By Dustin Rowles | Film | August 16, 2018 |
By Dustin Rowles | Film | August 16, 2018 |
I know that Ben Affleck is not super popular around these parts right now, but it’s the topic I have been arbitrarily and randomly assigned today, so we’re going to talk about how he’s a much better actor than you originally thought.
Quick: Name your five favorite Ben Affleck performances.
… I’ll wait.
…
…
See? It’s much harder to narrow it down to five than you thought, isn’t it? You have to go with Good Will Hunting out of the gate, because it’s the Ben Affleck role. Meanwhile, whatever else you want to say about him, he was perfect for his role in Gone Girl. Is there a better somewhat likable, charming douche bro, who skeeves you out but you kind of still want to make out with him? I think it might be the dimple. Like, it cancels out the sleaze.
Anyway, Boiler Room is also to Affleck what Magnolia was to Cruise. Then there’s Hollywoodland, where he played Superman and restarted his career. And while his superhero movies are not good, he actually may be the best Batman. The role just suits him.
And we haven’t even gotten to his great movies, like Argo and The Town, or his guilty-pleasure bad movies, like Armageddon or Pearl Harbor or The Accountant. Or his mid-range completely underrated movies, like State of Play or Changing Lanes, which was a really good movie that came out while the bottom was dropping out of Affleck’s career.
Affleck has made a lot of bad movies — Runner Runner, Surviing Christmas, Gigli — but aside from folks like DeNiro or Walken or even Cage who make everything, who has vacillated between terrific movies and terrible movies as much as Affleck? Who survives Daredevil and Jersey Girl to win an Oscar for Argo?
I think we can all agree, however, that Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season is Affleck’s best role.
390 words. Boom! Did it.
This has been your random, slow-news day arbitrary topic post.