Episode 101 - Will Smith, Part II

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The Year of Redux commences! The Brothers Wilson's victory lap after 100 episodes will consist of previously covered actors that we feel deserve an update or second go, and what better way to start than with Will Smith. Ian and Pandy discuss sci-fi comedy Men in Black, biopic Ali, and Netflix juggernaut Bright, as well as what has happened in the 10-ish years since last they explored his career. Plus: can Will Smith be considered a "safe pair of hands" with his movie choices? How have the events of the 2023 Oscars affected his career? How awesome is Bright!? All the questions answered, a new celebrity endorsement, and more in this audio gift for your ears!
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[Donomark]

Good episode fellows, and no sweat about and worrying on the release date. You ended 2023 hella consistent, so I personally wasn't clockwatching when this one came out.

I remember pondering the then-"truth" of what you guys had said about Wil Smith being a reliable box-office smash star back in 2014, as I feel the bloom had begun to fall off the rose around then. At the same time though, I feel that can be said for a lot of big name stars. Even Robert Downey Jr. - one of the most respected actors of the modern era - hasn't really had a non-MCU hit aside from Tropic Thunder and most recently Oppenheimer. I think it's less of Smith's body of work (although that certainly isn't innocent in this discussion), and more that movie stars don't in and of themselves draw people to the theaters as they once did. Even before Covid, the era of the Movie Star really seemed to have faded in the last decade or so. The YouTuber Patrick Willems has a couple of videos on this topic that I found myself agreeing with his conclusions.