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For most people, it was Swingers that first heralded
Vince Vaughn as daydream-worthy. At the time of its
release (1996) a lot of my friends fell for his charisma
and enigmatic swagger. Oh, right, and that shockingly
beautiful face that seemed to be carved from some
flawless hunk of marble. But, for me, Vince Vaughn in
Swingers (and the subsequent media bonanza) struck me as
blatantly ego-tastic. I thought his performance was
good, but the swagger ran hollow. Also, there was the
little matter of his bouffant hairdo swathed in enough
gel to keep a battalion of Dolly Parton impersonators
coiffed for decades. In short, I found Vince Vaughn a
little too "money" for his own good.
It wasn't until four years later that Vince began to
wiggle his way into my heart. The film was The Cell. I
know--bizarre. I don't understand it myself, really. All
I can tell you is that something about the cheap,
ill-fitting suits and deadpan delivery of Agent Novak
intrigued me. To be honest, I think I have a thing for
lovable but misunderstood losers with hidden talents.
(Don't tell my boyfriend I said that. He thinks he's
understood.)
In The Cell Vince's confidence didn't seem to be all
swagger anymore. His acting was anything but hollow. His
face was even more shockingly beautiful. Thus, a teeny
tiny little spark went off in my heart. And, as is
usually the case with these things, I would not rest
until that spark was stoked into the kind of fire that
requires an aerial dousing mission.
I devoured all the Vince I could get my hands on. I
rented Clay Pigeons, and the horrendous Return to
Paradise (Yep, I'm the one). I re-screened Jurassic
Park: The Lost World, which I had completely forgotten
he was in--probably because immediately upon exiting the
theater, I tried to erase the entire movie from my
memory. Yet, none of these satisfied.*
It wasn't until I discovered a tiny little film called A
Cool, Dry Place that I really fell hard for Vince
Vaughn. The film, based on a novel called Dance Real
Slow, is about a man who's forced to give up his career
to raise his young son after his wife abandons the
family. In it, Vince is a deliciously flawed man. Oh,
and drop-dead gorgeous. Now, I'm not going to lie to
you, the movie's a sap-fest. But, it's a sap-fest with
good performances and characters that are really human.
The critics almost universally panned it, but I really
think A Cool, Dry Place is a little gem, especially for
a lazy, rainy Saturday afternoon. Vince is lovely in it.
Really. You just want to cuddle him. And then makeout
with him for an extended period of time--forever, if
possible.
Since I saw A Cool, Dry Place Vince has been
consistently funny and charming. Dodgeball and Wedding
Crashers are a couple of hilarious plotless-wonders.
Also, I admire Vince for being Jennifer Aniston's
rebound guy and, ostensibly, helping her through this
difficult time. This admiration is itself testimony to
his drool-power as a) I don't particularly care for
Jennifer Aniston's work; b) I don't spend an awful lot
of time pondering her emotional well-being; and c) I
assume that at any time Jen could quite effectively
sooth any emotional turmoil by rolling around naked in
her massive piles of cold, hard cash.
Anyway, though not currently on my top-tier of
shamefully one-sided imaginary love affairs, Vince
Vaughn has a very special place in my heart. And until
he does something really silly, I imagine he'll stay
there. -- Emily
*Note: Not even Vaughn-love could make me watch Gus Van
Sant's 1998 remake of Psycho. I am a geek who went to
film school, I admit it. That being said, I am not a
movie snob. I promise. The film Wind is seriously one of
my favorite movies ever. (Go ahead, laugh at me if you
want.) However, in my opinion, even thinking about doing
a remake of Hitchcock is a crime. No, I mean it, an
actual crime. There should be a court for these things.
. . perhaps televised like "Judge Judy."
AN UPDATE: I have still never seen Gus Van Sant's
version of Psycho--and I probably never will. I'm not
even going to link it below. I can't bring myself to
contribute to the delinquency of filmgoers.
Vince Vaughn as daydream-worthy. At the time of its
release (1996) a lot of my friends fell for his charisma
and enigmatic swagger. Oh, right, and that shockingly
beautiful face that seemed to be carved from some
flawless hunk of marble. But, for me, Vince Vaughn in
Swingers (and the subsequent media bonanza) struck me as
blatantly ego-tastic. I thought his performance was
good, but the swagger ran hollow. Also, there was the
little matter of his bouffant hairdo swathed in enough
gel to keep a battalion of Dolly Parton impersonators
coiffed for decades. In short, I found Vince Vaughn a
little too "money" for his own good.
It wasn't until four years later that Vince began to
wiggle his way into my heart. The film was The Cell. I
know--bizarre. I don't understand it myself, really. All
I can tell you is that something about the cheap,
ill-fitting suits and deadpan delivery of Agent Novak
intrigued me. To be honest, I think I have a thing for
lovable but misunderstood losers with hidden talents.
(Don't tell my boyfriend I said that. He thinks he's
understood.)
In The Cell Vince's confidence didn't seem to be all
swagger anymore. His acting was anything but hollow. His
face was even more shockingly beautiful. Thus, a teeny
tiny little spark went off in my heart. And, as is
usually the case with these things, I would not rest
until that spark was stoked into the kind of fire that
requires an aerial dousing mission.
I devoured all the Vince I could get my hands on. I
rented Clay Pigeons, and the horrendous Return to
Paradise (Yep, I'm the one). I re-screened Jurassic
Park: The Lost World, which I had completely forgotten
he was in--probably because immediately upon exiting the
theater, I tried to erase the entire movie from my
memory. Yet, none of these satisfied.*
It wasn't until I discovered a tiny little film called A
Cool, Dry Place that I really fell hard for Vince
Vaughn. The film, based on a novel called Dance Real
Slow, is about a man who's forced to give up his career
to raise his young son after his wife abandons the
family. In it, Vince is a deliciously flawed man. Oh,
and drop-dead gorgeous. Now, I'm not going to lie to
you, the movie's a sap-fest. But, it's a sap-fest with
good performances and characters that are really human.
The critics almost universally panned it, but I really
think A Cool, Dry Place is a little gem, especially for
a lazy, rainy Saturday afternoon. Vince is lovely in it.
Really. You just want to cuddle him. And then makeout
with him for an extended period of time--forever, if
possible.
Since I saw A Cool, Dry Place Vince has been
consistently funny and charming. Dodgeball and Wedding
Crashers are a couple of hilarious plotless-wonders.
Also, I admire Vince for being Jennifer Aniston's
rebound guy and, ostensibly, helping her through this
difficult time. This admiration is itself testimony to
his drool-power as a) I don't particularly care for
Jennifer Aniston's work; b) I don't spend an awful lot
of time pondering her emotional well-being; and c) I
assume that at any time Jen could quite effectively
sooth any emotional turmoil by rolling around naked in
her massive piles of cold, hard cash.
Anyway, though not currently on my top-tier of
shamefully one-sided imaginary love affairs, Vince
Vaughn has a very special place in my heart. And until
he does something really silly, I imagine he'll stay
there. -- Emily
*Note: Not even Vaughn-love could make me watch Gus Van
Sant's 1998 remake of Psycho. I am a geek who went to
film school, I admit it. That being said, I am not a
movie snob. I promise. The film Wind is seriously one of
my favorite movies ever. (Go ahead, laugh at me if you
want.) However, in my opinion, even thinking about doing
a remake of Hitchcock is a crime. No, I mean it, an
actual crime. There should be a court for these things.
. . perhaps televised like "Judge Judy."
AN UPDATE: I have still never seen Gus Van Sant's
version of Psycho--and I probably never will. I'm not
even going to link it below. I can't bring myself to
contribute to the delinquency of filmgoers.
Swingers (1996)
The Cell (2000)
Clay Pigeons (1998)
Return to Paradise (1998)
Jurassic Park: The Lost World (1997)
A Cool, Dry Place (1998)
Dodgeball (2004)
Wedding Crashers (2005)
Wind (1992)
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Libby Street, Happiness Sold Separately, Accidental It Girl, In One Year and Out the Other, The Luckiest People, paparazzi, celebrity, fame, New York Times Bestseller,
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novel, novelist, chick lit, women's fiction, womens fiction, Sarah Bushweller, Sarah Castellano, Emily S. Morris, Emily Servedio, New York, New York City, Hollywood, book,
good book, great book, fun read, book club selection, boy meets girl, famous, fun book, screenplay, script, read an excerpt, Simon and Schuster, Pocket Books, writer's
guide, advice for writers, good blog, great blog, writing, novel, novelist, two writers, pseudonym, friendship, bestseller, bestselling book, books, cool website, cool
author's website
