If Tom Hanks is the nicest guy in Hollywood
then Will Smith is the most likable. Both are everymen and two of America's
top four box office draws globally, with Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts
rounding out the quartet of Americans, although Mr. Cruise remains at the
summit when it comes to box office bacon. Mr. Cruise has flagged a
little with American audiences over the last three years for a variety of
reasons while he remains a factor in international box office power.
Meanwhile his good friend Mr. Smith has for quite a while now -- at least
since Eddie Murphy in the eighties and early nineties -- been the only black
actor in the world who consistently brings audiences to movie theaters
globally with his star turns. Among many Hollywood executives there is
a notion, supported by box office returns themselves in a number of
instances, that black actors' films tend to do more poorly outside the
United States. Whether the answers behing this commonly-held
Tinseltown axiom is rooted in European and other international audiences'
ingredients of racism or subconscious racist attitudes, or because the films
in which many black actors star lack a certain je ne sais quoi, the
charismatic Will Smith has put paid to the crude have-black-won't-travel
mentality with solid performances and an undeniable appeal. Because
Mr. Smith has such a likable persona both on and off screen, and a music
career that has taken him into the stratosphere ever since getting off the
ground, he has, perhaps, a little extra "something something", as the saying
goes.
This extra something may also explain why Mr. Smith, who will be 40 in
September, is taking more risks on the big screen. Some of his critics
say that he hadn't taken any risks on the big screen since his astonishing
lead role debut in "Six Degrees Of Separation" in 1993, but the facts
suggest otherwise. Mr. Smith has twice played characters that have
been far from likable in some cases or heavily criticized in a few quarters,
playing a golfing caddy to Matt Damon, along with Miss Theron as Mr. Damon's
onscreen wife in Robert Redford's "Legend Of Bagger Vance", a flop both
critically and commercially in 2000, and the following year playing Cassius
Clay/Muhammad Ali in Michael Mann's "Ali", where his performance won him a
best actor Oscar nomination. In "Bagger Vance" the historical
accuracies of Mr. Smith's character, which Spike Lee once called the "myth
of the super negro" were questioned -- the idea that a black man in the
American South during the 1930's, the period when the film was principally
set, would be able to freely caddy and be a force in any white couples'
lives while lynching and other violence against blacks was rampant across the region was
viewed as a highly fanciful notion at best. In "Ali" some critics
spoke of Mr. Smith's aping of the boxing legend whom at one point for
several years across the globe had the most recognizable face on the planet.
The new or inherent risks for Mr. Smith come with playing less uplifting, if
not less likable characters. His role as Chris Gardner, a former
homeless single father in San Francisco turned millionaire in "The Pursuit
Of Happyness" also won him a lead actor Oscar nomination and the true story
of Mr. Gardner was ultimately a triumph, even as some thought the film
version was too polished for Hollywood. In "I Am Legend", Mr. Smith
got serious as the last man on the planet in a grim, solitary
post-apocalyptic nightmare. "Hancock" brings new risks for the actor,
whom in trailers for the new film is depicted as a couldn't-care-less-guy
who just happens to know how to fly and be more of a nuisance samaritan than
a savior. Like Mr. Smith's character in "The Pursuit Of Happyness"
Hancock is homeless. He skulks around in Los Angeles, accompanied
primarily by a desperate man's best friend: alcohol, and without a purpose
in the world it seems, until an event sparks something within him.
In a recent interview with Sony Pictures, the
Hollywood film studio releasing "Hancock" in the United States and Canada,
Mr. Smith defended the unlikely hero character. The superhero John
Hancock, he said, is "just a regular dude -- he has regular problems.
He don't wanna wear no damn suit, you know. It's not comfortable. He wants
to wear shorts with some flip flops. The regular guy aspect of it is a part
of what I think is most exciting to people who see this film." The
film, the actor said, reveals what lies beneath Hancock's shining armor and
non-committal demeanor. In July -- a month in an overall summer where
film superheroes will be abundant -- with "The Dark Knight" opening a little
more than two weeks after "Hancock", it may be tempting for Mr. Smith to
slightly appropriate and paraphrase the line from Denzel Washington's "The
Great Debaters" when speaking to audiences this summer in "Hancock": "I am
the darker knight."
Mr. Smith, who commands between $25 and $35 million per film and produces
films under his Overbrook company with producing partner James Lassiter,
mentioned in his Sony interview that Hancock is a new brand of superhero,
adding that there hasn't been an original or at least new type of superhero
in 40 years. He cited the old and familiar hero brands of Spider-Man,
Iron Man (the film of which has been a mega hit so far) and Batman (which is
Mr. Smith's main box-office competition for July.) One wonders whether
Hancock as a superhero will have the kind of endurance that Superman and
Batman have had, but one thing can definitely be said: John Hancock is the
most unappealing character that Mr. Smith has played for some time.
The Philadelphia native says that despite Hancock's flaws and negativities
the character is not beyond redemption. "He's a good guy but he kind
of does things that get construed as bad. He drinks too much. He's an
alcoholic superhero. So that sort of builds a problem. He can fly but he's
flying drunk. So he kind of bangs into buildings," Mr. Smith said,
wearing a typical Will Smith smile and a bright, fuchsia-colored sweater
in connection with "Seven Pounds", which began filming in Los Angeles in
March. "People don't like him a
lot but he still is impelled every day to go out and save people," Mr. Smith
added.
Off screen, Will Smith is trying to save his marriage from ending in divorce
-- a potential split he publicly wanted no part of last month when his wife
of ten years, actress Jada Pinkett-Smith, who reportedly filed for divorce
recently. In turn, the megastar film actor and rapper said that
"divorce was not an option," leading one to believe that his statement could
also apply even in situations where divorce might be warranted. Mr.
Smith faced flak for his statement in some quarters of the entertainment
television punditry, a few of whom declared that the actor was being
coercive in his comment. Mr. Smith's relationship with the mainstream
press overall has generally been good, except in one instance where an
overseas publication had misquoted him last year, twisting his words to have
him say that Adolf Hitler was a great man. Mr. Smith immediately
condemned the publication for its falsehood, quickly correcting the record
by clearing up the misquote, while winning a lawsuit and getting the
publication to apologize. Through it all, even with the potential
divorce matter that Mr. Smith wants to spend more time with his wife trying
to work to avoid, the actor has been Teflon. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have
two kids, whom made their movie debuts in back-to-back Smith films "The
Pursuit Of Happyness" (Jaden) and "I Am Legend" (Willow). Mr. Smith
has a third child, Trey, from a previous marriage.
The public challenges raised by the personal turmoil for Mr. Smith may be
the greatest that he has faced in his life and career. This summer
there is a good chance that tabloid lovers will be at the local movie
multiplex asking one very interesting question:
"What Would Hancock Do?"
"Hancock" opens in the United States and Canada on July 2, with openings
around the world coming in early and mid-July, and beyond.
Copyright The Popcorn Reel. PopcornReel.com. 2008. All
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