Considering Cruise

December 23rd, 2008 at 12:37pm Will Pfeifer

Over at Slate.com, Stephen Metcalf writes an interesting piece about Tom Cruise’s once skyrocketing career…

Cruise is now 46 years old, roughly midcareer for an actor of his stature; and yet the brand has fallen so far that a throwaway summer goof, his cameo as Lev Grossman, the too-Jewish super producer of TROPIC THUNDER, was regarded as a “comeback.” By way of contrast, when Jack Nicholson was 46, he appeared in TERMS OF ENDEARMENT.

At his peak, Cruise might have been as big a movie star as Nicholson, but he can’t touch Jack when it comes to pure acting. What’s interesting about Metcalf’s piece is how it discusses both Cruise the Star and Cruise the Actor, and comes to the conclusion that they have very little to do with each other. 

VALKYRIE opens on Christmas Day against five other movies: DOUBT, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, BEDTIME STORIES, MARLEY AND ME and THE SPIRIT. It’ll be interesting to see if the once-mighty Cruise brand still sells.

Entry Filed under: Upcoming movies