Hey Freak!

So, I watched Will Smith's "I am Legend" last night. Interesting flick. Suspenseful, but a tad too-slow moving. Seriously, it seemed like a two and a half hour movie, but really, it was barely over 90 minutes. If you don't know what it's about, Will Smith plays the last human in New York after a virus wipes out most of mankind. And, of course, Will Smith somehow saves the day.

But then I was thinking about it...

When does Will Smith every play a "normal" person? I mean, besides "The Pursuit of Happyness," what recent movie of his had him as a normal guy? He's always some kind of superman; the guy that not only saves the world, but does it in an overly grandiose fashion. Or, if he's not saving the world, then at the very least, he's just larger than life (as in "Ali"). I mean, think about it...

Independence Day - blows up the alien mothership, saves the world. Bonus - married the "stripper with a heart of gold." Hahahahah.
Men in Black - not only saves the world from aliens on a daily basis, but he makes it "look gooooood."
Wild Wild West - OK, I never saw this one. I never wanted to. I used to be a huge fan of the show, but this movie didn't look appealing at all. Which is really saying something, considering that Salma Hayek was in it.
I, Robot - plays the last "sane" man on earth; saves the world from evil robots.
I am Legend - plays the last man on earth; develops a cure for the mutated humans.

And now we have Hancock. An alcoholic superhero. Because it's Will Smith; he can't just play an alcoholic cop or fireman or something.

Now, there's nothing wrong with wanting to play "larger than life" all the time. And hey, it's worked - Will Smith has gotten the reputation for delivering the big-name blockbusters for the summer movie watching season. But... I dunno. I guess I'm getting kind of sick watching the same person play basically the same role every year.

Seriously.

I mean, don't we get enough of that with Jack Black (the loveable loser fat guy who always makes good in the end)? Or Adam Sandler (the lovable loser that falls into riches/power, abuses it for a while, then learns his lesson and makes good)? Or Mike Myers (face it, all he every plays is Austin Powers, but in different movies)? Or Will Ferrell (really, do I need to explain how he always plays the same guy?)? OK, sure, those folks occasionally play out of character, but for the most part, we always see these same characters.

Wha, are we not sick of this yet? The same characters, the same gags, year after year? Or, is this all that Hollywood wants to give us? Is this what Hollywood thinks we want to see? Me, I'm kinda sick of it.