I don’t get the Tooth Fairy. I mean, I get the plot. It’s Hollywood standard formula: Hyper masculine guy (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vin Diesel, Eddie Murphy, Hulk Hogan, Chuck Norris, or less butch, Michael Keaton or Tim Allen) is being punished for some tough guy misdemeanor (usually beating up felons or being too into his job), and he is forced to something girly (usually something involving cute kids – why it’s appropriate to put someone who has anger issues around children I don’t know, but whatever), he then discovers his feminine/nurturing, melds these two sides of his personality together (demonstrated by using his tool belt to carry baby bottles, or running the carpool like SWAT operation), thereby earning to right to kiss a girl by the end of the movie. This is meat and potatoes, family friendly movie making. Hard to screw. Guaranteed cash cow. Someday your descendants will be watching a remake of Mr. Mom and think it’s hilarious.
What I don’t get is why would you waste the Rock on this? Yeah, he’s done it before. He’s good at it. But it just seems like underselling him. Why has Dwayne Johnson never been in a straight up romantic comedy?
Number one: he’s gorgeous. Number two: he has a great sense of humor and good timing. Number three: gorgeous. Number four: he’s Cary Grant-level charming. Number five: he can sing. Okay, not strictly necessary for a rom-com, but it’s there. Number six: see numbers one and three, over and over and over again.
And why would you cast someone like Gerard Butler in a rom-com before the Rock? Butler’s gorgeous, and he’s got a decent sense of humor. But he’d never charm you out of your panties. They might burn off of you. But the charm, not so much. The Rock on the other hand has that old school suave.
I just don’t get it. It’s not capability. Maybe it’s a racial thing. Hasn’t Hollywood figured out that most women just don’t care? Hot is hot. And the only interest I have in the Rock’s racial makeup is to wonder vaguely what sort of genetic magic cocktail went into that sexy Mai Tai. And can we do it again? That would be a clone project I could get behind.
I think it’s just one of those Hollywood blind spots. And a big reason why so many genres are played out. They’ve spent so many years covering the same old stories, with the same old white bread actors that there’s just no fresh material there. Think of what happened when a straight up cop movie that was originally written for Sylvester Stallone was recast with Eddie Murphy. It blew up the genre, and opened a whole new realm of possibilities. Same with the gangster flick. It was never the same after Boyz n the Hood. They could have shaken up the romantic comedy years ago with Denzel Washington. But scaredy cat studios missed that boat. Wussies.
The Rock is what they call a bankable star. C’mon, Hollywood. It’s all about the money. And Dwayne Johnson in a romantic comedy is something I’d pay to see.
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2 comments:
What I don't get about the Tooth Fairy is why he has FEATHER wings - I mean he is NOT an angel, he is a faerie!!! He should have gossamer wings - dang!
As to casting The Rock in Rom-Com - um think he is too goofy for that - see his eyebrow dancing, wrestler name, and some serious bad acting in previous flicks. I like him - but think he is taking the jobs now he is qualified for - working with kids - he'd get chewed up and spat out by a real leading diva.
I think he could pull it off. His acting has improved over the years. And he may not be up to a real diva. But he could stand toe to toe with most of the cupcakes that get the rom-com roles these days. Kate Hudson has nothing on his eyebrow wiggle.
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