Apr 11, 2008,
C. Robert Cargill
Once again, it's a weekend battle of head-to-head stars. And this week we have two big names in small movies. In this corner, we have Keanu Reeves in the low-budget actioner Street Kings. And in this corner, we have the lovely Ellen Page in the low-budget, feel-good, dysfunctional family comedy of Smart People. You know the rules. Let's drop the cage. Two people enter! One person leaves!
In the box office this weekend: Winner = Keanu
Hmmm. Loud, pulsing, cop drama with high-speed chases, gun fights and more A-listers than you can shake a stick at versus a small, indie dysfunctional family comedy. This one's a toughie. Let me think a minute. Yeah. Right. Smart though it may be, book smart is always trumped by street smart. Expect the bookworms to get pistol-whipped at the box office.
In the critical arena: Winner = Ellen
Dude, there's so much Ellen Page love in the critical arena right now, it's not even funny. Twice, I ended up on end-of-the-year critic awards boards that put her in the Best Actress category (and one even gave it to her) last year. She's got so much heat she could read the phone book for two hours and garner reviews that read funny, precocious and adorable... Page triumphs again in this touching adaptation of the classic book. Keanu, on the other hand, is the favorite chew toy of cranky critics. He could channel freaking Brando for a film and end up with reviews that read Keanu is better than usual, but still can't escape his surfer-boy Bill-and-Ted persona. Factor in smart indie versus dumb actioner and you get a solid trouncing on par with the box-office beating Page has coming.
In their careers: Winner = Keanu
This one's tentative. But Keanu already has the A-list career. He's made movies that are enduring classics in almost every genre. Page has just begun and could easily be the next Natalie Portman, or even, if she plays her cards right, Meg Ryan. But she could just as easily become the next Thora Birch, Christina Ricci or Piper Perabo. Hollywood loves its young, cute starlets. For five minutes. Then it tries to forget about them. If Page can work against that, she could forge a legacy. Lord knows she's talented enough.
In a fight: Winner = Keanu
Boy. Girl. I don't care. One of them knows Kung Fu.
Winner = Keanu
He's the bigger name, he's got the bigger weekend, and his film targets a market that loves to exalt these things. He's triumphed against enduring criticism. And he will continue to do so.
