Greetings,
We all have secrets. I can admit that even I have things I like to hide away. But one thing that I have never kept hidden is my love for one Mr. Michael Rosenbaum. I made that abundantly clear when I did my Top Ten Smallville episodes list. Yeah, I was not shy when it came to giving him some massive accolades, and I had really had no reason to be. Not when it comes to Smallville anyway. He was nothing short of brilliant on that show. Still, as we all know, the careers of even the best actors have mountains and valleys, some more than others, and Michael Rosenbaum is no exception. But if you never slip and fall, it usually means you were never brave enough to take a risk . . . or it means you're Daniel Day-Lewis. Having said that and due to my great admiration for this man both as an actor and a person, I decided to throw him one of my infamous (they are to me) tributes. And away we go.
Okay, we may as well just start with the thing from which everyone knows him - Smallville. I think anyone who is even slightly informed of Michael's career would agree that the work he did on this show was probably his best. Of course, I spoke about it a lot on that aforementioned Smallville post, but I'll expand some here.
Now the show was technically on for ten years, but our dear Michael only graced us with his fine portrayal of Lex Luthor for seven, so those last three years, while not bad, could have been better had he been there. Of course, we would have missed out on the excitement of his return in the final episode, but I still kind of wish we had not been told of this return, because I would have loved to have been watching that night and gotten totally surprised. But I have no other complaints. To be honest, his appearance in that last show truly did remind us of what a talent he is. It cannot be easy portraying so well a character whom we all know will one day be a very bad man and still make us all love him and even root for him to do the right thing and be happy in his life. You know what else isn't easy, I bet? Portraying a character that has already been played by Gene Hackman. For real, he should have gotten a slew of awards just for not passing out every day at the prospect of having to do that. And if he had, I'm sure we would have heard about it, because, as we all know, Tom Welling is a blabbermouth. Kidding . . . I hope. But maybe playing the character in a different way, less for laughs and whatnot, made it easier. Kind of doubt it, though. Bottom line is, Michael was fantastic on this show, and I could go on for hours about that fact. I don't want to be that obsessive here, though, so may I suggest you watch some reruns if you don't believe me.
Since we're on the subject of TV shows and superheroes, let me tell you that Michael Rosenbaum's experience with these two things is not limited to the Smallville world. He has been quite successful as a voice actor, most notably was his portrayal as The Flash on the Justice League cartoon series. So here, he got to play a hero instead of a villain in training, and he was a very fun-loving character, the young guy of the group, occasionally annoying the other members, especially Batman. But Batman's always in a mood, so how could we ever tell? And, very recently, Michael was gracious enough to show up again in the latest DC cartoon movie, Justice League: Doom. I suppose mention of that can be a nice segue into some talk of his movie career. This may be a bit of a bumpy trip.
If I could sum up the movie career of Michael Rosenbaum in three simple words, they would be . . . good, bad and ugly. And by sheer coincidence, those words bring us to one of his first movie roles, or possibly his VERY first, in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil directed by Clint Eastwood. You understand the connection. Now I know there are no small parts, only small actors, and he proves that here. It has been a while since I've seen this one, but, if memory serves, he did not have a ton of screen time. Still, being in a film directed by such a legend is a good add on to any resume.
Just after this movie came Urban Legend, where he played a guy named Parker. Clearly, this film was part of the teen horror film bandwagon that came along after Scream, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't too critically acclaimed. But I always found this movie quite enjoyable. The idea was original, as far as I was concerned, and the cast was good . . . for the most part. Yes, the least part is exactly who you think. But I thought Michael stood out in the crowd in this one, even though he was most likely one of the least known members of the cast. Not bad at all.
About four years later came a film that I'm sure most of you have, sadly, not seen, Poolhall Junkies. This is all about a guy named Johnny who is obsessed with pool and Rosenbaum plays . . . not that guy, but his younger brother, Danny. The cast in this one is pretty impressive. To be honest, I never heard of the guy who plays the lead, but we do get Christopher Walken, Chazz Palminteri, Rick "call me Ricky and I'll punch you" Schroder, the legendary Rod Steiger, in his last role, and Allison Eastwood, daughter of Clint, who was also in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. And it is that stellar cast that made me enjoy this quite a lot. But we are talking about Michael Rosenbaum here, and not only does he fit in with these amazing actors extremely well, he also gives a little something extra - he sings! He sings, and it is awesome. Probably my favorite scene in the movie. Seriously, that better had not been someone else's voice dubbed in! But considering how good I am at research, it probably was.
Now I can't help but give a shout out to a film called Father of Invention. Again, Michael didn't have a huge part, but there was one scene that was very . . . interesting. See, the star of this is Kevin Spacey who, as we all know, played Lex Luthor in Superman Returns. In this particular scene, they have a big fight. Yes, one Lex is fighting with another. It was like watching a chicken peck at itself in the mirror. Watch the film just for that.
Okay, that was the good. Now we must move on to the bad. Where to begin? Well, let's start with Sweet November, a film many people refer to as a snooze fest which stars two of my least favorite people, Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron. But what about Rosenbaum? Who did he play? Well, he played Brandon. Unless he was in drag, and then he was Brandy. No, seriously. And apparently, he enjoyed this wardrobe so much that he then moved on to Sorority Boys, where he got to break into the lady closet for nearly the entire film. I can't even get too deeply into this one because it brings me such sadness. Call me judgmental, but I do not like seeing one of my major crushes in this state of apparel. At least, in Bringing Down the House, he only had to don what I'm certain was a bad wig, thanks to the daily head shavings for Smallville. And finally, I think the title Kickin' It Old School speaks loudly enough that I need not say a word. I'm harsh, because I care.
Let me end the movie talk on a high note, hopefully. According to my sources, Michael is currently working on a new film called Back In the Day. And not only is he acting in it, but he is also the director and writer. What? He's a writer, like me. I knew we were soul mates. Kidding. I can't be that crazy. But it is very nice to know that he is expanding himself so he can share with us his other talents. If his directing and writing is even in the neighborhood of how good his acting is, then I have very high hopes for this production.
I know I took some hopefully humorous jabs at Michael Rosebaum in this post, but I certainly was not kidding about his talent. This man is extremely gifted, and there is no doubt about that. Also, from what I've seen and heard, he's just a genuinely good guy. So I do have great admiration and respect for him. As with all the people I admire, I wouldn't mind having the privilege of meeting him someday. There are many reasons as to why, and I've mentioned many right here. Yet, there is one reason that sits high above the rest. There is one of life's great question's that pertains to the most famous character he has portrayed, one I spoke of in this very article. I feel that only a person as closely related to this character as he can even attempt to answer it. It is a question that I'm certain, men, women and children alike have pondered for nearly a century. What is that question, you may ask? Simply this: "Why does Lex Luthor have eyebrows?" Do NOT tell me you never wondered that. Seriously, I need an answer, and I hope my beloved Michael Rosenbaum can be the chosen one to give it to me. Oh, well. Someday.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
