The Bottom Line: Affleck Takes Refuge in ‘Hollywoodland’

Is it a bird?

Is a plane?

No, it’s… Ben Affleck?

Yes, the Man Without Fear is now the Man of Steel. Sorta.

In Hollywoodland, Affleck gives his best performance since Chasing Amy as George Reeves, TV’s ill-fated Superman. This cross between Auto Focus and Chinatown dissects the various rumors that cast doubt over George Reeves’ 1959 suicide.

And Affleck’s probably hoping that truth, justice and the American way will finally allow him to triumph over that two-headed beast known as Bennifer.

Just imagine if Halle Berry had not dropped out of Gigli. No Jennifer Lopez, no career meyarltdown.

Even with Berry, Gigli likely still would be the Heaven’s Gate of mob comedies. But Gigli—and Jersey Girl—arrived burdened with the baggage that came with Affleck’s made-for-the-tabloids courtship of Lopez. Who wanted to pay to see Affleck and Lopez get all lovey-dovey when we could see them smooch for free on Entertainment Tonight? And when Bennifer split, Affleck—so smug when he had J.Lo on his arm—bore the brunt of our animosity toward the couple making us endure their nauseating PDAs. (Thankfully, Affleck married Jennifer Garner without drawing half the attention.)

Had Affleck not hooked up with Lopez, he could have walked away from Gigli with his dignity. Instead, Affleck paid a heavy price for his romantic misadventure. 

Paycheck was a sci-fi snoozer best blamed on a director (John Woo) going through the motions. Delayed by one year so it would not compete against Paycheck, the yuletide stinker Surviving Christmas opened a week before Halloween—Halloween!—in 2004, and then hit DVD in time for the holidays. 

Daddy and Them and The Third Wheel—featuring Affleck in minor roles—debuted on DVD. Disney abandoned Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and reportedly couldn’t come to terms with Affleck to star in Glory Road. His Daredevil cameo was cut from Elektra after he started dating Garner. And Man About Town, a romantic comedy filmed in 2004, has no release date.

Worse, Paramount seems more interested in creating a franchise anchored by author Tom Clancy’s John Clark rather than make another Jack Ryan yarn.

And talk about reversals of fortune. It was only a few years ago that Affleck’s star shone brighter than his buddy and fellow Good Will Hunting Oscar winner, Matt Damon. Then Affleck met Jennifer Lopez, Damon glommed onto George Clooney, and the rest of history.

Even Affleck admits that things got so bad that he “backed off from doing movies, did some movies for money and then took a break,” per WENN.

At least Affleck’s beloved Red Sox won a World Series.

You have to love the irony of a once-bankable leading man playing a washed-up TV hunk. Unfortunately, audiences yawn whenever Tinseltown turns the cameras on itself. It also doesn’t help that Hollywoodland’s attempt to investigate Reeves’ death lacks the courage to draw any conclusions. So don’t expect Hollywoodland to be Affleck’s first hit since Daredevil.

But Hollywoodland does serve notice that Affleck—who has yet to show us he possesses the same talent as Damon—is willing to tackle more challenging roles than that of saving the world from a big chunk of rock. And that’s perhaps the only way Affleck’s going to get back in our good graces.

The Bottom Line
Despite his woes, Ben Affleck still has enough clout to direct his first film, Gone, Baby, Gone. And he’s in director’s Joe Carnahan’s much-anticipated black comedy, Smokin’ Aces (March 2). But he still faces an uphill struggle to regain the momentum he enjoyed before wining and dining Jennifer Lopez. So his remains a cautionary tale for any actor who decides to let make a fool of himself by letting his love life play out in public. Got that, Tom Cruise?