Channing Tatum fans, America owes you all -- and him -- an apology. Like many in these here United States, I confess I've always used the word "actor" loosely about the star 21 Jump Street. And now the reviews are in, the money's piling up at the box office, and know I sit here humbly corrected.
The 80s TV show turned this weekend's top movie at the box office (kicking both The Lorax and Friday Night Lights hottie Taylor Kitsch's John Carter in the hind end), has let us in on a Channing Tatum secret. We know now what The Vow and Step Up failed to tell us.
Channing Tatum can ... well, he can act. No, really. Behind all that Mr. Sexy McSexy Pants is comedic timing that has taken the industry by storm. He is hilarious as one of the undercover cops sent back to high school. Hi-dang-larious! Seriously, the Washington Post called his acting "sublime."
Sublime? Wait a darn minute. This is the same guy who was being called a "handsome steak" and not much else a few months ago? If I were him, I don't know if I could resist sending some of these reviews out to certain particularly vicious critics!
And now it's lesson time. Sorry, I know Channing just brought the funny to the big screen, but his "in your face" success says a lot more than just "come on, go see 21 Jump Street this afternoon!"
Just because a guy has a spectacular . . . everything, does not mean it's fair to box him into a corner. I'm not even sure why that's acceptable, but let's face it: it's done with a lot of hot Hollywood actors. Not as much as the female actresses, no, but in an odd twist on the fight for equality, while women are finally finding some success in pointing out just how wrong it is to be typecast for your beauty, it's becoming more commonplace for a Tatum-type to be forgiven his ills as an actor as long as he continues to take his shirt off.
We did it with Channing Tatum, and were did that get us? Oh right, eating massive amounts of crow, while 21 Jump Street speeds to the top of the box office fueled by the "sublime" acting and comedic timing he's just been hiding from us all this time. Whoops!
Check out funny Channing in action:
What Hollywood actor have you profiled as "all brawn, no brains?"