Will Smith is such a megastar that I bet you forgot
he used to be half of the rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.
Smith’s current release, Hitch, in which he portrays a dating consultant, is a surprise
blockbuster, and it is the perfect vehicle for his charisma and sharp
verbal skills. Smith may be the best talker in cinema. Hitch is also Smith’s biggest
film that doesn’t resort to special effects, unless you consider
scene-stealing co-star Kevin James (TV’s King
of Queens) a special effect. Hitch suffers a bit from one of
those plots driven by coincidence and misunderstanding, but the perfect
teaming of Smith and James covers the deficiencies.
Rap is probably a good training ground for acting, and
it allowed Smith an easy transition to sitcom stardom in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. His
first significant movie was in Six Degrees of
Separation (1993), in which Smith stars as a
con artist who dupes a group of New York society snobs into believing he is
Sidney Poitier’s son. His eloquent bombast would overcome any
doubters. This is Smith at his best.
Major stardom hit a few years later with the dreadful
science-fiction extravaganza Independence Day (1995). I will never understand why people bought into this
pile of stupidity. Plan 9 from Outer Space makes more sense. Smith followed this with another
science-fiction hit, Men in Black (1997). It isn’t as horrible as Independence Day, but it has a
nebulous plot and a yawner of a climax. Smith’s natural charisma
still managed to shine through this pair of clunkers.
Smith may not be the image of heavyweight boxing champ
Muhammad Ali, but he proved the greatest choice. Ali (2001) is Smith’s first
stab at drama, but, given the flamboyance of Ali’s persona, it may
not have been a great stretch. Still, he was more convincing as Ali than
was Ali playing himself in 1977’s The
Greatest. Smith deserved his Oscar nomination.
Smith returned to the science-fiction genre with I, Robot (2004), a recent DVD
release. He stars as a Chicago cop who, while investigating the alleged
suicide of a scientist, becomes convinced that the man was murdered by a
robot. The investigation uncovers a bizarre conspiracy that isn’t
quite what it seems. I, Robot isn’t on the level of director Alex Proyas’
classic Dark City,
but it is definitely Smith’s best sci-fi film. Smith hasn’t
really taken many risks in his career, but it is evident that he is capable
of far more than he has shown.
DVDs scheduled for release Tuesday
(March 15): The
Incredibles, Alfi, The Gospel of John, End of the Century (the Ramones), and What the #$*! Do We
Know?
This article appears in Mar 10-16, 2005.
