The (Dis)Comfort of Hate

Matthew McConaughey: Frailty/Dazed and Confused (By James Hittinger, CC2K Columnist)

I hate Matthew McConaughey in everything he’s ever done except for Frailty and Dazed and Confused, one a masterpiece of twisty, turny cinema if ever there was one, and the other a loveable teenage comedy well worth sparking an L to.

I really hate his last name: McConaughey. It sounds like something I coughed up after living in a frat house for 2 years. I think what I hate most about him is that he’s from Texas but still manages to give off a fake sounding accent. Even in Dazed and Confused his accent sounded stilted and put-on. Don’t even get me started on his performance in A Time to Kill, Contact, Two for the Money, and Ed TV. Reign of Fire was no picnic either. Basically, he’s a good looking dude with a chiseled body who tries to drawl his way through every single film he’s ever done; but at the moment he’s a poser of epic proportions just a cunt hair removed from John Travolta territory. I also don’t think that Failure to Launch will be doing his career any favors; nor will Sahara; or How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. In theory, the only reason I liked him in Frailty and Dazed and Confused is that both films minimized or exploited his performance and focused on story.

In Frailty, his character merely narrates the story as opposed to effecting the action and driving the plot. Luckily, the genius that is Bill Paxton carried the film from the get go and left the driving up to a carefully woven yarn that only surrendered its secrets come closing time. Powers Booth was excellent, and overall the film held my attention and interest throughout. McConaughey looked the part of a badass—which is his only useful ability—and kept his acting to a few scenes of subdued Southern meandering.

Dazed and Confused used him in a still-different and better way. As the guy-who-can’t-let-high-school-go character, Matthew was able to act like himself as much as he wanted, the result being that he played the character to a T. The guy-who-can’t-let-high-school-go IS Matthew McConaughey, they are one and the same. A loud mouthed, slightly cool, chill, stoned slacker was acting gold for this guy. He could still pull this role off, too, if he ditched the romantic comedies and the Al Pacino vehicles and actually picked a role that forced him to be vulnerable for once. Give it a try Matt. It’s worked wonders for other actors of a similar ilk. We all get it: you’re smoking hot and the ladies all want to fuck you. That’s a given. Now start making decent films or get the fuck off the screen. I’m serious. Quit smirking. Dimples don’t work on me…wait a minute, those are fabulous…but you still suck.

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