March Madness is here. For Gerald Butler (300), Kal Penn (The Namesake) and Kerry Washington (I Think I Love My Wife), that means stepping up to take the shot that will put them on the map once and for all.
[IMG:L]Gerald Butler
Last Seen: Beowulf & Grendel ($68,820)
Next: 300 (March 9); Butterfly on a Wheel (TBA)
The Bottom Line: Antonio Banderas’ loss didn’t turn out to be Gerard Butler’s gain. The Evita hunk publicly voiced his desire to star in his second Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, but it was the relatively unknown Scotsman who sang his through way through The Phantom of the Opera ($51.2 million). Banderas’ presence, though, may have turned The Phantom of the Opera into the next Chicago. Instead, it was just another disappointment for Butler following Reign of Fire ($43 million) and Timeline ($19.4 million). Wearing the Phantom’s mask failed to put a face to his name, which likely contributed to the dull Anglo-Saxon monster mash Beowulf & Grendel and the clichéd fact-based soccer drama The Game of Their Lives ($375,750) receiving negligible theatrical releases. Being barely clothed in the bloody but stunning 300 should finally give Butler the exposure he’s long sought since coming out of nowhere to play the Prince of Darkness in Dracula 2000 ($33 million). Though it’s a bit too serious for it’s own good, director Zack Snyder’s much-hyped adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel is as imaginative and visually arresting as Miller and Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City. Accordingly, this electrifying retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae, with a steely Butler leading 300 Spartan soldiers against an entire Persian army, could do for the historical epic what The Matrix did for science fiction in 1999. Also helping Butler‘s cause would be the cat-and-game thriller Butterfly on a Wheel, though that would require him holding his own against kidnapper Pierce Brosnan. But if Dear Frankie ($1.3 million) and The Phantom of the Opera couldn’t turn Butler into a heartthrob, neither will next year’s PS, I Love You. It’s hard to imagine how much heat he can generate with Hilary Swank, considering he stars as her late husband in this film version of the Cecelia Ahern chick-lit bestseller.
[IMG:L]Kal Penn
Last Seen: Epic Movie ($38.9 million)
Next: The Namesake (March 10)
The Bottom Line: Maybe Kal Penn wants to waste his time doing lazy spoofs and wacky college farces. But it’s more likely that Hollywood doesn’t know what to do with an American-born actor of Gujarati Indian descent—other than to hire him to perpetuate stereotypes in the likes of Van Wilder. With The Namesake, Penn effortlessly transitions from comedy to drama. This is a compelling—if somewhat overly long—multigenerational character study about an Indian family trying to make a go of it in America. It certainly show a great deal of faith in Penn that Mira Nair, of Mississippi Masala and Monsoon Wedding fame, would cast him given his lack of experience playing it straight. While it won’t appeal to the same knuckleheads who giggled at Epic Movie, The Namesake—combined with recent guest appearances on 24 and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit—should hopefully result in Penn being the beneficiary of color-blind casting per dramatic leads. Not that Penn‘s waiting for this to happen. He’s already fallen back into his old ways—yes, he’s shooting Harold and Kumar 2, the sequel to the box office flop that became a cult classic on DVD. Hopefully it will be better—and do better—than the needless Van Wilder spin-off, The Rise of Taj ($4.2 million). Still, Penn‘s insistence on making these comedies could hurt him more than help him down the road. If he doesn’t start to distance himself from the likes of Epic Movie and Harold and Kumar, he could face the sad prospect of being pigeonholed as his generation’s Leslie Nielsen.
[IMG:L]Kerry Washington
Last Seen: The Dead Girl ($19,875)
Next: I Think I Love My Wife (March 16); Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (June 15)
The Bottom Line: “Women really respond to Nikki Tru—she’s got a Holly Golightly thing about her,” Chris Rock tells The Bottom Line of the sexy single out to bed his married milquetoast in I Think I Love My Wife. That would be good news for Kerry Washington, who won a Teen Choice breakout award for 2001’s Save the Last Dance ($91 million). Sure, Washington‘s suitably seductive as Rock‘s fantasy woman, but she also brings some much-needed charm and smarts to a woman who could easily be dismissed as a home wrecker. Washington‘s already held her own with her supporting turns in comedies (Little Man, Mr. and Mrs. Smith) and fact-based dramas (The Last King of Scotland, Ray). But if wives are dragged to Rock‘s ribald sex comedy by their husbands, and they leave feeling sympathy for Nikki Tru, I Think I Love My Wife will finally earn Washington a well-deserved chance at carrying her movie after years of playing the love interest.
