Poor Tom Cruise

I don't think Tom Cruise can catch a break after the Oprah couch scene and his very public rants on Scientology. Slate had some interesting comments about his performance in the new comedy "Tropic Thunder."

But who could have foreseen Tom Cruise nearly stealing the movie in a fat suit, a prosthetic nose, a skinhead wig, and an Austin Powers-style mat of chest fur? Cruise is always at his best when he's skewering some unpleasant aspect of his own persona; thus, the crazed motivational speaker he played in Magnolia was a career high point, and the supremely crude Les Grossman is another. Maybe as the head of United Artists, Cruise really does spew vicious obscenities on the phone and engage in triumphant hip-hop dances in an underground bunker of an office. At any rate, never has a role so cannily taken advantage of Cruise's compact, thumblike body shape—that is, his physical resemblance to a penis. As Les Grossman, he's a literal and figurative dick, and it's the role of a lifetime.

That's rough! Add to it the recent news that Angelina Jolie is taking his place in the spy thriller "Edwin A. Salt" and it doesn't look good for the man. Of course, the Los Angeles Times article reports that Cruise became disinterested in the role so perhaps it's not all bad. My wife can't stand the guy either but I've always enjoyed his performances.