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I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but the en vogue nature of dog-piling Tom Cruise has started to really get under my skin.
Sure, Rachel Abramowitz and Anne Thompson are playing the pity card in their tone, but you get the pouring-salt-on-wounds vibe nonetheless. At Variety, Thompson calls “Lions for Lambs” a flop twice (it is, but once was enough) while Abramowitz tosses around words like “crisis” regarding the actor’s career at the LA Times, all in the service of what?
The real story is about Paula Wagner leaving United Artists last week, and yet the desire of entertainment journalists is to shine a light on Cruise, off in the corner, making his own moves as usual, some successful, some not, and all of them in the course of a career that is, quite frankly, just fine…if in flux. Follow-up stories have to be about something when the quote well has dried up, I suppose.
Commentary on Cruise’s situation is fair enough, but to me it seems like another reason for people to bring up the Oprah couch-jumping “meltdown” (I’ve seen meltdowns and that didn’t come close). It’s another excuse to discuss Cruise’s waning star. For Thompson, it’s an opportunity to borderline play psychiatrist:
The details on the 28th Amendment scenario reveal a good deal about what Cruise is looking for in roles. Cruise played a doctor in Eyes Wide Shut, a U.S. Senator in Lions for Lambs, and a Nazi hero in Valkyrie (a role that I hear is quite moving). Cruise also earned raves in a cameo role in Tropic Thunder as a fat balding venal producer.
I think the implication is a leader complex. Cruise prefers to be in positions of power on screen, that right? I’m editorializing, of course, but that’s the gist I’m getting. Underneath it all, what’s wrong with shying away from the role of a special ops operative because it’s treading “Mission: Impossible” territory?
Where some are finding reason to question Cruise’s power within the system he’s triumphed for over two decades, I tend to see an actor conscious of his image while seeking out roles that at least stand out to him, mindful of regressing into a cookie-cutter tool for studio usage.
And the proof is in Thompson’s anonymous WB quote: “He’d totally score [in 'The 28th Ammendment']. It’s a fantastic hero character.” Score for WB, of course, and in vanilla fashion. Keep the actor locked into what the establishment would prefer to see him as.
And that’s what the studios are missing, it seems. The hero Cruise of old. Instead of flawless whitebread protagonists, he’s taking on a hitman in “Collateral,” a deadbeat dad in “War of the Worlds,” a misguided Senator in “Lions for Lambs” and now, a morally corrupt if comedically centered studio producer in “Tropic Thunder.” In December’s “Valkyrie,” he’ll take on the heroic part of a man involved with a plot to kill Adolf Hitler, but he’s still playing a friggin’ Nazi. Claus von Stauffenberg is probably not preferable to the boy scout antics of Ethan Hunt.
Interesting progression.
Frankly, I’m sick of hearing about the couch-jumping. I’m sick of the career-analysis by journalists with nothing better to do. I’m irritated that a star can’t find his own way in the wake of his glory years without his every move being scrutinized. And really, who stays on top forever? Is no one aware of the ebb and flow of a professional life?
“Now we gotta make the best of it, improvise, adapt to the environment, Darwin, shit happens, I Ching, whatever man, we gotta roll with it.”
If the rest of Hollywood could adopt the same mentality, maybe we could finally get to some stories of substance.
UPDATE (9:16 a.m.): Of course the Vulture crew would see red and go after Cruise, as they have in this reaction to the “Tropic Thunder” cameo. It’s oh so posh to be uber cool and fringe, etc. (you know, Vulture’s mandate) to go this route. So…whatever.
19 responses so far
1 8-20-2008 at 9:11 am
Liz said...
THANK YOU.
I find it a little troubling how much joy people have gotten out of cheering this man’s failures. It’s a commentary on how we love to put people up on pedestals and then tear them down. After all, what has he done, really? Jumped up and down on a couch? Weird? Yes. “Meltdown”? Please.
Will Smith is next. I give him eighteen months before people pull out the knives for whatever reason they can find.
2 8-20-2008 at 9:54 am
Bryan said...
Indeed. The man is a fine actor (not great in my book but consistently consistent).
And don’t tell me you haven’t jumped on a couch before in your life.
3 8-20-2008 at 11:33 am
John K said...
Eh, not that I agree with the particular criticisms of Cruise cited in this post, but it’s a bit misleading to talk about the couch jumping incident as if that was the only reason why people started to “pull out the knives.”
Not that I care one way or another about the man’s career – in fact, I agree that the dogpiling might be getting a tad excessive, a la Britney and the Lohan – but after the idiotic and borderline dangerous things he said about Scientology and psychiatry, it’s difficult to feel that much sympathy. He brought it on himself.
4 8-20-2008 at 11:36 am
Kristopher Tapley said...
Fine to give him shit about talking down to Matt Lauer. I certainly cited my irritation, but that’s not the sum of a man and the couch-jumping is a pathetic shield to hide behind.
No one’s out there attacking his “dangerous” proclamations about Scientology. They’re digging at asides that don’t matter and dumbing down the substance of any argument they might have.
5 8-20-2008 at 11:39 am
Andre said...
Kris , I love the site and view it daily, but when I read the post title I couldn´t help but be reminded of the “leave britney alone” video.
in all seriousness, I don’t get why the media seems to enjoy beating the guy up so much. here in Brazil it’s just the opposite: our media treats crass, talentless people as if they’re geniuses!
go figure.
6 8-20-2008 at 11:49 am
Liz said...
John,
But I also have a problem with that view as well. I agree that things he said were idiotic (also I think “borderline dangerous” might be a bit much), but since when is it a crime for a person to have different opinions?
Whenever actors of certain political persuasions are shouted down and told to “shut up,” there are always plenty of people to (rightly) point out that it’s their right to give their opinions. I’d be willing to bet that most of those people are the same ones attacking Tom Cruise, and it’s a terrible double standard.
7 8-20-2008 at 12:08 pm
FrankGrimes said...
You know what, I really fucking hate New York arts and culture critics. If they all died off, would anyone shed a tear? Even their own mothers? I’m not so sure…
One day, I need to make good on my promise to make the trek to Pauline Kael’s grave and take a piss and shit on it. And when I do, I’ll be sure to bring a video camera, so I can record and post it on YouTube.
8 8-20-2008 at 12:20 pm
Brian said...
Tom Cruise is a great actor. One only has to view the montage that The Museum of the Moving Image put together for him to easily be reminded. The man doesn’t make bad movies. He’s got one of the best track records in the business. No, they’re not all great, M:I II I’m looking at you. But even the ones that didn’t turn out to be great I’m sure looked good on paper. Lions for Lambs had a great part for him, especially being played against Meryl Streep, and with Robert Redford directing? How do you say no to that? He was the best part of that movie, incidentally.
You can see the montage they put together for him on his website, tomcruise.com. It’s essentially the single greatest reel ever made. Once you get past the opening picture of him that looks kind of gay, you can click on the Play Video button and behold greatness.
He’s worked with the most talented people in the industry. Scorsese, Crowe (twice), Spielberg (twice), Kubrick, DePalma, Scott (both), Levinson, Stone, Reiner, Howard, Pollack, Mann, PTA, and soon Singer. A crazy, borderline dangerous person, let alone a bad actor, does not get to work with the best people in the industry every time out. And let us not forget his three Academy Award nominations, with his portrayal in Born on the Fourth of July one of the best leading performances of the last twenty years.
Yeah, Cocktail sucked, but everybody gets one do-over, right? People shouldn’t leave Tom Cruise alone. They should bow down to the man and recognize they are in the presence of greatness.
And did you see that leaked video of his Scientology birthday bash? He still knows all the words to Old Time Rock and Roll. And he can still dance like a motherfucker.
9 8-20-2008 at 12:23 pm
Martin Edwards said...
Thank you, thank you, thank you for addressing this issue. The headline says in a nutshell what I’ve been arguing since the incident that started it all (not the be-all end-all, but come on, man, things truly started to change for the worse for him since the couch jumping).
Personally, what bothers me most about the whole situation is how some of films greatest artists had their own eccentricities, far worse than Cruise’s. While Cruise is not an all-time actor, I’d definitely be inclined to say he is on the lower-to-high cusp of greats of his generation. He rarely makes a bad movie, and has proven he’s capable of carrying most any kind of movie with any kind of role thrown at him: war, action, fantasy, drama, romance, science fiction, thriller, and now he’s shown true comedic chops. That’s something that can’t be said for many other actors. The fact that Cruise’s personal life and religious beliefs (as odd as they may be) is more of a focus than his professional life, you know, the one that made him famous in the first place, is a gross example of the state of what we expect/get from our media. Let the man be, and maybe we’ll be able to go back to recognizing the talent that we’re witnessing.
10 8-20-2008 at 12:24 pm
John K said...
Kris, the couch-jumping – while befuddling and ridiculously amusing at the time – was an ultimately innocuous activity that didn’t warrant the shitstorm that it caused. I think we’re in agreement on that point, and I think I slightly misinterpreted the rest of your post, which is my bad.
Liz, one can always make the argument that, just as one has the right to different opinions, one also has the right to attack those different opinions. But I recognize that the venom towards Cruise might be a bit much. Back when he was talking to Matt Lauer and Brooke Shields like they were idiots, he deserved everything that was being thrown at him and more. However, now that he’s calmed down significantly, it seems like the media should let up a little.
I know what you mean about the double standard. For example, the Dixie Chicks come to mind, since I admittedly fully back the Dixie Chicks. However, despite my support of their political views, I also believe that the Dixie Chicks had to realize that they were going to get shit for their actions, seeing as how they cater to a country-music audience.
IDEALLY, everyone should be able to express their own opinions as long as they are delivered in a respectful manner, but Tom Cruise should have realized on a PRACTICAL level that this was not going to turn out well for him. That’s what I meant when I said “he brought it on himself.” I agree with you in spirit, though.
Anyway, just clarifying my thoughts and hopefully not derailing the thread too much.
11 8-20-2008 at 5:26 pm
Marvin said...
He’s been given the call that he’s out and he won’t accept it. I think he brought it upon himself.
12 8-20-2008 at 5:32 pm
John Foote said...
Jesus, leave the man alone!!!! His personal life is none of our business, and never has been; all I care about with any of these people is what they are doing on screen. I deplore what Woody Allen did with Mia Farrow’s adopted daughter, a girl Woody help raise, but I still admire his art. Cruise is a fine actor…plain and simple…leave him alone, get off his back and let’s hope he does something on the lvel of ‘Magnolia” very soon.
13 8-20-2008 at 5:47 pm
Andy said...
I actually don’t hate Tom Cruise, until he appears in Tropic Thunder. Maybe it’s his PR people, but I feel like he’s doing this role to show that he is not all high and mighty. Look! It’s Tom Cruise cursing!! Dancing!! OMG, look at me, I am just like most of you people!! The thing about his role, it is very interchangeable. Jeremy Piven gave a much better acting job because I think Ari Gold, even though he’s an ass, he does care about his friends. With Tom Cruise character, it’s just one-dimensional. I hope his new with Bryan Singer is going to be better.
14 8-20-2008 at 5:47 pm
Martin Edwards said...
John is emphatic upon the point I was trying to make earlier, but let’s take this a little further. Woody was a great example, and other examples are guys like Kubrick, Brando, and Polanski.
What Cruise is maligned for is nowhere NEAR what these guys have done with themselves. Underage girls, reclusiveness, and overall insane-ness are far worse than jumping on an damn couch and having an odd religious belief. Pardon my language, but what on Earth was the big fuckin’ deal about what Cruise has done?
15 8-20-2008 at 6:03 pm
John Foote said...
Thank you Martin…took the words right out of my mouth. You know what he did??? He was succesful, good looking, talented, nominated for Oscars, and by all accounts, a decent guy. I had the immense pleasure of interviewing Cruise in 99 and he was a pleasure to speak with. He was not a son of a bitch like John Ford, a spoiled, arrogant punk like Ashton Kutcher, nor many other things. Get off the man.
16 8-20-2008 at 8:06 pm
Jeff said...
You know, after seeing Tropic Thunder I think he’s “ready” to make his reintroduction as a huge, bankable moviestar. That is, if he keeps his damn mouth shut. I didn’t care so much about the couch jumping, and only was a tad irate about him arguing with Matt Lauer, but I lost all respect when Cruise criticized Brooke Sheilds’s right to take postpartum depression pills. I mean, he had no fucking right to tell someone else what to do, especially in regards to depression. So no, the bashing was very deserved. But, hey, everyone deserves a second chance, right, and so I hope Cruise uses this second chance to keep his Scientology crap to himself so that we CAN focus on the strength of his acting alone. Here’s me with my fingers crossed.
17 8-20-2008 at 8:38 pm
Brian said...
I would also like to say that Tom Cruise is the fastest man alive. Who would win in a race between Superman, the Flash, and Tom Cruise? Obviously Cruise, but by what margin of victory?
18 1-05-2009 at 6:01 am
Francesca said...
It’s truly frightening when even a celeb as huge as Cruise is still receiving five minute hates merely for questioning psychiatry, which does indeed have many many dark sides. (Frontal lobotomies, electro shock therapy, five year olds on ritalin, anyone?) Interesting how no one has gone after Shields for publicly endorsing psychiatric drugs.