A Tom Cruise Fan?

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Am I a Tom Cruise fan? There is no doubt that I’m a Brad Pitt fan. As a teenager a number of Brad Pitt films had tremendous impact on me – I’m quickly thinking of Legends of the Fall, A River Runs Through It, Interview with a Vampire, Se7en, Kalifornia, 12 Monkeys. So I’ve made peace with the fact that I’m a Brad Pitt fan. But a Tom Cruise fan?!

I just looked at Cruise’s filmography and ever since the first movie he played the leading role, Risky Business (1983), until Lions for Lambs (2007), I’ve seen all but four movies; that is, 26 out of 30 movies.

Oddly, the two mentioned movies happen to be two which I am yet to see. I hope to see the former sometime. Postmodern identity (of which Generation X is a part) is one of my academic interests and Risky Business is considered a Generation X classic. I usually avoid teenage comedies, but I’ll give this one the benefit of the doubt. One critic writes: “[Risky Business is] one of the key films of the 1980s, and proof that a teen sex comedy could merit serious consideration”. I’ve also been wanting to see Lions for Lambs, solely because Meryll Streep acts in it. (Streep is probably my favourite actress.)

So, am I a Cruise fan? Honestly, I cannot say. I don’t think I will go watch a movie purely because Tom Cruise acts in it and I doubt I'll ever convert to Scientology.