... who still goes into Max Fish, can you believe it?
So... Marlon Brando is dead at age 80. He meant a lot to me, he was outspoken, unpredictable, and just plain the best actor of his generation and the generations after him. I'm not gay, but I remember being a freshman in college and having this super hot bi-chick in my dorm, on my bed one night. She said she'd only circle the bases with me if I told her that I'd fool around with a guy sometime. Well, as I searched for a sincere response to her queery, knowing that if I failed to convince her she'd blow out of there and I'd be left muttering "fuck" to myself, I looked up out of the corner of my eye and saw the poster of Marlon Brando in "Streetcar Named Desire" I had hanging on my dormroom wall. It was a no-brainer, this guy was fucking beautiful, and the little bit of androgeny that all guys posess answered for me; "yes", as I was thinking that's how we're attracted, if you will ,to our heroes and friends, as well as girl friends. If you think about it, whether you want to admit it or not, we're drawn to others b/c of their physical or mental makeup that "attracts us" chemically. You either can't take your eyes off of someone, or at least admit they're good looking, whatever the sex, or you can't stop listening to them. Brando, Cobain, Morrison, Jagger, Hendrix, Chet Baker, Monty Clift, Elvis-my attraction to them is not so different from my attraction to Marylyn, Scarlett Johanson, Angela Lindvall, Nico, Selma Blair, Lauren Bacall and all the hot starlets I'd love to bed, except for that I wouldn't want to bed them, simply cuz that's not my style baby. I think that a little admitted androgeny though can go a long way, it sure did for me that night, whether it was a lie or not, I was sincere in admitting to myself that Brando was hot. Dubya should have learned that from Reagan I think, who must have had some of that shit sink in whether he'd have ever admitted it or not while he was on a set. Yeah, he was a creep as Gov. of CA in the 60's, but give me him over this hollow shell of human flesh (Bush Jr.) anyday. So, if you're 18, go out and rent "The Wild One", now, as Brando's cool appeal was complex, the anti-John Wayne cool. After that flick, get "Streetcar...", cuz his Stanley is just about one of the best damn acting performances ever on the big screen. He's also golden in "Guys and Dolls", "On the Waterfront", "The Young Lions", "The Fugitive Kind", "Mutiny on the Bounty", "Burn", "The Godfather" and "Last tango in Paris". I don't care that he was kinda whack and was mistaken for Shelly Winters more often than not in his later years, this guy was the embodyment of cool rebellion. A guy embraced by the system who couldn't give a fuck about the system. There's not an actor today, no, not Penn, not Depp, and certainly not the overrated Ed Norton, who can touch him, nobody, they're all conformists to a degree, whether they'd agree with me or not. If Depp had Penn's talent, and talent for taking chances, you might have a great actor there. Brando plain didn't give a shit what others thought about him. esp. later on, which in many ways makes me think he became even cooler in his later years. Sucks that I didn't get a chance to meet the man, have a laugh w/ him, get a bear hug.
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