In Praise of Shia

Disturbia was released on Friday, and despite the fact that it looks like a low-tier Rear Window knockoff (can't you kids get your own movies?), there's one thing that's going to get me to see it: it stars Shia LeBeouf.

I'm one of those Disney buffs who keep abreast of whatever the company ends up putting out, so I know Shia LeBeouf from his role as Louis Stevens on the Disney Channel series Even Stevens. He was hilarious, really comic gold; whatever was going on, just the simplest look on his face could be hysterical. I knew the kid was funny; what really surprised me is that he could actually act.

After a few dramatic turns in movies like The Battle of Shaker Heights, and some breezy roles in blockbusters of varying quality (Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, I Robot, Constantine), he really got a chance to really act in 2005's The Greatest Game Ever Played. It's a Disney movie, yes, but one that's quite underrated. Perhaps if it hadn't been a Disney movie, it might have gotten some more attention; a lot of people dismiss Disney's live action movies, although, admittedly, Disney makes it easy to. But trust me, the movie's directed by Bill Paxton (also the director of the underrated Frailty), and it's a nice little gem. It convinced me that Shia LeBeouf is destined, one day, to be a real actor.

Now that he's been cast in Indiana Jones and the Completely Unnecessary Fourth Adventure (and also has Transformers and the animated Surf's Up coming out this year), I've been wondering if Shia's rare leap from Disney stardom to action movies isn't a reflection of another Disney kid who made it away from the Disney kid stigma: Kurt Russell. Russell started out as a child actor, but from the early sixties to 1980 was mainly known for being in Disney movies like The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, The Barefoot Executive, and The Strongest Man in the World. Despite serious turns in movies like The Deadly Tower, his only real options in adulthood became bad TV movies (The Christmas Coal Mine Miracle), voices in Disney's animated features (The Fox and the Hound), and low-tier comedies (Used Cars). It wasn't until John Carpenter took a chance on Russell with Escape from New York--ignoring the objections of the studio, who thought Russell was just a Disney kid and wanted Tommy Lee Jones--and their follow-up The Thing that Russell was finally into adult stardom. And despite ups and downs, he's stayed there ever since. And he still does the occasional Disney movie, too.

Will Disturbia be Shia LeBeouf's Escape from New York? Will there even be one? I kind of hope so; the kid's got talent. And in another 30 years, who knows where that could lead?