't fully bought-in to him yet, he's still on a probationary status, but with future roles in Iron Man sequels looming, he's probably a safe bet to be in our good graces down the road.

Well, that's enough of that. I don't know where these topics come from sometimes. I need more coffee...