Save Us From Ben Affleck
Comments: 3
From the sublime Fats Waller to the ridiculous Ben Affleck. That’s what kind of day it is around here.
I once read Affleck described as criminally lucky, and that’s about as perfect a description of this supremely untalented man’s rise to fame as you’re ever likely to read. Sheerly Avni has an article in Salon today about People magazine’s announcement that Affleck is this year’s “sexiest man alive,” in which case I am Marie of Romania.
Ben Affleck is tall, buff, inoffensive, possibly charming, totally all-American. But from “Pearl Harbor,” where he played Sgt. Square Jaw, to “Armageddon,” where he played Capt. Cleft Chin, the guy is as far from Take Me Now as any Teflon god in recent American cinema. Is he pretty? Sure, in an “I can’t remember what he looks like when he leaves the screen” kind of way.
It used to be that a whole lot of talent was a requisite for ‘stardom,’ then it happened that less talent was required. Affleck’s ascendancy confirms that in fact today no talent is required whatsoever, and the separation between “movie stars” and “actors” is complete.
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Posted to General Rants • 2002.11.22 (Fri) • 15:49
Comments
Posted by tomas 2002.11.23, 00:28
The first Affleck-featured (or infested) movie I saw was “Good Will Hunting”. I loved it. Still do.
Both Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who also wrote the script, were great and I expected a lot of good from both of them.
I saw an interview with Ben, he said he would only do movies he wanted to do and not do for reasons such as to “help” his career, because he didn’t think that would “help” his career in the long run anyway.
Then he did Armageddon.
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens 2002.11.23, 22:59
I’ve always thought Ben Affleck was extremely attractive. I first saw him in “Chasing Amy” and then in “Shakespeare in Love” (in which I much preferred him to Joseph Fiennes). And I always preferred him to his bud Matt Damon in all the Kevin Smith flicks. (However, Matt Damon has matured nicely in “The Bourne Identity”.) I haven’t watched “Armegeddon” or “Pearl Harbor” or “The Sum of All Fears” and never intend to. But this isn’t an acting award, is it? It’s People’s Sexiest Man—what did you expect besides celebrity?
For intelligent sexiness, my money’s on Croupier’s Clive Owen, although Colin Farrell is certainly up-and-coming in my book.
Posted by Scarlett 2004.07.28, 13:02
Speaking of Ben Affleck, he was on Larry King last night and sounded like he wanted to run for political office!
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