The other day over lunch, during an animated discussion of people who have
graced the big screen this summer, I voiced my latest cinematic observation.
It had hit me, belatedly, after years of watching Mel Gibson movies, during
an opening day matinee of "The Patriot": It's not just Mel; Australia simply
is a genetically blessed country.
Right about now, I imagine, my irate editor, known for his blissful
ignorance of, and sometimes even blatant disregard for physical
attractiveness among actors and especially baseball players, is rolling his
eyes and shaking his head, while cursing the day he begged me to write a
column for Filmfodder.
But I digress.
There are an increasing number of cute Australian actors (and actresses, but
it's the guys I'm interested in) on our movie screens these days. Mel Gibson
and Russell Crowe come to mind, and of course the newest Aussie import and
living proof that the good genes don't skip a generation, Heath Ledger.
It all began with Mel. The steel-blue eyes, the trademark smile, the
buttocks in "Bird on a Wire," and, of course, the accent. After years of
commanding the big screen, being the highest paid actor in Hollywood, and
getting better with age—dare I say it—like a good wine, he's still going
strong. But he's not alone at the top anymore. Other Aussie talent is
climbing the ladder to superstardom, and I have to say what's come from Down
Under so far is nothing but eyecandy.
Different from the classic American good looks, which, in my humble opinion,
seem increasingly artificial and too widespread to warrant more than a
just-another-pretty-face reaction, Aussies stick out in the Hollywood crowd,
their rugged imperfection commanding the inadvertent attention of—mostly
female—audiences, who obligingly succumb to their considerable charm(s).
They know how to work it—and work it they certainly do—and manage to
pretend obliviousness at the same time. That, I say, is the difference
between boys and men.
Call me superficial or call me excessively observant, the truth is, I have a
thing for cute men and I'm woman enough to admit it. And while I will enjoy
90 minutes of Mel in a darkened theater any day, I really hope to get a
chance to discuss Heath's buttocks one of these days over lunch.
During the few moments when she's not salivating over Australian movie stars, Eva Weber enjoys berating neighbors who leave their goddamn car alarms on all night.
