So, I’ve admitted here on the boards that I like 'N Sync, Phantom Menace and Little House On The Praire. God damn it. I’m proud of those things. But their relative uncoolness is, I hope, balanced out by my love of metal, bondage, violence and sports.
Anyway, I come before you today to admit yet another ‘not cool’ mainstream love that I have.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Oh I how I love you. And it’s not just your Austrian accent and giant stature. I love you for being in Terminator and Terminator II. I love you for being an action hero and then making movies like Twins, Junior and Kindergarten Cop, in which I found you endearing and hilarious.
I loved True Lies infinitely. And even your bad movies are among my favorites. The Running Man is a movie I could watch every day for the rest of time and never tire of seeing walk around in shackles.
I think that with age you become MORE sexy. I’m glad that you’re not as ripped as you used to be. I like the scruffy beard. I wish Collateral Damage had been released because I was so excited to see you.
And so, Arnold…this Appreciation thread is for you…my burly Austrian cuddlebug.
I watched Junior last night and squealed with delight at your cuteness.
Although I’ve never actually thought of Ahnold as a cuddlebug…I do find him quite attractive. In fact, I think I almost like his comedy better than his action flicks. And I’m wit’cha on True Lies.
And I clicked on this thread expecting a paean to the source of the catch-phrase, “Whatchoo talkin’ 'bout, Willis?”
I like Arnold too. jarbabyj and I may be the only people on this planet who loved Junior (though to be fair, that’s half because of Emma Thompson in my case).
I like him despite his politics, which I’m sure are well-meaning even if right-wing. He made Kindergarten Cop with Pamela Reed, who admitted to him he was “a pretty nice guy for a Republican.” To which he responded, “My wife says the same thing.” I love that anecdote!
He’s really smart. Look at his career path and the evidence is clear. Originally he was a bizarre curiosity, appearing in Pumping Iron and a Hercules movie with dubbed dialogue. But he tamed his accent, found some good directors to take a chance on him, and within just a few years he was a top-grossing star.
He’s got a great sense of humor, and that’s evident even when he’s not reading scripted lines. When he appeared on The Tonight Show and was asked about the failure of Last Action Hero, he quipped, “I don’t know why everyone’s saying that. It was the number 1 film this week [sub]in Zimbabwe[/sub].”
Total Recall,Predator,Commando and yes, Twins. He always finds interesting projects. However, I make no excuses for Planet Hollywood or Raw Deal.
Thank you Fiver and Sunshine…your thoughts are noted in the Book of Life.
I think he has a great sense of humor about the world and about HIMSELF. This is what separates him from Jean Claude Van Damme who is also a biological European oddity. Jean Claude actually thinks he IS an action hero. Arnold knows he’s an actor, a character, a cartoon of himself.
Zebra, the movie you’ve mentioned is Commando. Arnold drops the guy off the cliff once he’s done with him, then walks back to the car where Rae Dawn Chong[sup]1[/sup] is waiting.
She asks what he did with the guy and he answers, “I let him go.”
[sup]1[/sup][sub]Mmmm…Rae Dawn Chong’s legs…[/sub]
Arnold is okay, but I always liked Stallone better. I won’t argue the quality of his movies, 'cause you just can’t compete with Terminator II. But something about Stallone is just more appealing to me. I think it was Pauline Kael who summed it up best, when she said of Arnold, “He looks like a condom stuffed with walnuts.”
I mean, c’mon, it doesn’t get better than watching Der Schnauzer hump a witch-demon, then toss her into a flaming fireplace, does it? Or how about that sword? Or how about lines like, (in response to the question, what is best in life?)
** To crush your enemies. See them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women.**
Man, doesn’t that just make you want to run out your front door, half-naked, brandishing a big knife, looking to answer the riddle of steel?
Or maybe I should just sit quietly by myself for a minnit.
One of my favorite Arnold moments is in Conan the Destroyer, when the evil queen (hubba hubba) is gonna mess with his mind, and makes an illusion on the altar. She says, “Look at the altar. What do you see? THINK, Conan!”
And Arnold looks like he’s about to pass a kidney stone, he’s thinking so hard.
Favorite Arnold line: Collapses on the bed. “They were horrible.”