Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Tom Cruise and Mangroves


Others have said it, and I agree: Tom Cruise is a little strange.

I’m not basing that on the Oprah couch-jumping episode, which seemed pretty harmless. I’m basing it on an overall eccentricity he seems to project these days, a defensive sort of anger. Plus, while I hate to knock anyone’s religion, I just don’t see how one could so fervently support a church founded in the 1950s by a science fiction writer.

I’m thinking about Tom because I watched “Cocktail” last night, one of his lesser movies from the ‘80s. I’d never seen it, and though it’s often slammed for being bad, I thought it was actually pretty entertaining. Tom was the “it” boy for my generation, or at least one of them, and there was a time during his “Top Gun” period when I thought he was just about the hottest thing on two legs.

He’s proven himself a capable actor, in movies like “Magnolia,” and he’s also committed some egregious career missteps. Hollywood has never quite respected him. As for his eccentricity, I can’t imagine what it must be like to live in such an intense, prolonged glare of publicity -- particularly in this age of ethically questionable celebrity “journalism” and creepy photographers lurking in the shrubbery.

So, yeah, he’s a little strange. But I still kind of like him!

(Photo: Urban mangroves in downtown Tampa, Fla., June 2009)

7 comments:

  1. I understand and respect the mangroves more than I do Tom Cruise. As i recall, the mangrove is a really ancient plant... or am I confusing it with the ancient manatee? Florida is full of old things and old people, isn't it?

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  2. Cruise reminds me of 'Beaker' from the Muppets...

    As for his acting ability, there are very few roles he's had where I can't think of a contemporary that would have been a better choice. For example, recent movies, like War of the Worlds or Minority Report would have been better served, I think, by somebody like Will Smith. Were it not for Jerry Maguire and Risky Business, I'd tag Cruise as totally worthless as an actor. As a person, at least from my perspective, I think he's worse.

    I don't buy the celebrity boohoo thing either. Give me 200 million dollars and the press can snap a billion pictures of my naked butt. I only feel bad for celebrities who get wrapped up in drama caused by somebody else, like Jennifer Aniston being blindsided by the Pitt/Jolie affair. That has to be hard to handle under a microscope.

    Friendly Question...Why the Entertainment Tonight flavor on the blog today?

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  3. Barbara: There's a saying in Southwest Florida: "Everyone's parents live in Sarasota, and THEIR parents live in Venice."

    Utah: Watching "Cocktail" can't help but produce an "Entertainment Tonight" reaction. I think you're right about some Cruise movies, where other actors would have been better. But aside from the two good ones you mentioned, I'd add "Magnolia" and the first "Mission: Impossible" to the roster of films where he was spot on.

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  4. What a great post.

    He kind of creeps me out, now of course, but always in a certain way. Thanks for putting some language to it - yes, he seems angry.

    Really perceptive of you!!

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  5. He was spot on in Top Gun but apart from that movie, I never cared for him. I didn't find his acting riveting and since he doesn't have the kind of looks that appeal to me, what was there to like?

    I haven't followed his career but anybody who becomes poster boy for the Scientologists must be angry when it dawns on him he's been had - although I don't know how anybody can go for that crowd in the first place.

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  6. TC always struck me as being cocky, which is why I think he was perfect in both Top Gun and Magnolia. He's one of those "hot" celebrities, though, that never did anything for me: the presumed cockiness has always been a major turn-off.

    Give me Brad Pitt any day. ;-)

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  7. Steve, there was a time when I could enjoy Cruise's work. That train left the station. These days I think of him as a self-important jerk. Sorry, but that's how I see it.

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