The Flick Filosopher responds:
I think it's just that Leo is now the benchmark against which other young actors are measured... not their talent or ability, but the frenzy with which fans treat stars. In the sidebar to the EW review I mentioned, it says Gruffudd does get mobbed by teenage girls in England. I think the implication is that he's on the road to having that happen here in the States. Which I would not be at all surprised to see. I was sort of snarky when I first predicted that Gruffudd would be huge: I talked about his potential for a "meteoric rise to ubiquitousness."
I didn't necessarily say that fame would be a good thing for either Gruffudd or thinking movie fans. I just think it has a good chance of happening.
Hey, I'm just the messenger, babe.

posted 05.03.99
Karen Rugg writes:
Wow! I owe so much to Horatio Hornblower's message board for allowing me to find your site! I zipped through your four HH reviews, chuckling, and zipped right to The Matrix review and, man, you did GET it! I saw that film three times within the week it was out... Awesome! And you nailed Keanu right on the nose.
I think that the lack of response to your anti-drool rant might actually be a positive thing (she types hopefully). I am in absolute agreement with your statements on the issue and actually saw a few later posts to the A&E boards about "getting a grip" and focusing desire/interest instead on the character of Horatio Hornblower. You are absolutely right about focusing on the actor's technique and motivations... If we keep beating it into people's heads that it's the writers and the storytellers and then, the actors, behind creating these intense attachments and that, perhaps, the viewer/reader should more closely examine what it is about that character that really attracts them and then working to bring that into their own lives; i.e., honor, respect, loyalty, discipline -- i.e., a few damn good mythological heroes... then we'll really all be much better off.
I've come to believe that drool diminishes with age and experience; one can only hope that most of the posters were pre- or not much past pubescence. Being a veteran fanfic writer yourself, I'm sure you remember a few of those episodes yourself. Hindsight and maturity are wonderful weapons.
All the best in voicing your views; I look forward to reading more. And, everyone, remember -- "please, sir, we want some more" -- Horatio, that is.

The Flick Filosopher responds:
I'll be sure to pass on your gratitude next time I see Lieutenant Hornblower. :-> And I'm glad someone got the humor in my Hornblower reviews! I've been accused of sometimes being too subtle.
I'm not sure if focusing "desire" away from the actor and toward the character is such a good thing, either -- Hornblower is fictional, after all. The chances may be slim that any given fan is ever gonna meet Gruffudd, but there's no chance of ever meeting Horatio! (Reminds me of that great line in The Purple Rose of Cairo, when Mia Farrow's character is cooing over Tom Baxter -- Jeff Daniels -- who's walked off a movie screen because he's fallen in love with her. "He's fictional, but you can't have everything." Love that line!)
Your point about working to bring the best of a character into your own life is a good one. But then you end up with folks like the woman who showed up at the Whitewater trial in her Star Trek uniform! Some people just seem to have no frontal lobe to control their actions.
I remember teenage drooling, but I never felt as one poster did (I'm paraphrasing), that her life would be utterly complete and perfect if only she could meet Ioan. You're probably right about the age of the droolers -- that's what I get for exploring the fandom of such a young actor. I usually don't find young actors (or young people as a whole, for that matter) all that interesting. And I'm only 29! Most of my friends are much older than me.
As for more Hornblower, apparently Gruffudd is under contract for more movies. And they've done very well here in the States as well as in Europe. I bet we see another batch in a year or two.
Glad you liked my review of The Matrix. I could have written a book about that flick.
Thanks for all your nice comments. I'm glad to you're enjoying my site.

posted 05.03.99
Michael Christopher O'Connor writes:
I just began reading some reviews on your site and I'm pretty impressed by your economically efficient use of words to maximize your observations about film. Although I don't always agree (Midnight Cowboy presents nothing for moviegoers now that its shock value is lost?), I can appreciate your "intelligent conversation" with each viewer. Please do not take this as a "If you're so smart why aren't you a real movie critic" type of e-mail, but why in fact don't you write for newspapers or magazines?
I will tune in more often.

The Flick Filosopher responds:
I didn't suggest that Midnight Cowboy has "nothing" to offer the viewer today, but I found it just didn't live up to its scandalous reputation.
You know anybody who's looking for a movie critic? Unfortunately, finding paying work isn't always a matter of talent but of being in the right place at the right time and knowing the right people. Lots of other paying writing work I've done -- from junk mail to encyclopedia articles -- I just fell into because someone I knew was looking for a writer. Would I love to see an article of mine in the New York Times Arts & Leisure section? You bet I would. But my queries go in the same pile with those of a thousand other unfamous writers.
Thanks for writing. Please come back and visit The Flick Filosopher again.

posted 04.28.99
Lorie A. Johnson writes:
Sorry to disappoint you, but this isn't a "die, bitch, die" letter either. ;-) I think that the sort of people who might be literate enough to pen(?) such nonsense are too busy slobbering and slaughtering each other on alt.fan noticeboards elsewhere. Which I do not mind.
I am a longtime veteran of fandom, and have seen firsthand what kind of crazy nonsense that obsessed fans get up to. I guess I outgrew it, because nothing about fandom really attracts me anymore. It was fun to sit and fantasize about Our Guy (which happened to be the wonderfully elegant Patrick Stewart) but some people went a little too far...
But I gotta say that I found your reality check a refreshing and reassuring thing. It'll never sink into the uncomprehending skulls of the hormonally overwrought droolers on A&E's boards, but they'll outgrow it... maybe. Most of them go on to find some other hapless fellow to drool at.
Is Mr. Hornblower a sexy guy? Damn tootin'! Even I wanted to wipe his tear-stained face at the end of The Wrong War -- and heard the fanfic gears turning in my head as I schemed a way to do so... But would I do it now? Tough to say...
I am hoping that maybe they'll make more films -- they did an excellent job with these. All I can do is look forward to them, and admire Ioan's guts in the final shot of The Wrong War -- standing on that mast nearly 100 feet above the deck. Yup -- that was him!
Lorie

The Flick Filosopher responds:
You're probably right about the slobberers being too busy elsewhere to bother me with nasty e-mail -- or else they don't see themselves in the kind of overly obsessive fan I wrote about. Probably a combination of the two.
I'm also a veteran of fandom -- I was a huge Doctor Who and Blake's 7 fan as a teenager and into my early 20s. Went to cons, wrote fanfic, published zines, the whole deal. I outgrew it, too -- I've been trying to put together a compilation of my fanfic for something like the last 6 years, and just can't seem to create the kind of enthusiasm in myself for it that I used to be overflowing with.
I do wonder how the Beloveds, like Ioan Gruffudd, take all the weird adoration. The A&E board has gotten really bad since they announced that Gruffudd was gonna be answering selected questions posted there. I'd love to see the expression on his face as he reads some of the more, er, lavish proclamations.
Actually, as much as I would have liked to be the one wiping away Horatio's tears, I find myself getting less lost in a character like I used to (and hence less likely to be inspired to write fanfic), and more intrigued by the actor's performance (not just Gruffudd, but actors in general when I watch movies now), which I'm sure is a result of working on this Web site and being a different kind of movie viewer than I used to be. I know lots of actors (none famous, yet! :->), and while most of them are fairly boring and self-centered, the good ones can be fascinating to talk to. So my reaction to the crying scene was more, "Gee, I'd love to ask Ioan how he did that" rather than "Gee, I'd love to kiss Horatio all better."
God, that final scene atop the mast was magnificent. Another thing I'd like to ask Ioan (though I refuse to post a question on the A&E board!) is, Was that as incredible and awe-inspiring as it looked? I bet that big grin was all Ioan.

posted 04.26.99
Leah Garabedian writes:
I just read your review of the [Phantom Menace] trailer and it was amazing to hear someone who felt the same way. The quote "It's like coming home to a place I've never been" is, I feel, the quintessential Star Wars experience, and now I quote it all the time, of course giving due credit to The Flick Filosopher. :-) Thanks and keeps the good coming! Enjoy the film; less than a month. Woo hoo!!
May the force be with you :-)
Leah
Colgate University, '01

posted 04.26.99
Jill Cozzi writes:
That's what I like! A woman reviewer who freely admits her obsession with the actor [Horatio Hornblower's Ioan Gruffudd]!

Read Jill's own movie reviews at Cozzi fan Tutti.

[home] [archive] [new to video/dvd]
[articles] [search the site] [faq]
[join the mailing list] [reader mail] [links]
[awards] [goodies] [manifesto]

thechick@flickfilosopher.com

(please let me know if you don't want me to post your name and/or e-mail address)

Copyright © 1997-99
MaryAnn Johanson.
All rights reserved.