I was as miffed as the next girl when Tom Cruise went a little crazy on Brooke Shields and her postpartum depression a few years back. Tom’s never had a baby. He has no idea what having a baby does to a woman’s emotional and physical state. I know, Tom. I’ve had two babies.
Still, even with all that and the Scientology stuff, I’m still a fan of Tom Cruise. I’m sort of rooting for him again. Here’s why:
1) I’m tired of people dumping on him. Look, we’ve all said stupid stuff and lived to regret it. I have no idea if he regrets going at it with Matt Lauer, jumping on Oprah’s couch, or trying to push Scientology on us a few years ago, but he doesn’t seem to be doing it now. I’m a Methodist, but I don’t push it on everyone else. Whatever you believe is totally up to you. I’m ok with Tom’s beliefs, as long as he’s not trying to convert me.
2) He’s a great movie star. ‘Knight and Day‘ turned me into a big Tom Cruise fan again (read my review here). It’s fun, action-packed, and he’s downright charming paired off with Cameron Diaz. Let’s just crown him the king of summer movies and call it good.
3) He cares about the movies he makes. Tom doesn’t do anything half-way, and that applies to his films, too. Surely, there’s no one better at marketing his movies than he is, whether it’s hopping on stage with the Black-Eyed Peas or cruising into a premiere on a big bad motorcycle. And he will move heaven and earth to make sure the fans get what they want, whether it’s a signed autograph or a phone call home to mom.
4) His movies are diverse, and he’s not afraid to make a fool of himself. No actor has a better track record for entertaining us, whether it’s dancing in his briefs in ‘Risky Business,’ playing a hitman in ‘Collateral,’ making us (and Renee Zellweger) love him in ‘Jerry Maguire,’ or stealing the show as profane studio exec Les Grossman in ‘Tropic Thunder.’ His appearance onstage with Jennifer Lopez at the MTV Movie Awards last month stole the show.
5) He’s intuitive, funny and dramatic, sometimes all at the same time. That’s why filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, Michael Mann, J.J. Abrams, Stanley Kubrick, the list goes on … have signed up to work with him. Tom gets excited about his projects, and he never stops learning.
What do you think? Is it time we stopped dumping on Tom Cruise and became fans again?
Here’s the scene from ‘Risky Business’ where he’s dancing to Bob Seger‘s ‘Old Time Rock & Roll’:
Leave a Reply