By Chris Rachael Oseland
Fancast Movies
It's no accident Will Smith is the undisputed King of the 4th of July weekend.
He's famously quoted as stating, "When I started in movies, I said, 'I want to be the biggest movie star in the world.' The biggest movie stars make the biggest movies, so [my producing partner James Lassiter and I] looked at the top 10 movies of all time. At that point, they were all special-effects movies. So Independence Day, no-brainer. Men in Black, no-brainer. I, Robot, no-brainer."
This year, the Former Fresh Prince joins the Legion of Summer Super Heroes as Hancock. Normally, Smith gives us a wholesomely clean, wisecracking, lovable lead who saves the day despite unfair odds stacked against him. This year, he's bringing us a wisecracking, lovable alcoholic from another world who smashes the scenery with the careless abandon of a Grand Theft Auto junkie. Hancock should in no way be confused with Iron Man, a lovable, charismatic alcoholic billionaire, Hellboy, a lovable, charismatic otherworldly demon, or The Incredible Hulk, who likes to smash.
In media circles, it's currently trendy to pick on Smith for giving us exactly what we want. This year, that means superheroes, special effects, and snark. At this point in his career, the talking heads say he should shrug off that early ambition and start stretching our expectations, maybe challenge us a little. It's time for him to give us a Sideways, a Little Miss Sunshine, a Your Friends & Neighbors.
Instead, outside blockbuster season he's giving us heartwarming but meaningful movies like The Pursuit of Happyness and the upcoming Seven Pounds. Damn them man for having wholesome values. But let's be realistic - even if he gave them a bitter post-modern film about an indifferent small town bastard with a pointless job who casually cheats on his wife and leaves his parents to die in an abusive nursing home, the reviewers still wouldn't love him.
Screw 'em. There are 11 other months to experiment with deep movies. July is Smith's month for big budget, easy to watch, eye popping flicks. Ticket sales prove we love him for it.
Say what you will about quality, but Smith is wholesomely honest about his summer blockbusters. They won't change your life. They're not Shakespeare. They're darn fun popcorn movies that'll entertain you on a sweaty summer afternoon - and that's all. This 4th of July, enjoy Hancock with a clear concience.
1996: Independence Day
$306 million domestic, $511 international
1997: Men in Black
$215 million domestic, $339 million international
1999: Wild Wild West
$113 million domestic, $103 million international
2002: Men In Black II
$190 million domestic , $250 million international
2004: I, Robot
$144 million domestic, 204 million international
Comments (1)
In Smith's defense, he did start out a little more daring with Six Degrees of Separation, where he played a homosexual con artist.
That said, would it KILL him to at least shop for better scripts? I mean, George Clooney makes goofball pictures, too, but at least he makes them Steven Soderbergh and the Coen brothers.
Would it kill him to do a Warren Ellis adaptation, or something. Tell me you wouldn't pay good money to see him play the lead in a David Fincher production of this:
http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/05/newbie-writer-will-adapt-warren-ellis-ocean/
Posted by Jay Garmon | July 2, 2008 6:19 PM
Posted on July 2, 2008 18:19