I'm hoping the trolls here are less hostile than the ones on IMDb.
First off, let me be clear, I have never been nor am I a fan of Seth Rogen's previous work. The only reason I'm bothering with this is because it looks like it will be very different from the work he has done in the past, and in terms of movies, "different" always interests me.
Anyway, on to why this movie has a chance (and why it doesn't look like typical Seth Rogen):
The common defense of Rogen is "he's lost a lot of weight" and "Michael Keaton was also in comedies before he did Batman". To the first one: the weight loss is only one aspect of the change. The common image of Seth is "fat, beard, afro, glasses, speaks in gravelly surfer dude slang". That image has gradually been traded for a more well-scrubbed one in his last two movies: for both Observe and Report and Funny People, he trimmed the afro, shaved the beard, took off the glasses, and spoke a little softer in places. While we have not yet seen this new face combined with his significantly slimmer frame, as we probably will in the movie, it is possible that he will look the part much more when we do.
On the second one: Michael Keaton is a bad example, as he is easily refuted with Clean and Sober. A better example is Heath Ledger. When he was cast--and when the first official picture of him was released--fans didn't know what to think, and if they hadn't had Nolan and Bale to pin their hopes on, I'm sure the minimal dissent would have been much more intense and widespread. After all, this didn't look anything like the Joker they knew! The dissent was quieted only after trailers were released that showed that the Joker was still the same, just with different makeup. Rogen, unfortunately, has no Nolan and will have to endure the hate until he has enough footage to release a trailer, or at least some publicity stills.
Another concern is, regardless of appearance or precedent, can Seth act the part? While Britt Reid was never a complex character, he is certainly much quieter and classier than Rogen's previous characters. As of right now, there's no way to know if Seth can meet this challenge, but considering he's not a robot programmed to only play stoners, I won't rule out the possibility just yet.
As for Jay Chou, who has also been derided since being cast as Kato, there seems to be a misconception that, because some of his songs sound like modern pop music (he has experimented with many different genres), he is some sissy who doesn't know how to fight. Absurd: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K8H67khSeE.
I doubt I need to defend Nic Cage as the gangster villain, and while I'm not crazy about Cameron Diaz, if she is given proper makeup and dredges up the charm she had in movies like The Mask, I'm sure I will be able to tolerate her.
I am open to disagreement and correction, so if you feel the need to offer either, freely do so below.
First off, let me be clear, I have never been nor am I a fan of Seth Rogen's previous work. The only reason I'm bothering with this is because it looks like it will be very different from the work he has done in the past, and in terms of movies, "different" always interests me.
Anyway, on to why this movie has a chance (and why it doesn't look like typical Seth Rogen):
The common defense of Rogen is "he's lost a lot of weight" and "Michael Keaton was also in comedies before he did Batman". To the first one: the weight loss is only one aspect of the change. The common image of Seth is "fat, beard, afro, glasses, speaks in gravelly surfer dude slang". That image has gradually been traded for a more well-scrubbed one in his last two movies: for both Observe and Report and Funny People, he trimmed the afro, shaved the beard, took off the glasses, and spoke a little softer in places. While we have not yet seen this new face combined with his significantly slimmer frame, as we probably will in the movie, it is possible that he will look the part much more when we do.
On the second one: Michael Keaton is a bad example, as he is easily refuted with Clean and Sober. A better example is Heath Ledger. When he was cast--and when the first official picture of him was released--fans didn't know what to think, and if they hadn't had Nolan and Bale to pin their hopes on, I'm sure the minimal dissent would have been much more intense and widespread. After all, this didn't look anything like the Joker they knew! The dissent was quieted only after trailers were released that showed that the Joker was still the same, just with different makeup. Rogen, unfortunately, has no Nolan and will have to endure the hate until he has enough footage to release a trailer, or at least some publicity stills.
Another concern is, regardless of appearance or precedent, can Seth act the part? While Britt Reid was never a complex character, he is certainly much quieter and classier than Rogen's previous characters. As of right now, there's no way to know if Seth can meet this challenge, but considering he's not a robot programmed to only play stoners, I won't rule out the possibility just yet.
As for Jay Chou, who has also been derided since being cast as Kato, there seems to be a misconception that, because some of his songs sound like modern pop music (he has experimented with many different genres), he is some sissy who doesn't know how to fight. Absurd: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K8H67khSeE.
I doubt I need to defend Nic Cage as the gangster villain, and while I'm not crazy about Cameron Diaz, if she is given proper makeup and dredges up the charm she had in movies like The Mask, I'm sure I will be able to tolerate her.
I am open to disagreement and correction, so if you feel the need to offer either, freely do so below.
t: Oh and Tron Legacy is gonna rock. No speculation needed there. Jeff Bridges is always good.
