As I mentioned at the end of my last psychotic rant, Cruise followed up his one-two punch of Eyes Wide Shut and Magnolia with his biggest hit up until that point, the action sequel Mission: Impossible II. Tom had kept his stronghold as the worlds biggest (figuratively) star.
And then he made Vanilla Sky.
Spoilers for Vanilla Sky to follow.
Ok look, Vanilla Sky is a fucking wild ass movie. Based on the Spanish film Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) Tom stars as David Aames, a care free publishing CEO (!) who immediately after meeting the love of his life Sophia, played by Penelope Cruz, gets into a car with Julie, played by Cameron Diaz, a former flame of David's whose jealously leads to a suicide attempt with David in the car resulting in her death and the extreme maiming of David. Tom actually spends the rest of the movie in utterly convincing make up showcasing the scarring from the accident.
But just when you think the rest of the movie is gonna be a drama about redemption and overcoming the odds or some shit, it takes a hard left turn into low key sci-fi fantasy territory dealing with cryogenics and dream manipulation.
Fucking wild ass movie, I say.
But it was one wild ass movie that I loved when I first saw it, and all the times after. Until this viewing at least. To my surprise, the move mostly fell flat for me. What I once thought was an emotional and challenging drama was actually just a bore with a twist.
Ok, I'm being a little dramatic. The movie isn't exactly boring, especially because Vanilla Sky is absolutely swinging for the fences, it's just that it could only get to first base and not that home run everyone was expecting (I promise I'll never use a sports analogy again).
Once again, Tom's movie star good looks are used to trick us, because at the beginning his character, David, is a bit of a prick. He's nice and charming and all that, but he could give two shits about anyone other than himself, and Cruise crushes that fake niceness.
As soon as Penelope Cruz comes into the picture, we get that classic Tom Cruise: Movie Star charm, last seen in Jerry Maguire (It should be noted that Vanilla Sky was written and directed by Cameron Crowe, who also helmed Maguire). But Tom Cruise: Movie Star dies in that car crash and Tom Cruise: Actor is born again, this time with 7 pounds of facial prosthetics to assist, and honestly, Tom makes some truly weird choices here.
Oh and this is where Kurt Russell shows up too.
Anywho, Tom waves his fingers in Kurts face, he dances aggressively, he makes pathetic self deprecating jokes about his new appearance. Like Magnolia before it, Vanilla Sky showcased Tom in a way audiences simply hadn't seen before.
And I think that's why I'm so drawn to this point in his career. Cruise seemed hellbent on not only challenging his audience, but trusting them too. Tom was willing play unlikable characters, and eager to subvert his movie star image, all because he likes movies (I like movies). But seriously, he used his clout to help Stanley Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson and Cameron Crowe to get their movies made the way they wanted to make them, and that's pretty fucking cool.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to enjoy Vanilla Sky as much as I did in the past. Crowe goes overboard with his soundtrack, with the music being more distracting to an emotional moment rather than amplifying it as the filmmaker has done so well in the past. The movie also has a stink that only movies from the early aughts have. And no, I will not elaborate. If you know, you know. Most of all, the movie just didn't grab me emotionally like it used to. As I mentioned before, emotional adult dramas were right up my alley as a tween (Emo 4 Lyfe), but I just couldn't connect to the movie or any of its characters this time around, which is weird, because my old ass still loves me some EMOtional shit. In the end, Vanilla Sky bit more than it could chew, but I still have to admire the effort.
Vanilla Sky opened in December of 2001 to mostly tepid reviews, but ended up grossing just over $100 million at the domestic box office, once again proving that audiences would follow him anywhere.
Next up, Cruise gets friendly with a man with a beard. Spielberg baby. Minority Report. It's been a minute since I've checked this one out as well, so I'm eager to see how it holds up.
Until next time.
I like movies.
But just when you think the rest of the movie is gonna be a drama about redemption and overcoming the odds or some shit, it takes a hard left turn into low key sci-fi fantasy territory dealing with cryogenics and dream manipulation.
Fucking wild ass movie, I say.
But it was one wild ass movie that I loved when I first saw it, and all the times after. Until this viewing at least. To my surprise, the move mostly fell flat for me. What I once thought was an emotional and challenging drama was actually just a bore with a twist.
Ok, I'm being a little dramatic. The movie isn't exactly boring, especially because Vanilla Sky is absolutely swinging for the fences, it's just that it could only get to first base and not that home run everyone was expecting (I promise I'll never use a sports analogy again).
Once again, Tom's movie star good looks are used to trick us, because at the beginning his character, David, is a bit of a prick. He's nice and charming and all that, but he could give two shits about anyone other than himself, and Cruise crushes that fake niceness.
As soon as Penelope Cruz comes into the picture, we get that classic Tom Cruise: Movie Star charm, last seen in Jerry Maguire (It should be noted that Vanilla Sky was written and directed by Cameron Crowe, who also helmed Maguire). But Tom Cruise: Movie Star dies in that car crash and Tom Cruise: Actor is born again, this time with 7 pounds of facial prosthetics to assist, and honestly, Tom makes some truly weird choices here.
Oh and this is where Kurt Russell shows up too.
Anywho, Tom waves his fingers in Kurts face, he dances aggressively, he makes pathetic self deprecating jokes about his new appearance. Like Magnolia before it, Vanilla Sky showcased Tom in a way audiences simply hadn't seen before.
And I think that's why I'm so drawn to this point in his career. Cruise seemed hellbent on not only challenging his audience, but trusting them too. Tom was willing play unlikable characters, and eager to subvert his movie star image, all because he likes movies (I like movies). But seriously, he used his clout to help Stanley Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson and Cameron Crowe to get their movies made the way they wanted to make them, and that's pretty fucking cool.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to enjoy Vanilla Sky as much as I did in the past. Crowe goes overboard with his soundtrack, with the music being more distracting to an emotional moment rather than amplifying it as the filmmaker has done so well in the past. The movie also has a stink that only movies from the early aughts have. And no, I will not elaborate. If you know, you know. Most of all, the movie just didn't grab me emotionally like it used to. As I mentioned before, emotional adult dramas were right up my alley as a tween (Emo 4 Lyfe), but I just couldn't connect to the movie or any of its characters this time around, which is weird, because my old ass still loves me some EMOtional shit. In the end, Vanilla Sky bit more than it could chew, but I still have to admire the effort.
Vanilla Sky opened in December of 2001 to mostly tepid reviews, but ended up grossing just over $100 million at the domestic box office, once again proving that audiences would follow him anywhere.
Next up, Cruise gets friendly with a man with a beard. Spielberg baby. Minority Report. It's been a minute since I've checked this one out as well, so I'm eager to see how it holds up.
Until next time.
I like movies.
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