Will the Fresh Prince finally fail?

Will the Fresh Prince finally fail?
By Ben Flanagan
Ben Around
July 4, 2006

Can Will Smith do anything wrong? We as a moviegoing public have tapped him the most reliably bankable Hollywood superstar in contemporary film, which may surprise a few of you.

Consider the journey this guy has taken so far. The guy whose credit fell after DJ Jazzy Jeff in a Grammy-winning rap duo (you remember 'Summertime,' don't you?) flew to the forefront of the prime-time spotlight, making cameo appearances on NBC's smash series 'Blossom' as the lovable Fresh Prince. In retrospect, maybe 'Blossom' wasn't what provided the boost.

Smith appealed to nearly all demographics and quickly made his transition into feature films, where he'd not only reign supreme as the unlikely face of Hollywood, but have little competition while doing it.

To date, Smith's total domestic earnings at the domestic box office add up to just more than $2.2 billion, with an average opening weekend of more than $36 million, confirming our country's crush on the guy. Sans a pair of ambitious clunkers helmed by two directors any actor would want to work with (Robert Redford's 'The Legend of Bagger Vance' and Michael Mann's 'Ali'), Smith racked up eleven straight feature films grossing more than $100 million.

In between the flicks, his 'Fresh Prince' status never faltered, as he rapped his way to the top of the pop charts on a few occasions, be it on his films' soundtracks or on his own ('Gettin' Jiggy With It,' 'Just the Two of Us,' 'Switch').

Smith's Midas touch remains unchallenged — unless you count funnyman Adam Sandler, who poses the only threat to Smith's reign as an individual whose face and name alone plants butts in the seats. After all, the 'SNL' alum has a hit about an Israeli hairdresser in New York City.

Smith's pal Tom Cruise, who ruled the town many years ago, can't salvage audiences' bucks or trust since his off-screen antics became such fodder for online and television news outlets. Dependable names like Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford, Eddie Murphy and Tom Hanks haven't brought Smith's kind of consistency in years.

Even 'stars' whose popularity never runs thin in the tabloids, such as George Clooney and Brad Pitt, rarely boast any substantial numbers that would challenge Smith.

Further making the argument that the man's face and name sells a product as big as a multi-million dollar film is the performance of Smith's most recent movie, 'I Am Legend,' where patrons weren't even sure what the thriller was about ('Oh! Zombies!'), earning the sixth highest domestic gross of last year.

This past Wednesday saw the opening of what might prove to be Smith's greatest leap yet. His postmodern superhero action yarn 'Hancock' has had its fair share of viewers scratching their heads at the premise alone, but Sony ought not fret — their golden boy will come through. Won't he?

Early buzz on 'Hancock' suggests the titular character will be Smith's most unlikable of his career so far. Unlikable? Will Smith? When studying for the GED, this would fall into the 'antonyms' section.

Smith's charisma never fails to show up and follow through as movie studios' meal ticket, yet the actor who has all but owned the Fourth of July holiday weekend whenever he touches it has traded in the pearly white smile for a bottle of whiskey (Hancock tends to hit the hard stuff). At this point in his career, one might think Smith can get away with murder on screen and finish number one at the box office, and I'd probably agree. In addition to the natural charisma he exudes, Smith can act.

We've seen his comedic abilities as early as the aforementioned 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air', followed by successful work in 'Men in Black' and 'Hitch,' but his dramatic flair was evident in 2006's 'The Pursuit of Happyness,' which earned him a second Oscar nomination (after 'Ali').

What's most impressive about Smith's creative output is how carefully he picks his roles. Contrary to the previously mentioned actors, seldom does he quickly churn out role after role, making each of his releases a major Hollywood event. At this point, Smith has only starred in about fourteen movies, give or take a franchise or ensemble feature, which might suggest why his batting average is so high.

Even if 'Hancock' introduces a new detestable side to the actor we love so much, it wouldn't be a July 4th movie weekend without him.

July Jubilee tonight at Sokol Park - Fireworks! The Dexateens! Are you kidding? Where else would I go celebrate the red, white and blueness our forefathers struggled so desperately to protect and ensure so many years ago? Too bad the festivity's location changed from Tuscaloosa's scenic downtown area, but Sokol Park certainly ain't too shabby. PARA couldn't have picked a better band for the occasion — just don't go screaming Lynyrd Skynyrd requests at them — or maybe you should; I'd like to see what happens. See Page 10D for more.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington on DVD - Still feeling patriotic? Pop in Frank Capra's 1939 classic starring James Stewart as a naive U.S. senator whose plans promptly collide with political corruption in Washington, opening his eyes to the rotten happenings on Capitol Hill that lead to his heroic efforts to restore decency to America's government. An Oscar-winner for best screenplay (and nominated for just about everything else), Capra's film shrewdly mixes comedy and drama to tell a great American story with arguably this country's favorite everyman (pre-Tom Hanks).

Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on ESPN - You can't call yourself a true American until you've watched the world-famous eating competition where gluttons unite to watch the most dominate crammers around the globe stuff hot dogs into their faces. Longtime champion Takeru 'Tsunami' Kobayashi looks to win the Mustard Belt back after U.S. native Joey Chesnut stripped the hot dog king of his title last year. Witness history being made at 11 a.m. today on ESPN.