The Train Wreck

I can't help myself. Every time it's on the TV; whenever I see a little blurb about it on my MSN home page...I can't stop myself from watching/reading/gawking at the unbelieveable train wreck that is Tom Cruise.

I grew up with this guy's career. I saw "Risky Business" and the silly football movie and "Top Gun" in the movie theatres. I've never really been a huge fan, which is probably why I'm even more into this macabre downfall than ever. But every movie I've seen him in (except, maybe, for Mission Impossible - what WAS the plot or the point?) I've enjoyed. Especially The Last Samurai. I even kinda like the fact he's become the main guy for a really, really good director. But this is all small talk fluff. The real stuff is all about his mid life crisis.

And make no mistake, folks, this is a very public, very painful to watch midlife crisis. Let's see, normally cool, polite, unflapable guy who has always been very capable of keeping professional and private separate suddenly is acting like...well...remember that girl in the lunchroom who wanted everybody to notice how vivacious and outgoing and funny and cool she was and so was always talking too loud, laughing too much, over-reacting in "pleasant" ways...just too much and too insincere? Don't 'cha think this guy is acting the same way? Forty some-odd years old, twice divorced and he's going this publicly gaga over some girl half his age after only six weeks????

And yet...I can't turn my eyes away even for a second. The sheer arrogance of his interview with Matt Lauer. Yeah, guy, you're the only one in the world who knows the history of psychiatry...and because of that history, all the good in the world that it does is null and void. Shall we talk about the history of a religion based on science fiction books? Even Mary Baker Eddy didn't go that far. How about how modern medicine started with vivisectionists? Puh-lease. Oh, oh, what about the role of public religion in the first place? And the history of orthodonture? Or...wait...this is a good one...how about the depletion of our planet's resources and the greed of burning petroleum that could otherwise be used for better screen actors makeup by the wasteful burning of fuel in race cars? I'm sorry, did I say makeup? I meant tupperware/diesel fuel/almost anything made in the world that actually contributes to our quality of life.

It's a train wreck. I can't look. I shouldn't look. It's wrong to look. And yet, I can't tear my eyes away.

At least I now have more lunch date conversation than who the Block Island Blogger may possibly be.