Pet Peeve Thursday--It's only an option...maybe

by guest blogger Jeff Cohen

News came last week that Tom Cruise may (or may not) have optioned one of Lee Child's Jack Reacher books and may (or may not) be planning on playing the ex-military cop and bedder of many (temporarily) uniformed women in a movie. And as with most such news (as when Katherine Heigl was cast as Stephanie Plum), the immediate reaction from fans of the book--who have been casting the movie in their heads for years--was negative. Not Cruise! they blogged, tweeted, posted and probably carved into cave walls. Anybody but Cruise!

Now personally, I don't really care who plays Jack Reacher in a movie. I've read many of Lee Child's books, and think he is remarkably good at what he does. I also think Lee is a very nice man and a mensch, and he should take as much of Tom Cruise's money as he can get and buy himself another great sports car (at least) and a season box at Yankee Stadium, or another house, or something. He deserves every dime.

And I can understand how fans of a book series can get themselves into a snit when someone is cast in the film of said book series who doesn't fit their concept of the character. If I am ever lucky enough to have a film production company option (or better, buy!) one of my novels for a film, I will have a more personal stake in the casting, but if I cash the (hopefully large) check, I'll have absolutely no say in the matter, as any author short of J.K. Rowling can tell you. I get it: fans read the books, they picture the character--in whom they are sometimes VERY emotionally invested--a certain way, and they are disappointed when the actor(s) involved aren't in that mode. It's upsetting.

But the sticking point here, from what I've read online, is not centered on whether Mr. Cruise can handle the role from an acting standpoint. He's actually a very good actor with a lot of range (See A Few Good Men and then Risky Business and then Rain Man). Sure, his public persona is sort of nuts, but find me a centered, normal actor whose name ISN'T Tom Hanks. Yeah, that's what I mean. They're all nuts.

No, the problem here isn't Cruise's acting. It's not even his nuttiness, as far as I can tell. The problem here is that Tom Cruise is short.

Before you start tuning up, yes, I'm aware that Jack Reacher is described as very tall and powerfully built in the books. Guess what? Bernie Rhodenbarr isn't described as looking much like Whoopi Goldberg in Lawrence Block's books, either. Moses? Not a thing like Charlton Heston. Benjamin Braddock couldn't be described as looking less like Dustin Hoffman if he were described as looking like Whoopi Goldberg. Movies adapt books; they don't simply transcribe them. And actors, bless  'em, are supposed to be able to make a role their own.

But I don't think that's what the problem is here. I think the problem is that people don't like short leading men. In fact, people are not comfortable generally with short men. I can tell you this because, at five-foot-five, I have had a decent amount of experience with how people treat short men. They think we're adorable and have about as much respect for us as they do for fat people and cricket players. Short, fat, cricket players? You don't want to know.

Because it is no longer politically correct to make fun of people based on race, religion or gender (and it shouldn't be, just to be clear), there are few groups left that everyone can agree to mock. Overweight people? Clearly they have no self control and deserve our scorn. Short men? Never grew up, did they? Not to be taken seriously. Members of Congress? Okay. You've got me there.

I can't stand New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and I live in his state, so you can take my word for it. But I will NEVER make a fat joke about Christie. That moves us off the point--he should be mocked for his terrible policies, not his weight.

Tom Cruise? Maybe he'd make a horrendous Jack Reacher. It's entirely possible. But don't tell me it's because he's short.
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Jeff Cohen writes mysteries about people who, come to think of it, are often below average height.  Jeff's very good friend E.J. Copperman has a new book out, the 2nd Haunted Guesthouse Mystery AN UNINVITED GHOST. 

Comments

[Pj Schott]

Agreed. Lee Child is, indeed, remarkably good at what he does and he is a very nice man. Let's not drive ourselves crazy trying to apply logic when it comes to corporate America. Hollywood will cast whoever they can get / whatever they need to sell the film. Let's try to remember that, whatever they choose to do, Lee's wonderful stories will reach many more people.

[Rosemary Harris]

Y'know...I breezed by the name of the guest blogger and just started to read. The more I read the more I knew - it's Jeff! (And not because you write short, it was very funny.)
Tom is indeed short. I saw him at an Italian restaurant once and the dude is quite short. But so is Al Pacino. Is Russell Crowe short? I think Alan Ladd was - you'd know better than I since you're an old movie buff. No one would care if Sherlock Holmes was portrayed by a vertically-challenged actor, but Reacher breezes into towns and kicks butt, sometimes three or four at a time. Don't really see a diminunitive guy doing that. A lot of us see Lee Child as Reacher andjust think Reacher should be at least as tough and as cool as he is. And as tall. I vote for Liam Neeson.

[MareF]

I honestly didn't know that he was short. I'm just not a fan.

[Patty]

Bravo Jeff

I agree that Cruise doesn't fit the physical description of Reacher but then a 20 something Danial Radcliffe doesn't fit the slight, short 17 year old Harry Potter, we all just got used to him playing the part.

And, I agree, we can no longer make fun of people for their age, race or sex but it is perfectly fine to poke fun at the overweight or short.

[Beth Anderson]

I didn't get the comment about short men not being able to kick butt. I'm not a short man, or any man, but I've known quite a few short men who could hold their own with anyone, short or tall. Short men are often very aggressive, maybe to make up for their shortness. Just sayin'...

[Carol Crigger]

Excellent post, Jeff, and I agree with you completely. As far as short men go? I like'm. As a short woman, I find I'm intimidated by tall, big men, to the point of discomfort. I find Cruise's...um...odd quirks count off-putting, but I just watched Knight and Day the other evening and he totally won me over. He's able to kick butt with the best of them.

[Brenda]

I am also horrified by how short men seem to be treated. This is an excellent & much needed post, I think. Many of our great actors have been shorter than average. I am pretty sure it was Audie Murphy who had to stand on a box to be as tall as many of his leading women.

Re Tom Cruise: My problem with him has nothing to do with his height.

I do not like how Tom Cruise (and those of his religion, Scientology) have treated others and so I don't want/intend to see him in any movies I haven't already grown fond of. But that would be true of some of his taller friends as well. It is his (and his cohorts) off screen behavior that distracts me, not his height. Usually, I will try to ignore an actor's real life since it is their choice to do as they please but there have been too many cases of Cruise & the Scientologists' interrupting others' choices so that is the ONLY reason I am less than thrilled about any movie he is in now. If I support a movie he is in, I feel like I am supporting an organization that restricts others' freedoms and others' rights.

[Jackie King]

Oh Jeff, You always make me laugh. I can't resist a guy who can make you laugh. Don't care how tall he might me.
Cheers,
Jackie King

[E.J. Copperman]

Just for the record: Daniel Radcliffe is VERY short, so I guess he fits the Harry Potter mode better than you thought. And whether or not Cruise is a Scientologist (or even whether he should or should not play Jack Reacher) is not the point here. I do wonder about some crime novelists whose antagonists (the bad guys) are always very short (and I'm not mentioning any names). It's part of the culture that short men are not taken seriously, as if we have chosen not to be tall through some character flaw. After a while, it gets old. That's all I"m saying.

[Susan]

I didn't know Cruise was short. I haven't read the books either, so I had no opinion on this one.

FWIW I have often found the short guys to be among the most capable, creative, communicative types at conventions. They are often the most competitive and energetic as well, its as if the extra height had been melted down into extra energy packs or something. Seeing a shorter, intense dude was not good news for any contest I was trying to win. I guarantee you that I never dismissed any of them as 'cute.'

Its more like... 'uh-oh'

(just a few peanuts from the elephant gallery. Sadly, you are right about the 'acceptable' prejudices out there.)