Off Screen Behavior

I recently read an article  Do the Politics and Behavior of Actors Affect How You See Them on Screen? and that thought came to mind again after watching Ben-Hur because growing up all I knew about Charlton Heston was his pro gun activism with the NRA. I know a few people who refuse to watch movies if certain actors are in it. For example one of my friends is very conservative and if Sean Penn or Tim Robbins are in a movie they won’t watch it (sad for them they won’t see Mystic River because it is a great movie and they both give amazing performances in them). On the other hand I understand not watching a movie that has an agenda. Movies like Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 turn me off because of its propaganda style.

While politics is one thing what if an actor does something illegal? For example should we support people who are accused of abusing women (Mel Gibson) or rape (Roman Polanski)? Mel Gibson has been in the spotlight lately due to his being cut from a cameo appearance in The Hangover 2. While the exact reasons for him being cut from the movie aren't real clear it is speculated to be because Zach Galifianakis objected to Mel on a moral grounds. It would be interesting to know if an audience would feel the same way. Would people not see the movie because Mel Gibson was in it for a few minutes? I actually think it would have been funny to see. As some have pointed out it is odd that Mel has caused a big ruckus for the cast of The Hangover 2 but no one seemed to complain about Mike Tyson in the first movie, and he was convicted of rape. That movie went on to gross a huge amount of money and I never heard anyone say they wouldn't see it because a convicted rapist was in it.

The fact that Mike Tyson was convicted brings up an interesting point. Does it make him less evil of a person since he went to jail and served his debt to society?  Are people more willing to forgive him then Mel Gibson because Mel has not been convicted of anything? I had a conversation similar to this with a co-worker of mine not about a movie star but about an athlete. We were talking about Michael Vick and how he is having a great comeback this year. She said she could not forgive him for abusing animals.  She feels that Vick did not get the amount of punishment he deserved and should not be playing football.  Personally the only person I have a moral issue watching their movies is Roman Polanski. Here is a guy charged with raping an underage girl and before he could be arrested he fled the country and is living as a free man. While it appears that Hollywood has already forgave him (they awarded him Best Director for the Pianist in 2002) I can not do it so quick. He committed a crime and has not had any punishment for it.  Should we reward him for getting away with it by watching his movies and making him richer? I don’t think so. And while his last movie The Ghost Writer got a lot of critical praise I could not bring myself to watching it. Maybe one day I will but I am torn about it.

Now everybody likes a good comeback story especially in Hollywood. The big question is when will the public forgive them and let them move on from their past. Take for instance Drew Barrymore and Robert Downey Jr. Both have overcome substance abuse and scandal to become headliners again. But to me that is different. They overcame personal demons and the only people they were hurting were themselves. Unlike Mel Gibson, Mike Tyson, Michael Vick and especially Roman Polanski who purposefully hurt others. I think that this should warrant a second look at them and maybe we should not support their careers especially if they appear unremorseful.

Another thought occurred to me while I was watching a gossip morning show while at the gym. They were talking about Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie. It got me thinking if people care so much about the politics of stars do they care about their personal beliefs? The answer to this question is obviously no. Hollywood gossip has been around as long as Hollywood. The gossip columns only make stars even bigger. But why is that? Should we not watch an Angelina Jolie movie because she is an adulteress and stole Brad Pitt away from Jennifer Aniston? It hasn't hurt any of their careers. In fact it might have helped Jennifer Aniston's because now everyone feels sorry for her. Stars can do what many people consider immoral behavior and no one seems to care and in fact they get celebrated for it. It makes me wonder if people care so much about what they say politically why they don’t care what they do in their personal life. Should we only support movie stars that live by a strict moral code? It’s an interesting question for my conservative pals who feel they can't watch a movie with a liberal in it but no problem with someone who has a shady personal life.

I agree sometimes actors off screen behavior takes away from their movies. I do have trouble watching a Tom Cruise movie since he went crazy and was jumping on Oprah's coach. I don't think it is fair to boycott movies just because their actors are outspoken on an issue or issues. I think a movie should be judged on the merit of its content not the off screen antics of its stars, as long as those antics doesn't hurt anybody. The line starts to get a little blurry when it goes from talking about issues to criminal acts.  I know this is not something I have thought a lot about in the past. I have always just judged the movie based on its creative and entertainment value. But all this talk recently has given me pause and got me thinking and maybe I will be more carful who I give my money too in the future. It will be interesting to see how people greet the return of Mel Gibson in the upcoming movie The Beaver. I am still not sure if I will be seeing the movie.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment would love to know what others think.