I'm honestly flattered, and have every intention of taking part in the meme. But then I start thinking things like "Maybe they just think I have better connections than them and can use me to further the meme for their benefit" or "I like being a leader - creating my own damn meme - if I take part in this one, I'm just a follower, and I hate being a follower."
Or maybe I'm just lazy and I lack discipline. Ain't that right, Arnold?
Anyway, I've been tagged by two memes...recently. Okay, that's not true - one was recently, and the other tagging occurred sometime in the last millennium, I believe. Oh well...better late than never, right?
First up, from Deadpan, the Top 10 Man Crushes in film meme.
The Rules:
This can be a character, actor, director, really anyone working on films. The only thing is, they must be a personality. You have to really know something about them. This rules out most producers, cinematographers, etc.
If you are a man, these man crushes, obviously must be men. If you are a woman than I say they have to be a woman. They must be the same sex as the writer making their list.
You can choose anyone living or dead. They must be chosen due to their film content. If you choose Michael J. Fox and the only thing you like about him is his role in Family Ties then he doesn't work. But if you choose Michael J. Fox because you love Marty McFly, and you want to mention that you also love Family Ties, that is acceptable.
Later, in a comment, he added this:
"It seems everyone thought by man crush I just meant favorite males in movies, but by using the term man crush rather than just saying that specifically I was trying to get across that these weren't just men I admired but men I would aspire to be like in my daily life, men who make me wish I were someone else for the duration of the time I am watching them."
Luckily for Deadpan, this is the tagging that occurred some time ago (November 19, to be exact). As that's the case, we can forgive him for even using the term Man crush in the first place - it hadn't been really, truly beaten into the ground until I Love You, Man was released.
Secondly, I was tagged by Getafilm for the 10 Favorite Characters meme. No rules necessary here, as it's super self-explanatory.
To further the ire of meme-rs (?) everywhere and to further my standing within the meme community, I'm gonna be one of those people who just ignores all of the rules and makes up their own. In this case, I'll be doing this by combining the two memes into one Super Meme, picking My 10 Favorite Characters by My 10 Man crushes. Or something like that. Alright, enough exposition...
10. Can you admit when you were wrong? Can you get out of jail and act as a savior to your flailing family? Can you do it all with a giant swastika on your chest? American History X's Derek Vineyard was a role model to so many impressionable kids when he shouldn't have been, and couldn't become a role model fast enough to his own brother when he should have been. Either way, he's Edward Norton's best role by a long shot (well, maybe not that long - Primal Fear's Aaron was pretty damn good, too).
9. I'll flip you. "Flip you fo real," says Fred Fenster, Benicio del Toro's breakout Usual Suspects role.
8. I've got a bit of a man crush on Joseph Gordon-Levitt - I find him to be the most appealing young actor working today (though at 28, it's not as though he's the kid from Third Rock from the Sun anymore). Problem is, I don't particularly like any of his characters just yet. Brick's Brendan probably comes closest, though that film didn't sit all that well with me in the end.
7. Jason Statham's Transporter role, Frank Martin. Because sometimes you just wish you could kick that much ass.6. Impatient with sunglasses-at-night-wearing dolts, quick with a pop-culture reference (Bonnie & Clyde) while stuck in the trunk of a car, and capable of knocking off banks without even so much as a gun, Out of Sight's Jack Foley is a flawed hero we can all get behind. It also served as the key ingredient to George Clooney being taken seriously as a film actor.
5. (Speaking of bank robbers...) He understands the many philosophies of the world. He can catch a football almost as well as he catches a wave. I never wanted to take Baby out of the corner or make clay pots with Demi Moore, but I could definitely stand to be Bodhi from Point Break.
4. In most cases, I'd think it loco to have a man crush on Samuel L. Jackson. But as Jackie Brown's Ordell Robbie, the man oozed style (and a bit of sleaze). Jules Winfield got all the press, but would you really want that dripping-ass mop for a head of hair?3. Oh, to have the quick wit and on-the-spot cunning of Irwin M. Fletcher. Gun to his face and he's still cracking jokes. In jail with a pansexual ogre and the one-liners don't stop coming. If he has fear, he doesn't show it much. It's funny that Chevy Chase might be remembered most as the buffoonish dad from the Vacation series, because as he showed in the two Fletch films and the two Caddyshack films, he's capable of being one of the smoothest operators around.
2. Is it possible to have a man crush on someone old enough to be your father? Like so many others in my demographic, the influence of Ford on our lives is large and inescapable. And while Han Solo would be a worthy pick, I can't pass up Indiana Jones from his first film, where Ford showed us that we can all be brainy, tough as nails, creative, sarcastic, spontaneous...
1.
1. Do I really aspire to be couch-dwelling, pot-smoking-from-a-honey-bear slacker? Do I really aspire to be Floyd from True Romance? No, probably not - but my man crush on Brad Pitt started with this, one of his earlier film roles, and certainly my favorite (though Tyler Durden and Snatch's Mickey come awfully close).
9 people have chosen wisely: on "Knockin' out a couple memes"
I'm surprised you don't put "Jack" from Fight Club up there as one of Norton's great roles. While I agree he gets overlooked especially for Primal Fear, I thought he was outstanding in Fight Club.
Jack would place third. He's great - dry, wry and appealing in his 'everyman' way, but the other ones mentioned are much flashier and hard to ignore. The fact that he's all but unrecognizable all bulked up and bald for Vineyard wins major bonus points, too. I still can't believe he made X and Rounders back-to-back...
"I'm terrible at memes."
Uh, what?!?!
Ah, Fred Fenster. "Is it Friday already? Jump in, I love ya."
Did you see Levitt in The Lookout or Stop-Loss? Troubled characters in both, but solid work. You'll probably fall head over heels for him in 500 Days of Summer. Then he's playing Cobra in G.I. Joe, I think.
Thanks for that, Daniel. Though I was specifically referring to the times when I get tagged, not when I do the tagging. That part's easy. :P
Yep, saw Levitt in both of those. His role in Stop-Loss was too small, and I had mixed feelings with The Lookout, just as I did with Brick. It was alright, and his character was certainly interesting, but not all that memorable. I might've picked his role in Manic, but I'm guessing most have never ever heard of the movie, much less seen it (I only caught it by accident on IFC or Sundance one day). He plays a punky recovering addict in rehab, and he's awesome in it.
And yes, from all I've read, I'm looking forward to 500 Days very, very much. GI Joe...not so much, though I'll likely see it anyway. He's definitely an interesting choice for Cobra Commander.
Nope, haven't seen Manic. And I actually haven't seen 500 Days yet either, but he appears to play someone lovable (to us, not to Zooey Deschanel). Looking forward to that one for sure.
Good list but you have another man crush that wasn't mentioned ... though maybe it's more of a dad crush ... Irrfan Khan. You totally want him to be your second dad.
I'm surprised with the Transporter crush. I got the idea you weren't a fan of the movie.
Also, I've seen Manic. I loved that movie... much more than Brick. I liked Brick, but had mixed emotions (like you). But Manic was really good, and Gordon-Levitt was brilliant in it.
Hi! Fletch,
Great! choices,
Out of Sight's with actor George Clooney as Jack Foley
...Yay!
actor Benicio del Toro, as Fred Fenster, (and to think his next film role will be a "stooge"..."Moe" to be
exact.) in his breakout role the
Usual Suspects.Finally,
The Indiana Jones collection, "trilogy" is for me!
Tks, for sharing,
Deedee ;-D
Daniel - see, here I thought that you see everything months before the rest of us little people. You ought to see manic - I didn't even see it all, but I liked what I saw.
RIPE - yep, I thought about including Khan, but this seemed the wrong list. If I ever do a "Cinematic Fathers I Never Had" post, he's at or near the top of the list.
Nick - I just though, this being a "mancrush"y list, I ought to include a little beefcake. At least, the ladies will like it...
Glad you caught Manic. Agreed - JGL was excellent in it - it almost could have been a prequel to Rachel Getting Married.
Deedee - yeah, del Toro is nothing if not versatile. To think, the first thing I saw him in was Swimming with Sharks...I didn't even recognize that it was the same guy in Usual Suspects.
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