Why does Will Smith suck now?

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

I Am Legend capped a string of five straight well-received movies as actor or director for Smith. But it's been a steady decline over the last 10 years. And even that string looks like a blip when you consider between 1999 and 2004 almost every Will Smith movie tanked.

Will Smith's been living off The Fresh Prince success ever since. And that's OK. We all loved the Fresh Prince and we all love Will Smith because of The Fresh Prince. We want to see him succeed. So we keep giving him chances. Will Smith doesn't actually suck. But his movies do.

Living off The Fresh Prince? It was a good sitcom that often rose above the boilerplate nature of sitcoms (Will's Dad deserts him for the last time, Will gets shot, Will and Uncle Phil basically calling Carlton an Uncle Tom re: being profiled by cops, even all the breaking of the fourth wall) but it wasn't something someone lives off forever. By the end of The Fresh Prince, Will had spent nearly a decade crafting himself as a multi-media star. He oozed charisma and, let's be blunt here, was safe and non-threatening enough to be embraced by white America.

He's definitely in a slump now, b/c he didn't dollop out his crazy like Tom Cruise and b/c it's obvious his kids are even crazier than he is, but he was as bankable as anyone for a long time before that. He opened his career with four massive hits (Bad Boys, Independence Day, Men In Black & Enemy of the State) before Wild Wild West and Baggar Vance tanked. No one really blames him for the latter, who woulda thunk a Robert Redford film would bomb?

But after that? He was box office gold mixed with enough serious actorly roles (Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness) mixed in to remind us he had legit chops, at least until the shitshow that was After Earth in 2013. Then Focus did fine at the box office, and he fared fine in Concussion, even if moviegoers didn't want to spend money to be reminded of the meat market nature of the NFL. Suicide Squad was Suicide Squad, and then he did that Netflix movie that I didn't even know was a thing until recently. So he's at a nadir, but the Aladdin remake seems like a good place to chew some scenery and remind everyone of his skills. And if not? There are worse ways to spend your 50s than getting even richer by making Netflix movies that are as bankable as they are instantly forgettable. Ask Adam Sandler.

 

[SullyBarnes]

I really liked Focus, but yeah, he's not getting choice roles anymore. Part of it probably is age vs. his personality. He's aging out of some of the types of roles he played so effectively (the brash funnyman, athlete, action star), but he doesn't yet really "seem" old enough to play other parts even though he's 50.

Brad Pitt is in a similar position. Since "Moneyball" came out in 2011, "The Big Short" is the only good film he's carried (I think he only had like 5 minutes of screen time in "12 Years a Slave"). Like Smith, he seems younger than he is, but not so young as to be able to play some of those roles anymore and not old enough to play "elder" roles.

Great point!

 

[DanOregon]

The movie business has changed so much. They'll give you $10 mil to make a movie, and they'll give you $150 mil or more. The stuff in between? Tougher. International box office is critical, franchise potential. One of the reasons you are seeing more movie stars do series on streaming services and cable. A 10-13 ep run gives you a chance to tell those stories that would translate to a $70 million budget movie.

 

[TyWebb]

[finds an empty room in an abandoned building in a deserted part of town and whispers]

I ... actually liked Bright.

 

[outofplace]

[finds an empty room in an abandoned building in a deserted part of town and whispers]

I ... actually liked Bright.

The devil you say!

(Actually, I haven't seen it. I was going to watch it, but I let the negative reviews chase me off for the time being.)

 

[DanOregon]

When you see people like Johnny Depp and Will Smith go back and do a sequel after more than 10 years...you know they know they need a hit. Smith even has a Hancock 2 scheduled.

Looking something else up - I had no idea Denzel Washington was 63. I'm stunned by that. Probably because he didn't "hit" until he was 30.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

 

[HC]

I guess it's evident why he was a rapper rather than a singer.

 

[justgladtobehere]

I was hoping that would be his response to the thread.

 

[CD Boogie]

Will Smith is basically a comedian, though he has done dramatic turns (like Ali and Six Degrees of Separation). He's known and liked basically for his charm. Like a lot of comedians who become movie stars (Adam Sandler, Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller), he seems to have worn out his welcome.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

I think Will Smith is still very much welcome despite dog after dog on the big screen. To answer @BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo, this is what I mean when I say he is still riding The Fresh Prince. Not that that's his only success; it's that he is so beloved for that he keeps getting chances that others might not. Yes, he did create his career off his own hard work so he created his own opportunities. But he still goes on talk shows and talks about The Fresh Prince and rumors of a reunion float around, so the charm and charisma from that show keep getting him more chances.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

I think Will Smith is still very much welcome despite dog after dog on the big screen. To answer @BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo, this is what I mean when I say he is still riding The Fresh Prince. Not that that's his only success; it's that he is so beloved for that he keeps getting chances that others might not. Yes, he did create his career off his own hard work so he created his own opportunities. But he still goes on talk shows and talks about The Fresh Prince and rumors of a reunion float around, so the charm and charisma from that show keep getting him more chances.

What the hell is Nic Cage is riding?