Although I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of Tom Cruise, I have to admit I found myself watching Oprah‘s recent two-day love fest about the man.  (The curiosity was killing me.)  On Day One, I found myself gagging when I heard him gloss over all the remarks he made about Brooke Shields.  (His PR spin almost had me searching for my own set of anti-depressants.)

Day Two didn’t start out much better.  Listening to his friends fawn all over “T.C.” almost made me nauseous.  But then something helped change my mood a bit.  I actually found myself remembering some of the good parts he had played.

Now when I say “good parts,” I’m not necessarily referring to the roles in his big blockbuster pieces.  I’m referring to those movies where he focused more on acting, and not just action.  You know like Born on the Fourth of July, Rain Man, The Color of Money and even crowd pleaser Jerry Maguire.  When Oprah gave her audience members their own 25-piece DVD box set, I momentarily found myself envious.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have a collection of some of his older films?

So then I got to thinking.  What if he made an effort to appear in smaller films?  Or how about just talkier films?  (Yes, he did do Lions for Lambs - but that looked like an absolute snore.  And his missing accent in the upcoming Valkryie may make that drama completely unwatchable.)  Cruise needs to prove to audiences again that he can actually act….not just star in movies with crappy endings (e.g. War of the Worlds, Vanilla Sky).

Unfortunately, my wishful plans were trashed that same day when I read the news about his next possible venture.  Mission Impossible 4??  C’mon, Tom.  Get rid of that safety net and come up with something a little more original!  I understand you’ve got to bring in a little more money these days with Katie’s career practically on hold, but why not try something unexpected.  Remember the movie Legend?  Maybe you could party with unicorns again!