I was thinking about Clive Owen, as I tend to do, before falling asleep last night, and couldn't stop thinking about how appealing he is.
He is someone with mass and, I'd venture to guess, universal appeal. D, out of the blue on Sunday, said "Clive Owen is a class act. He's classy."
True.
The same is true with George Clooney. Everyone loves him. Men, women, gay, straight, everyone.
I started to think about the nature of appeal, and how certain men possess this sort of mass and universal appeal. I don't know what that means. What are the qualities that make someone attractive to everyone? Is it class? Looks? Vibe?
I then tried to come up with a similar female.
Is there a female figure right now who appeals equally, and universally, to both men and women?
I couldn't think of anyone.
The closest I got was Scarlett Johansson.
This theory is disproved, however, but D, who doens't like Scarlett Johansson, which annoys me, because she is awesome.
Perhaps Claire Danes? Parker Posey? Terri Hatcher?
A lot of men love Natalie Portman and most women hate her.
There's no common denominator for female appeal. It's much more subjective, I think, than masculine appeal. What men find attractive sometimes annoys women. A prime example is Natalie Portman. And don't get me wrong - there are plenty of thoughtful men out there who dislike Natalie Portman (incidentally, a FIGHT broke out about this at my party on Saturday night), but I think that most of her fans are men.
So - can anyone think of the female version of George Clooney or Clive Owen? Is my failure to come up with anyone a sign that there are just no good, "classy" roles for women? Can a woman not be considered hot and classy at the same time?
I don't know.
I should just stop thinking and fall asleep after I've thought about Clive Owen.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
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8 comments:
Do people really like Scarlett Johanson? I can't stand her. I used to like Natalie Portman, but then I saw her on the Daily Show, and her personality was like, nil. Ugh.
What about Charlize Theron? Everyone likes Charlize Theron...
I don't like Charlize Theron. I like her in movies, but I dislike her in real life.
how about Jennifer Connelly? she's got class, is well-respected and a fantastic actress. she seems very cool in real life.
or Hilary Swank? she fucking rules on all counts.
guy's opinion:
love Scarlett Johanson (drools)...
yes, agree Hillary Swank rules..
Natalie Portman? something annoying
about her... can't put my finger on it.. maybe it was Star Wars fault.
Another annoying actress: Jessica Alba... I mean c'mon! they keep casting her as this "fighting machine"... please.. as ridiculous as watching a butterfly kick spider ass..
-G
I think age is a factor for actresses. Most of the women you are mentioning are young - which may contribute to the mixed feelings between genders. An older actress has more universal appeal. For example, Susan Sarandon. I've never met anyone who HATED or disliked Susan Sarandon. You can't argue that she is a great actress. She was downright HOT in "Bull Durham" and I think she is still beautiful. You may disagree with her politics, but as an actress I think she's got it down. Meryl Streep? She's not exactly the ideal of beauty but she is universally recognized as a great actress. How about crossing the race or ethnic borders into a non-white actress? Lucy Liu? She kicks ass!
Banalities - why ever would YOU like Natalie Portman? Explain yourself!
Jennifer Connelly - agreed, but are people all over her like they are George Clooney? I don't know...
I don't know. Susan Sarandon and Meryl Streep do nothing for me. They definitely have talent and class, but I don't think men go nuts over them.
Lucy Liu - YES! I think this is the best so far. Everyone loves Lucy Liu.
WC, too shy to leave a comment, mentioned Audrey Hepburm.
Everyone's-Favorite-Physicist, Ever-Wise, offers:
"What men find attractive in women is more overtly sexual than what women find attractive in men. The reasons men find, say, Natalie Portman attractive don't apply to women, so there's no a priori reason that a girl that is attractive to women should also be attractive to men. (Hence the Gilmore Girls example; someone who appeals to the two sexes in independent ways.) On the other hand, what women find attractive in men-- charisma, grace, &c.-- are things that can be appreciated in a platonic way."
I look at it like this. There are two categories: overt stars and demure/everyman stars, the archetypes being Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jimmy Stewart, and Audrey Hepburn -- no one's ever gonna surpass these guys (three of the four who are my favorite actors of all-time by the way).
Now -- there will never, ever, ever be another Cary Grant again. Ever. But George Clooney will be about as close as you can get: rough good looks, but mitigated by a quiet down-to-earth, wait-and-see approach to life -- and this is the big thing -- the ability to unselfconsciously make fun of oneself. No airs or arrogance about them. (That's why I'm reluctant to put Clive Owen in this category -- let's see him in a comic role first.)
Tom Hanks is the modern incarnation of Jimmy Stewart. And Charlize Theron is Grace Kelly. Even outside of the movies -- just like the Cary Grant types, you can tell that she's not the type to use her prodigious beauty as a weapon. (Contrast with Scarlett Johansson and how she wields her by-comparison inferior looks.) If that's not the definition of class, I don't know what is. Plus, she one-ups Grace Kelly, because she play strong and independent better, and she, like Clooney and Grant, has no problem making fun of herself (see "Arrested Development").
As for Natalie Portman? I thought she could have been next Audrey Hepburn thing. The potential was there for her to be like her, but she never realized it. Now she has no personality. Plus, y'know. The Star Wars prequels.
And now that you've mentioned it -- why not Lauren Graham, except for the fact that no one knows who she is? She's got the whole Natalie Wood thing going on... and she's funny and smart, too, right? That's mega-babeness in my book.
First of all, I like Natalie Portman. Ever since Beautiful Girls, where I was blown away by her presence as only a young teenager. Granted, I saw her on The Daily Show and wasn't particularly impressed, but she wasn't ruined for me like Toby Maguire was ruined when I saw him on Today. What a disappointment. He has no personality at all.
Second of all, Banalities, how could you put Charlize Theron in the same category as Grace Kelly! Way way different. And I'm basing this only on movie roles and looks, as I have no idea what either of them is/was like in real life, but I will watch a Grace Kelly movie purely for the joy of looking at Grace Kelly's exquisite beauty. Not so with Charlize Theron. Sure, she's beautiful, but not in the same way.
But I will have to agree with you that Grace Kelly is probably one of the universally appealing actresses. And maybe Katherine Hepburn? She was really classy. Grace Kelly also has the advantage of becoming a princess and dying while relatively young and still beautiful. Not that dying young is an advantage, exactly, but it is if you want to become a tragic hero. Look at James Dean.
As for Cary Grant, I know that he felt very strongly about maintaining an image. He never talked about his personal life, and he always looked glamourous when in public. I bet that is why he remains in a class by himself, and is George Clooney the same way? Is that why they are similar and universally appealing? They are/were also both bachelors. But it must be tiring to maintain an image at all times.
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