Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Hump Day Hottie: Brad Pitt

It's now been 15 years since Brad Pitt tipped his cowboy hat in Thelma & Louise and won the heart of Geena Davis and moviegoers the world over. If you thought him just a pretty boy at the time his two decade golden reign o'er the hearts of moviegoers will seem like a shocking turn of events. If, like me, you saw his talent and not just his abs in that 90s classic... you're saying "told ya so." Most cinematic pretty boys don't last for decades but I always knew that Pitt was a Redford and not an Atkins.

That said, I have been a bad fan this month. I haven't seen Babel yet. The reasons are three.
  1. I am not crazy about the interlocking gruesome accidents motif of the director. Amores Perros I admired but couldn't really love. 21 Grams I outright hated --more pretentious miserabilism I have never seen.
  2. Time permitted only one movie last weekend and Volver was way ahead of the pack.
  3. All the talk of "Brad's Best Film Performance!" isn't a particularly enticing draw because, you see, I think he's great much of the time and I recognize that many others have willfully remained blind to his talents.... or blinded by his other, um, assetts. And have therefore not been paying close enough attention to determine whether or not anything is his best work. For my money, Babel unseen --I'll get to it this weekend, his best work is found in Fight Club and Se7en.


In addition to his underappreciated acting skills, Brad skills at mimicry go mostly unnoticed as well. Watch the endless ways in which he becomes the woman he's dating whilst somehow never courting doubt about his sexuality... unlike, say, every other male star in existence. Brad rose to simultaneous fame with his then girlfriend Juliette Lewis in 1991. While he was giving Geena Davis the ride of her life in Thelma & Louise, Juliette was sucking Robert DeNiro's thumb in the nasty and brutal Cape Fear. The couple was an instant hit, both onscreen and off with magazine covers, tabloid coverage, and Oscar appearances. They worked the rebellious Young Hollywood gritty indie angle together. Shortly after their breakup (93/94ish), Lewis stayed edgy but Pitt went truly Hollywood, moving on to an engagement with Gwyneth Paltrow and clean glamour, with matching white blonde bangs! Next came marriage and that golden California crunchy period with Jennifer Aniston. Since then Brad has morphed into a world traveller / philanthropist with the inimitable Angelina Jolie. I should probably mention that Brad no longer mimics his girls look since he's got a son to play matching hairstyles with.

All of this is a long way of saying that Brad Pitt is a great celebrity and certainly the best possible example of a living breathing metrosexual (however tired/overused the description is). In fact, now that I think of it, he's clearly an actressexual, too --like Warren Beatty only more easily domesticated.

But, I'm celebrating Brad mostly because of the onscreen factor --he also rules the celluloid world. One of my favorite quotes about the man comes from an issue of Vanity Fair devoted to him some years back:
The way the camera toured the perky hillocks of Brigitte Bardot's backside in Contempt, it now strokes Brad Pitt's face.
May that omnisexual camera stroke him until he dies. And he may die of very old age with a career as rich and fondly remembered as the Redfords, Lancasters, and Newmans before him.


Mmmmmm, Brad. Thank you for being such a giver. Female stars do it all the time of course, this parading of their sex appeal. It's something of a requirement for their stardom. But for male stars consider: How many big ones, other than Pitt, undress for major magazines regularly? Now contrast that with the number of female stars. Pretty staggering, right? But not for Brad any insecurity or fears about being ogled. Whether he's lying prone, ass out (nsfw) for famed photographers or just flaunting his autoerotic star quality in any number of photoshoots, he lets it all hang out. He didn't authorize those infamous Playgirl shots (obviously, NSFW) but they're not a big leap from his usual and casual exhibition of his own famed physique.

Previously in Pitt Postings:
Brad in Blue
That VF Cover * Vampire Blog-a-Thon Brad's orgasmic vamp conversion * Fives a Crowd Brangelina in wax * Melissa Wants Angelina Brad's girls in music videos * Zombie fever Pitt & Clooney's horror project * A History of... Angelina Jolie * Brad #25 Top Actors of Aughts *

Previous Hump Day Hotties:
Qi Shu & Chen Chang 3 times is not enough * Jamie Dornan & Asia Argento burning up Versailles * James McAvoy randy king of Scotland * Naomie Harris pretty chameleon * Hot on TV from "Agent Cooper" to "Faith" * Channing Tatum steppin' up and out * Hugh Jackman dancer, mutant, god * Uma Thurman 18 years of hotness. * Cheyenne Jackson Broadway to Hollywood * Season One of HDH Gyllenhaal, Li, Bernal, etc...

Tags: Brad Pitt, movies, Angelina Jolie, film, metrosexual, hunk, Babel, cinema, Jennifer Aniston, Maddox, celebrities, Brangelina, gossip,

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

YES! I've been obsessed lately.

Jason Adams said...

God I could - and have - just stare at that pic of his ass all day long.

He is very good in Babel. Though I hated the movie.

Anonymous said...

Thank god hes not with that overrated hack Aniston anymore.

now if only he and Pfeiffer would star in a NON-animated film together, i think id have a heart attack.

Amy said...

Eh. He was hotter when A) he wasn't holier-than-thou in an impeccable impression of Tom Cruise and B) wasn't dating Angelina Holie.

J.J. said...

Miserabilism. That's it. And it's not a good Pitt performance, because all he has to do is endure the misery with quivering lips/chin/eyes.

Anonymous said...

It's a brilliant post Nat! I love Brad- I always did. 12 Monkeys is his best. And he's excellent in Babel.

Paxton Hernandez said...

Kind of sorry to admit it but Iñárritu's miseribilism is a Mexican export. Oops.

We know Pitt is a hunk (Zzzzz), but haven't seen genius acting from him yet. Perhaps "Twelve Monkeys"...

NATHANIEL R said...

nah. fight club is a genius performance. can't think of one actor who coulda sold that "you don't know where i've been" better...

so freaky

12 monkeys a little over the top for me. but maybe that's just me.

Lucas Dantas said...

He's beyond hot. This man is personification of charm! He's ultra sexy and have this killer smile that makes me melt.

However, I'm not much fan of his acting. He always seemed too inexpressive in most films I've seen with him; maybe I was "blinded by his other, um, assetts," maybe I've been unfair with him. The performances of his that remain in my mind [probably because I've seen these movies more than once] are Interview With The Vampire and Meet Joe Black.

Anyways, I admit I must try to look at him with less horny eyes.

Anonymous said...

Oh yes, Brad Pitt is a fine actor. And I agree that Fincher gets the best out of him. But his work in Babel I don't know what to think of. He is good, but certainly not great - and it would be a shame if the Academy, after his long and strong career, decides to reward him for THAT.

Not to mention that it would sting my eyes to see that intellectual fraud of a film rewarded for anything.

Paxton Hernandez said...

Nathe,

Haven't seen Fight Club yet. That is a huge blind spot, sorry.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, and I just watched Se7en, Fight Club and Meet Joe Black last week by coincidence. I think I'll dig up that copy of Thelma & Louise (never seen it) which I know my sister is hiding from me. =/

And regarding Brad in Fight Club, to quote Stephen Colbert: "I'm not gay but come on I'm human."

~santy

poppedculture said...

You speak the truth Nathaniel. Pitt is the coolest star in Hollywood, beating out Johnny Depp who lost the crown when he decided to do a Pirates sequel.

Fight Club, Se7en, 12 Monkeys are all great films and I look forward to seeing Babel. He doesn't try and stay pretty in films, is clearly an A-lister but still seems like someone you could have a beer with. I guess you aren't the only one obsessed.

And thanks for pointing out how overblown 21 Grams was. It was a waste of a perfectly good film festival ticket.

Glenn Dunks said...

And from me it's a big ol' yawn factory when it comes to Brad. Sure, he was great in Fight Club and Se7en... but, meh. He just doesn't strike me as anything particularly special.

Sure, he's "hot" in the sense that he has all the typical things that make someone "hot", but... I don't get anything else from him. He doesn't seem masculine enough, perhaps. I dunno. I just don't care enough about him. And i'm over his and angeline's schtick. WE GET IT!!!

adam k. said...

Yeah, I sometimes get tired of Brad and my attraction to him wanes, but this post made me remember how hot and talented he is. Some days I want my Gael, or Ewan, or Jude, or Owen, or my new crush James McAvoy (who all have a more sophisticated, elegant kind of look/vibe), but some days I am just fine with fun, rugged, monkey-faced Brad.

I unfortunately have not seen Se7en or Twelve Monkeys, but I agree that he's great in Fight Club, and also in T&L and Interview with the Vampire. Don't know what he was doing in Troy, though.

In any case, he's a more than capable actor, and I agree that he recalls Robert Redford.

Cinesnatch said...

Lest we forget this beauty ...
http://www.bradpittfan.com/pics/cv94_010.jpg

Emma said...

He hot. I like.

c.p. iñor said...

I agree that his best performance is in Fight Club and I think he's really a great actor.

p.s. right there with ya santy

Anonymous said...

Even though I'm firmly, loyally and decisevely on Team Aniston, nonetheless I do rate Brad highly as an actor.

He should have been nommed for Fight Club, and he's also cracking in Se7en and effortlessly charismatic and funny in Ocean's 11. I also thought he was pretty cracking in The Mexican too...

Rob

NicksFlickPicks said...

This remains my favorite.

I wasn't smart enough to see this at the time, but I think Pitt should have been a contender for Best Supporting Actor for Ocean's Eleven. A perfectly pitched performance, and a truly supporting one despite his marquee presence. This, to me, stands side by side with Fight Club as his finest hours.

By the way, are people keeping track of that Dirty Tricks cast? Wowza.