inexplicable leading men
 

Every so often, Hollywood tries to foist upon an unexpecting public a Leading Man who has no business being there. Maybe a modicum of talent, yet without personality, star-power - PIZAZZ!!

Here's my choice as most inexplicable Leading Man ever:


Craig Wasson

http://www.whatdvd.net/WhatDVD-Graphics/main/948.jpg
http://www.iffphoto.sk/m/1999/28.jpg

Wasson starred in some movies in early 80s Hollywood fare like Four Friends, Ghost Story and Body Double. I have a sneaking suspicion that one of the reasons you've probably never heard of these movies (except maybe for the last one) is because Wasson's charisma level - that being ZERO - sunk these pictures before they could find an audience.

He's not bad. He's kinda charming in that Steve Zahn kind of way, you know? But you don't build a $20 million movie around him.

In recent years, Wasson maintains a career with a steady diet of guest roles on TV shows like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

http://content.answers.com/main/cont...STDS9Ep419.jpg

Craig Wasson - Most Inexplicable Leading Man ever.

who's yours?

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

Keanu Reeves (sp?)

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

Pauly Shore

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

Richard Dreyfus

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

Jude Law

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

He was deeply uninspiring in Body Double, but I don't think the film did badly in the box office, and it had many flaws -- laugh out loud ones. It was definitely De Palma at his worst in many spots.

I think his character was supposed to be bland, like Hitchcock characters are(DePalma has always been aping Hitchcock). But being bland like Cary Grant has a hell of a lot of spark in it. Hitch's "everyman" characters were sometimes anything but. This dude, though, definitely made bland believably bland.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

Rob Schneider

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

[ QUOTE ]
Rob Schneider

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah whatever. Like The Animal and The Hot Chick weren't the two greatest films in American history.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

I've mentioned this before, but every time Nicolas Cage gets a $20,000,000 paycheck, I scratch my head. I just don't understand it. He's the worst actor I've ever seen.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p...isodonnell.jpg

Chris O' Donnell

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

[ QUOTE ]
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p...isodonnell.jpg

Chris O' Donnell

[/ QUOTE ]

niiiiiiice

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

Chris O'Donnell YES great pick he's freaking awful

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

Jack Black is an awesome sidekick/comic foil, but a terrible leading man.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

[ QUOTE ]
He was deeply uninspiring in Body Double, but I don't think the film did badly in the box office

[/ QUOTE ]

It did feature Melanie Griffith nekkid in a voyeurism scene.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

John Belushi.


He was paired with Blair Brown in 'Continental Divide' in a questionable attempt to recreate Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

http://media.movieweb.com/galleries/...7/lo/PK-06.jpg

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

http://www.sptimesphotos.com/blogs/8...dy2-738113.jpg

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

[ QUOTE ]
http://www.sptimesphotos.com/blogs/8...dy2-738113.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

No Wai, he invented the 1980s Wide-Eyed Teen Angst Look.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

brendan fraser?

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

[ QUOTE ]
John Belushi.


He was paired with Blair Brown in 'Continental Divide' in a questionable attempt to recreate Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn.

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought he was very good in that, and the movie was well-reviewed.

But now that you mention Blair Brown, there's a good female version of the inexplicable leading actor. She had a t.v. show where she was trying to be this flighty and (for some reason) lovable ditso, but it was very annoying and didn't work well for someone her age. Huge mistake of a series.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

[ QUOTE ]
brendan fraser?

[/ QUOTE ]

NO. Do not disrespect Brendan Fraser. Jack Black either, for that matter. They rule.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

I thought Fraser was good in the Mummy movies.

Speaking of which, The Rock. aka Dwayne something [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

[ QUOTE ]
I thought Fraser was good in the Mummy movies.



[/ QUOTE ]

He was good in The Mummy, Encino Man, George of the Jungle and one of my favorite comedies - Bedazzled!

[img]http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9iby4EFSZ5GaFYAKj.jzbkF/SIG=14rblnu9n/EXP=1184864901/**http%3A//us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/twentieth_century_fox/bedazzled/_group_photos/brendan_fraser4.jpg[/img]

I want to watch this film now!

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
brendan fraser?

[/ QUOTE ]

NO. Do not disrespect Brendan Fraser. Jack Black either, for that matter. They rule.

[/ QUOTE ]

Both immensely likeable, but I'm not sure about Black as a leading man either. Great in School of Rock, much less so in King Kong, and Nacho Libre was I understand a stinker.

What would be interesting, though, is if he became this generation's version of Johnny Depp -- starting out very shallow, but broadening out his talent surprisingly. He has already become someone to watch, like Depp is now. It's hard not to be curious about anything he's in just because he's in it.

But he doesn't seem to be an interesting actor yet. Depp hit on interesting actor pretty early on, and just kept working it from there. I wonder if Black will allow himself to get sidetracked into poor projects like Nacho Libre or roles where he can just mug his way through, like King Kong. After School of Rock, he had a lot of choices, and he still does. But it's not going to take a lot of Nacho Libres to pigeonhole him as a lowbrow comic actor, or King Kong's to show his blandness and limitations as a serious actor.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I thought Fraser was good in the Mummy movies.



[/ QUOTE ]

He was good in The Mummy, Encino Man, George of the Jungle and one of my favorite comedies - Bedazzled!

[img]http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9iby4EFSZ5GaFYAKj.jzbkF/SIG=14rblnu9n/EXP=1184864901/**http%3A//us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/twentieth_century_fox/bedazzled/_group_photos/brendan_fraser4.jpg[/img]

I want to watch this film now!

[/ QUOTE ]

I should watch it just for Liz Hurley. I heard it was terrible.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

[ QUOTE ]
I should watch it just for Liz Hurley.

[/ QUOTE ]

Best reason to watch this flick (repeatedly).

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

Cross reference fashion thread: In "Bedazzled," Liz Hurley wears the sexiest wardrobe I have ever seen in a movie. It is of course, helped by her perfect body, but the clothes themselves were amazing too.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/7...ller200ad6.jpg

If it weren't for his parents, this guy would be working part-time at a car wash...

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

Blame the stonecutters. http://www.webwombat.com.au/entertai...es/gutten2.JPG

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

[ QUOTE ]
I've mentioned this before, but every time Nicolas Cage gets a $20,000,000 paycheck, I scratch my head. I just don't understand it. He's the worst actor I've ever seen.

[/ QUOTE ]


ummm...Leaving Las Vegas, Adaptation.


I second Keanu Reeves.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

How about Mickey Rourke? Decent actor, but way too creepy for a leading man, despite 9 1/2 Weeks.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

[ QUOTE ]
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/7...ller200ad6.jpg

If it weren't for his parents, this guy would be working part-time at a car wash...

[/ QUOTE ]

wow, i disagree a million percent.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

Blarg,

did you just say that jack black was good in school of rock? thats kind of weird because i watched about 10 minutes of it on cable and it seemed like your standard really really lame movie for 12 year olds. im just curious what you liked about that film.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/7...ller200ad6.jpg

If it weren't for his parents, this guy would be working part-time at a car wash...

[/ QUOTE ]

wow, i disagree a million percent.

[/ QUOTE ]

He's proven himself since his free "gimmie" career, but wow he started out as a total nothing and got huge play despite it.

So you're both right in a way.

On another note, he hasn't proven that spectacular overall. I've kind of been waiting for the shine of his star to dull a bit. I think he gets a lot of credit for Something About Mary, but I'm not sure as much of the heat he got from that movie is really about his performance so much as being in the right place at the right time. I don't think he contributed a whole lot that I couldn't see being replaced by any other halfway talented comic actor.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/7...ller200ad6.jpg

If it weren't for his parents, this guy would be working part-time at a car wash...

[/ QUOTE ]

wow, i disagree a million percent.

[/ QUOTE ]

He's proven himself since his free "gimmie" career, but wow he started out as a total nothing and got huge play despite it.

So you're both right in a way.

On another note, he hasn't proven that spectacular overall. I've kind of been waiting for the shine of his star to dull a bit. I think he gets a lot of credit for Something About Mary, but I'm not sure as much of the heat he got from that movie is really about his performance so much as being in the right place at the right time. I don't think he contributed a whole lot that I couldn't see being replaced by any other halfway talented comic actor.

[/ QUOTE ]

i thought he was really great in Dodgeball, which reminds me of how bad Vince Vaughn has been in everything besides Wedding Crashers and Made. It was like he wasnt even acting in Dodgeball, although there wasnt much he could do with the script I guess. I think Stiler did a great job in Envy, Meet the Parents, Duplex, Royal Tennenbaums and Something about Mary. Him and Luke Wilson are great at playing the normal guy in an absurd situation. Its hard to imagine that Meet The Parents would have been as good with another actor in the role, where as Deniro could have easily been replaced by anyone.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

I agree that Tobey Mcquire sucks. So does the kid that looks like him from Lord of The Rings. I might get criticized for this but Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins and Sean Connery have all sucked big time, for a long time.

Two Words: Ben Affleck.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/7...ller200ad6.jpg

If it weren't for his parents, this guy would be working part-time at a car wash...

[/ QUOTE ]

wow, i disagree a million percent.

[/ QUOTE ]

He's proven himself since his free "gimmie" career, but wow he started out as a total nothing and got huge play despite it.

So you're both right in a way.

On another note, he hasn't proven that spectacular overall. I've kind of been waiting for the shine of his star to dull a bit. I think he gets a lot of credit for Something About Mary, but I'm not sure as much of the heat he got from that movie is really about his performance so much as being in the right place at the right time. I don't think he contributed a whole lot that I couldn't see being replaced by any other halfway talented comic actor.

[/ QUOTE ]

i thought he was really great in Dodgeball, which reminds me of how bad Vince Vaughn has been in everything besides Wedding Crashers and Made. It was like he wasnt even acting in Dodgeball, although there wasnt much he could do with the script I guess. I think Stiler did a great job in Envy, Meet the Parents, Duplex, Royal Tennenbaums and Something about Mary. Him and Luke Wilson are great at playing the normal guy in an absurd situation. Its hard to imagine that Meet The Parents would have been as good with another actor in the role, where as Deniro could have easily been replaced by anyone.

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought Meet the Parents was absolutely terrible and completely crushed a good premise with awful phoned-in writing, which you have to blame the director for usually unless he had little control on the edit or writing, which actually happens quite a bit when dealing with big stars or fathead producers. But it was just a hugely disappointing, completely pedestrian movie that wasted the incredible, lightning-strike score of a Robert DeNiro appearance, without which the movie wouldn't have gotten a tenth of the buzz and marketability.

P.S. when mentioning Vaugh, you forgot what he's still riding hard, his really good performance in Swingers.

He's playing such different roles now, that it's like he has a separate career, though. He's pretty far from the skinny goofball almost-hipster he used to be. I wonder how long he's going to sustain his career at anything like its heights.

I think he reminds me of Chevy Chase a bit. Similar attitudes and charm, getting older, trying to cram childish roles into an adult face and a heavy body. Easy to see as having an uncertain future and going on endlessly despite never achieving anything even a little interesting every again.

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

Kiefer Sutherland

& I second the nomination for Ben Affleck

Don Johnson

Re: inexplicable leading men
 

Wow Kiefer Sutherland is a great one. He's void of both looks and charisma. I was stunned when he got on 24 and became a bad-ass, because he's was laughably lackluster and looked like his skin had been indifferently filled with lumpy porridge. I don't think I found as indifferent a leading man since another short, fat (and balding) Michael Keaton shocked and repulsed the planet by being chosen to play Batman.