Joaquin Watch

I tell you, I belong to the group of extremely clever people who sort of knew all along that Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck were pulling a stunt.

No way would Phoenix downward spiral like that for reals. And then I watched the preview for "I'm Still Here" and my suspicions were confirmed. Dude, this is a mockumentary. I don't know how smart people like Kenneth Turan (LA Times, NPR) could get all tied up in knots about it. I always like Turan's reviews. But this time I think he wrote exactly what Phoenix and Affleck hoped he would. (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129705971) He's disgusted with the ickiness of it all - celebrity, exposure, reality entertainment, the shame of Phoenix's spited career...

I imagine Phoenix and Affleck spent some time after the preview and reviews came out sitting at home saying "Oh my god, I can't believe how well this worked." And then I think they started to say. "Um, I think this worked too well. I never thought it would work this well." And then Affleck had to get grown up and serious with the NY Times and EXPLAIN it to people. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/17/movies/17affleck.html) And various and sundry interviews over the last couple of days reiterating the whole scheme. Everyone is still so uneasy.

Well, I'm EXCITED. Because tonight Phoenix returns to Letterman. What will happen?! We all know what happened last time, ending with Letterman's brilliant line "Joaquin, I'm sorry you couldn't be here tonight."Ouch. Letterman cannot be outwitted on the spot. But did he know it was an act? Some say yes, some say no. I imagine tonight Phoenix is going to look gorgeous and use complete sentences and do his mama proud. I hope.

Its too delicious. I absolutely love love love Joaquin Phoenix. He has been on my top 3 list for years and years. Have you seen Inventing the Abbotts? Swoon and hug and kiss Joaquin Phoenix. No WAY would he or anyone around him let him fall apart. I mean, I don't know the guy, but I think he is a bit too ahead of the game for that.

I haven't seen the film, obviously. And I don't know if I could sit through the whole thing. Might be too much to stomach. I might get deeply embarrassed for him and it would make my tummy hurt the whole time. Or, maybe I'd laugh my butt off and be grateful for the mirth. We'll all have the discussion about the importance of mockumentaries; about the grittiness - were the drugs real? was the poop real?; about mocking the hand that feeds you. I think the discussion will continue for a while. Or, Hollywood powerhouses will fervently ignore it so that they don't have to get into the discussion. I mean, we're not going to stop benefiting from the Entertainment Industrial Complex.

On a darker note, it has been reported that Affleck has settled a sexual harassment lawsuit out of court with two women who worked on the film. Yuck. What the heck? I toss my hands in the air. Nobody ever knows the full story.

So, lets close with acknowledging the other two in my Top 3. In order of importance:
Number One: Daniel Day-Lewis. I'm not kidding. He's been in the #1 spot for well over 15 years. Maybe I should have included a more comely picture, but I loved Gangs of New York.

Tied for the Silver with Mr. Phoenix: ERIC BANA!!! Of course! But you already knew that.