People I like who get ragged on a lot:

Nicole Kidman: I think she's an awesome Movie Star, and a very good actress. The Others, The Hours, Eyes Wide Shut, To Die For... she was great.

Pauly Shore: A dirty pleasure. I love his movies. He cracks me up.

Eminem: A musical genius. I'm serious. The most moving musical poet of our times.

Jessica Simpson: The joke's on us. She's not stupid. She knows EXACTLY what she's doing, and she does it well.

Madonna: Adequate musician, but a great star. Her greatest skill is as a model - she photographs beautifully. She's one of the very few stars of the early '80's who's still around.

Tom Cruise: A decent actor with an impeccable sense of what movies to do. A good action star, and can act when he has to (Magnolia, e.g.)


Flame away... I'm ready!

but I don't know how well. I've seen her on talk shows and reality shows as well as SNL and she was adorable.

And VERY easy on the eyes.

Except for the fact Madonna isn't technically a musician.

I saw her two years ago in concert and she actually played acoustic guitar well enough.

I saw her two years ago in concert and she actually played acoustic guitar well enough.

you know that if they sell shirts and commercials about her 'stupidity' its fake (along with some OTHER things im sure).

Madonna is not the best, but not thw worst

As far as the rest...

Eminem is no genius by any measure. He is to poetry what a 2x4 is to the groin.

Tom Cruise, mediocre actor

I really think he's brilliant. His lyrics are astoundingly funny and insightful. Taken out of context, he seems hateful. But just listen to his songs and, at least to me, he has an incredible insight into today's youth.

And if there is some sort of insightful between the lines thing Im not getting it, and I doubt many people my age will see past the literal meaning of his lyrics...

Which including killing just about everyone, from gays to store clerks.

Yo, I can't sing - I feel like singing
I want to fuckin sing
Cause I'm happy - yeah, I'm happy, haha!
I got my baby back
Yo, check it out...


Somedays I sit, starin out the window
Watchin this world pass me by
Sometimes I think, there's nothin to live for
I almost break down and cry
Sometimes I think I'm crazy; I'm crazy, oh so crazy!!
Why am I here? Am I just wastin my time?!
But then I see my baby, suddenly I'm not crazy!!
It all makes sense when I look into her eyes


Cause sometimes it feels like the world's on my shoulders
Everyone's leanin on me
Cause sometimes it feels like the world's almost over
But then she comes back to me


My baby girl, keeps gettin older
I watch her grow up with pride
People make jokes, cause they don't understand me
They just don't see my real side
I act like shit don't phase me; inside it drives me crazy!!
My insecurities could eat me alive
But then I see my baby, suddenly I'm not crazy!!
It all makes sense when I look into her eyes




Man if I could sing, I'd keep singin this song to my daughter
If I could hit the notes, I'd blow somethin as long as my father
to show her how I feel about her, how proud I am that I got her
God, I'm a daddy, I'm so glad that her mom didn't {want her}
Now you probably get this picture from my public persona
that I'ma pistol packin drug addict who bags on his mama
But I wanna to just take this time out to be perfectly honest
cause there's a lot of shit I keep bottled that hurts deep inside of my soul
And just know that I grow colder the older I grow
This boulder on my shoulder gets heavy and harder to hold
and this load is like the weight of the world, and I think my neck is breakin
Should I just give up or try to live up to these expectations?
Now look, I love my daughter more than life in itself
but I got a wife that's determined to make my life livin hell
But I handle it well, given the circumstances I'm dealt
So many chances, man, it's too bad, coulda had someone else
But the years that I've wasted is nothin to the tears that I've tasted
So here's what I'm facin - three felonies, six years of probation
I've went to jail for this woman, I've been to bat for this woman
I've taken bats to people's backs, bent over backwards for this woman
Man, I should have seen it comin, what'd I stick my penis up in?
Wouldn't have ripped the pre-nup up if I'da seen what she was fuckin
But fuck it, it's over, there's no more reason to cry no more
I got my baby, baby the only lady that I adore, Hailie
So sayonara, try tommorrow, nice to know ya
Our baby's traveled back to the arms of her rightful owner
And suddenly it seems like my shoulder blades have just shifted
It's like the greatest gift you can get, the weight has been lifted


And now it don't feel like the world's on my shoulders
Everyone's leanin on me
Cause my baby knows that her daddy's a soldier
Nothing can take her from me


Wooo! Told you I can't sing
Oh well, I tried
Hailie, remember when I said, if you ever need anything
Daddy would be right there? Guess what?
Daddy's here, and I ain't going nowhere baby
I love you {*smooch*}

and one in which he tried to actually sing instead of rap. He's not a good singer. But he did it anyway, and it was very touching that he did it with and for his daughter.

as a 42 year old gay man, I shouldn't like Eminem. Except I really do. I think he's funny as hell, and I find his more extreme lyrics humorous.

Teenage boys ARE mysoginist and anti-gay on many levels, at least they have "surges" of such feelings. Eminem gives voice to those surges, even though I don't think he, or most young men, would actually desire to DO the things he writes about. But they DO think about them. That hasn't changed since I was young.

Which is a really bad political strategy, too.

To me the other four are testaments to non stop mass media marketing. We didn't know that we had a demand for that kind of thing until we were told that we did over and over. Kidman and Cruise are competent enough actors, though--they don't suck.

(and in the cat thread I was making a lame pun on 'hep-cat' :hi:)

When I talk about talent, it's not necessarily being good at the craft in question. I think being a great movie star is just as much of a talent as being a great actor.

I actually think Kidman *IS* a great actress. Have you seen To Die For? The Others? The Hours?

But even more importantly, she's an awesome movie star. She has the looks, the carriage, the marriage, everything. She's a Grace Kelly of our time - Kelly wasn't an amazing actor, technically, but she had infinite appeal. I think Kidman does, too.

But subjectively she just rubs me the wrong way. I admittedly haven't seen much of her oeuvre, but her connections with Miramax's annual 'Oscar blitz' movies (Moulin Rouge, Cold Mountain, The Hours, &c) annoy me. :D

but that's the role of a movie star. If Harvey Weinstein mounts a campaign to get her an Oscar, it's not her fault.

I used to hate her. I'd seen Far and Away and thought she was awful, so I ignored her. Then I saw To Die For and I fell in love. Then Eyes Wide Shut sealed the deal, and I've loved her ever since.

I like Nicole Kidman. The only movie I didn't like her in was Eyes Wide Shut because in the scene when her character was suppose to be stoned, she acted drunk. This makes me think she's never been stoned before...not that I care, but it didn't make this particular scene very convincing (then again, the entire movie was pretty unconvincing so it really doesn't matter).

Pauly Shore is oddly amusing.

Eminem? I don't understand why people think he's great. Then again, I have a hard time getting past the whole gay bashing and woman hating thing to listen to his crap objectively.

Jessica Simpson...she's not smart. She may not be as dumb as she appears on her reality show, but I'll bet you $100 she's no Mensa candidate.

Madonna is definitely a great star. She would be nothing without MTV though because her greatest strength is her ability to market her image. I thought she kicked ass in Evita though...her skills as a singer definitely went up a notch or two. You're right, she does photograph well.

Tom Cruise is good. I think the actor who has the best ability to pick great movie roles though is Tom Hanks. Rarely do you ever find yourself saying "wow, that movie with Tom Hanks really sucked".

I understand why people don't like Eminem, but I've found most of those people haven't listened to all his music. A lot of it is satire, but people take it literally.

I'll bet Jessica Simpson, while not a mensa candidate, is a helluva lot smarter than she lets on. She reminds me of Goldie Hawn - the ultimate blonde dingbat who became one of the most powerful women in Hollywood.

I agree entirely about Tom Hanks, too. He's a good actor (as is Cruise) who has fantastic taste in what movies to pick. Hanks WAS oscar-worthy in Philadelphia, and Cruise was in Magnolia (though he didn't win).

Kidman: Decent actress. More lovely than should be allowed by law.

Pauly Shore: His bit was funny for a little while, but it got old. No depth.

Eminem: Very talented writer, although I'd stop short of calling him a genius. He's one of a few rappers that I enjoy. (also Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, NWA, a few others...)

Jessica Simpson: She's cute. And you're right; Nobody could be THAT stupid. (Is tuna chicken or fish?)

Madonna: I respect Madonna, but I'm no fan of her music. Good performer, brilliant businesswoman, crappy singer.

Tom Cruise: I've liked him in a total of THREE movies. Risky Business (natch), Rain Man, and Minority Report. Aside from those, he can really fuck up a good movie for me. During Interview With The Vampire, I wanted to reach through the screen and strangle him.