Bradley Cooper's 'time'? I think not!!!

I always have a problem when so-called 'experts' decide to declare certain actors and actresses' 'time' is at hand, especially when the film vehicle in question hasn't been released yet. Last week, on a certain Vancouver-based gossip blog, the blogger in question repeatedly declared that Bradley Cooper's 'time' was at hand, specifically, his 'time' to become America's next talked about male star. Naturally, I take issue with this because this assessment seemed to be a well-planned PR manuever, with the blogger in question, positioning herself as the first to say it. My other problem is that this Canadian blogger continues to try and position herself as an authority of the American star system and manipulator of same. She did it with Slumdog Millionaire; she did the same with Bradley Cooper.

This is not to say that Bradley Cooper didn't do a good job in The Hangover. I saw The Hangover on Friday afternoon; it was a pretty funny movie. Bradley Cooper was very funny and very attractive in the movie. He wore the hell of his clothes; his blue eyes, perfectly coiffed hair and tanned skin made him even more striking. But to say that his role as Phil will ensure his admittance into the upper echelon of Hollywood is pretty premature and inaccurate.

This film will be a feather in Cooper's cap, but his turn as Sack in Wedding Crashers was far more impressive, comedy-wise. He garnered attention back then and has been consistent in the following years, but the people, not gossip bloggers, will determine how far he will climb. Cooper's ambition, not gossip bloggers, will also affect where he will end up.

Another issue I have with this Canadian blogger is her lack of knowledge about American archetypes. For example, she constantly berates Americans for not making actor Colin Firth a much bigger star. A notorious Anglophile, she believes that anybody with a British accent, including Americans who try to ensconce themselves in that culture, is automatically more superior. Unfortunately, accents aren't the beginning, middle, or even end of Hollywood stardom; neither are the hundreds of years of theatrical legacy of the Brits. The reason why Firth isn't a huge star here is not because of American ignorance; it's because Firth continues to seek out roles in which he's the Bellamy. Shakespeare in Love was a perfect example; the Bridget Jones films were others, although the writers, finally, made the Bellamy the winner of the woman's heart. A victorious Bellamy is an anomoly and Firth needs to stop seeking out these roles that are symbollically impotent. The only person who benefited from the Bellamy roles was Ralph Bellamy and his heyday ended in the 1940s.

I don't wish to promote an isolationist approach to critiquing Hollywood films, but it should be said that there are rules within the Hollywood movie system that can't be denied and in order to give an accurate critique of it, you have to, at least, be aware of them.