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Tom Cruise Is Angling for Awards Again, and We Are Here For It

By Dustin Rowles | Film | June 5, 2017 |

By Dustin Rowles | Film | June 5, 2017 |


Tom Cruise makes good movies. This is a fact. You may not like Tom Cruise, but he’s his own best agent, and by picking and choosing the right projects, he has withstood personal controversies that would end the careers of most others. (That said, I’m not so sure about The Mummy).

It’s been eight years, however, since Tom Cruise attempted to angle for awards consideration in 2008 Valkyrie. It’s been nothing but action and sci-fi since (and also, a rock musical). The three-time Oscar nominee now seems to be taking another minor stab at it with American Made, which features many of the hallmarks of a movie contending for awards consideration:

1. Based on a true story? Check. The movie is about Barry Seal, a former TWA pilot who became a drug smuggler in the 1980s and was recruited later on by the DEA to provide intelligence.

2. Is there an accent? Yup.

3. Fall release date? Uh huh. September 29th.

Just because he’s angling for an award doesn’t mean that Cruise is likely to get one. The movie looks both serious and fun, but his Southern accent is spotty (hilariously so), there’s probably too much humor involved, and director Doug Liman is better known for action (Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow) than he is awards-worthy movies. That’s probably why American Made is getting an early fall release instead of a late fall release.

In either respect, I’m going to watch the hell out of this. His Southern accent is flat-out hilarious, and it’s not that it’s because it’s bad (although, it’s not great); it’s that it is so ill-fitting.