December 2, 2013, - 4:40 pm
Paul Walker: Excessive Hype Over Mediocre Actor Who Was Good-Looking; James Dean Again
Yes, it’s sad that Paul Walker, a very good looking actor, died in a fiery crash. I was shocked when I read about it in the newspaper, Sunday morning, mostly because it goes to show that life is short no matter who you are. I’m sorry he died and feel for his family. But the hype over his death and the beatification of this guy, as if he’s some sort of saint, isn’t just approaching excessive. It’s well beyond that. It’s ridiculous. And it’s all because of his looks, not his acting.
It’s James Dean, the redux. They drove similar cars and died nearly the same way.
As a movie critic, I’ve seen many of Walker’s movies. Many of them went straight to DVD. And one of those that wasn’t straight to DVD, “Takers” (read my review), had a horrible message. The movie applauded violence by bank robbers (one of whom was Walker) against police. It was a “Yay, Cop Killing!” movie. Walker was an average, maybe even substandard, actor. And Hollywood caught on. Yes, he had model good looks (though he looked better when he was younger and was approaching haggard-dom). But good-looking guys are a dime a dozen there, and Walker was cast in the Fast and Furious movies, but little else that was a hit. And the most recent Fast and Furious movie was an absolute joke (read my review). Walker was a B-list actor at the most. He recently played a character called “Raw Dog,” in some movie called, “Pawn Shop Chronicles.” Probably a bomb.
And the way he lived his life wasn’t exactly stellar. Yes, he raised money for charity. That’s what celebs do to raise their profiles. But he fathered a daughter out of wedlock, never marrying the mother, and was “dating” (euphemism) a girlfriend who was just a few years older than his 15-year-old daughter. At 40, at the time of his death, Walker’s girlfriend was 23, and they’d been “dating” since she was a 16-year-old and he was 33. That’s kinda creepy and just a few months difference from sex offender/pedophile status. Just saying. Hmmm . . . where’s Chris Hansen when ya need him?
He clearly lived a fast life. And, while it’s not always true that if you lead a fast life you’ll die early (Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are still with us), it’s a pretty good predictor that if you live a risky life, you’re putting that life in danger. He made a movie–several of them–as his star vehicle, the premise of which is all about risky driving in fancy fast sports cars at illegal speeds. And isn’t it ironic that this is how he died. Yes, I know that Walker was not driving. But he did drive a fancy Porsche sports car (just like James Dean) and you know that, being into fast cars and making movies about driving them, he probably drove at dangerous speeds. And if you get into a V-10, 610-horsepower Porsche to have your racing friend drive it, you know you ain’t gonna be going the speed limit.
Yes, I liked a couple of the Fast and Furious movies, particularly “Fast Five” (read my review), but that doesn’t blind me to the utter irony of the whole thing. And I’m amazed at how this B-list actor is the top of the news and hyped as such a great guy. I suppose I shouldn’t be.
James Dean is remembered as a good actor (and definitely was a good deal better than Paul Walker), but would he have been idolized and highly rated had he died after a full life? Oh, and he died driving a Porsche Spyder at dangerous speeds. Sound familiar? And, solely because of his death at a young age, his estate is still making gazillions off of licensed t-shirts, mugs, and other stuff with his face on ’em.
Reader Lisa:
Explain to me WHY people care that this kid from Fast and Furious died? Oh how shocking that a guy who starred in movies about DAREDEVIL DRIVING died in a speed-related crash??
Ok, its sad when people lose their lives, but people…he wasn’t Marlon Brando…I also read that his girlfriend is 22 or 23. And he started dating her when she was 16. Ewwwwwwww, cant find a gal your own age??
It reminds me also of the Kennedy’s. Daredevils…John John HAD to fly that plane in the wind and rain. Gotta have that rush. Didn’t one of them ski into a tree or something too? Not saying you cant enjoy life. But there is a limit. You make 6 movies about daredevil driving, and you surround yourself with those kinds of people. You know how guys are. Probably accumulated friends because he had a “dope” car. He wasn’t a passenger in a Camry, it was a souped up Porche. A guy driving that isnt going to drive it the speed limit. Something about art imitating life? He made all those movies and maybe surrounded himself with that type of lifestyle.
Exactly. That’s America. Our vain society worships, lauds, and mourns mediocrity, so long as it has a pretty and famous face on it.
And now we see the James Deaning of Paul Walker, whose most famous gig, these days, other than the Fast/Furious stuff was as the supermodel for men’s cologne (Davidoff’s Cool Water). Is getting oiled up and rolling in the sand acting?
Imagine what the world does when Kim Kardashian dies. Or her overrated, racist, nutjob sperm donor, Kanye West. Oy, perish the thought.
Yes, Paul Walker wasn’t Kim Kardashian level. But he was no Albert Schweitzer, either.
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From a Twitter follower (follow me on Twitter):
AMEN.
Tags: Fast and Furious, Fast and Furious movies, James Dean, Paul Walker, Paul Walker car crash, Paul Walker daughter, Paul Walker Death, Paul Walker Dies, Paul Walker Girlfriend, Porsche
I looked at the wreckage and estimated the speed near 100 mph
My only thought was
“I am glad they didn’t take out an innocent bystander especially a child in the neighborhood.”
Cleaning up the gene pool? Just saying …
Darrell L. Hicks on December 2, 2013 at 4:52 pm