The Vince Vaughn Syndrome

[Flick James]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am really fed up with Vince Vaughn. There was a time when the man actually was trying to act, but over the last 8 years (give or take) he has just become Vince Vaughn doing Vince Vaughn. He has some occasional funny moments, but they are becoming less and less. Every movie is exactly the same. Every time I watch him I feel like I'm just watching what happens if you hang out with him at a sports bar. It's gotten very, very tired. So Vince, please, stop phoning in the same old bit over and over and get back to being an actor. I've seen Swingers and other earlier roles. I know you're capable. Enough of the Vince being Vince. Before you know it, you're going to be washed up and nobody is going to be interested anymore and it's going to be too late to do anything about it.

Discuss.

[ulthar]

Following the path of Eddie Murphy?  Jim Carrey in most roles?

[ChaosTheory]

Vaughn is an actor whose appeal I've never really understood.  Has he done anything significant at all aside from Swingers? 
I can think of quite a few actors who just don't seem to try anymore: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Kate Hudson, Matthew McCaughnahey, and maybe the worst, Robert De Niro (and the aforementioned Eddie Murphy). 
But one actor who seems to be doing the opposite is Ben Affleck.  I couldn't stand him when his career was starting out because he just seemed to be doing a fratboy routine all the time. but in more recent stuff like Hollywoodland, Extract and even He's Just Not That Into You, he's been showing a lot more effort and maturity.  And, it turns out, he's a pretty good director too.

[Ometiklan]

I've got 2 words for You: Adam Sandler.

[Mr. DS]

I've got 2 words for You: Adam Sandler.

yep, yep, yep  Pretty much that whole mid to late 90s SNL group.

[WickedBuddhi]

I'm pretty sure Bill Paxton plays Bill Paxton.

[Flick James]

I'm pretty sure Bill Paxton plays Bill Paxton.

Yeah, new visitor, but Bill Paxton is awesome.

[ChocolateChipCharlie]

I'd rather see Vince Vaughn play Vince Vaughn than see him play Norman Bates.     At least Vince is funny some of the time when he's playing himself.  He's pretty much unwatchable 100% of the time when he's trying to act.

Nicholas Cage and Christopher Walken are two other examples of guys who have given up on acting and just play themselves.

[claws]

Jesse Eisenberg and Michael Cera. They look like brothers and their shtick is getting tiresome.

[dean]

I wish I could get paid millions just to play myself... What an easy job.

[Flick James]

I wish I could get paid millions just to play myself... What an easy job.

Well, yeah, I don't fault him for cashing in on the situation, I just don't see him being able to keep it up much longer. I wish I could get the gig playing bass for AC/DC. Any bass player in the world knows what an easy gig that would be. I barely play bass and I could handle it just fine.

[ulthar]

I wish I could get the gig playing bass for AC/DC. Any bass player in the world knows what an easy gig that would be. I barely play bass and I could handle it just fine.

Some AC/DC has a real bass line.   

[Flick James]

I wish I could get the gig playing bass for AC/DC. Any bass player in the world knows what an easy gig that would be. I barely play bass and I could handle it just fine.

Some AC/DC has a real bass line.   

I'm not saying some doesn't, and I love AC/DC. What a great band who has never betrayed who and what they are. I'm just saying, the vast majority of bass lines in AC/DC songs could be handled by the average garage band bass player with little effort.

[Mofo Rising]

I would say this is de rigeur for most Hollywood actors. There's a difference between actors and "stars."

A Hollywood star is somebody who people gravitate to because they have the same basic persona in every film. They are rarely called upon to actually act; people go to see them because they are tried and true. This is the case, even if they can act. A good example is Brad Pitt. Now, your mileage may vary with Brad Pitt, but I think he actually has a good actor within himself, but when he is ever going to be asked to display that? All he has to do in movies is look good, smile in a devil-may-care fashion, and coast on the good will movies like "Fight Club" have given him. He's now a "Hollywood star."

Compare that to his other "Fight Club" compatriot, Ed Norton. Norton does not have movie-star looks, and he started out as an acting dynamo. Now he's an established actor and he doesn't ever take any acting chances and step outside of his "Edward Norton" persona.

Those are just two examples, but they're fairly indicative of this type of actor. Who goes to an Angelina Jolie film to see her actually act? For those of us who care about good movies, it seems pretty crappy, but we're not your average audience.

Regrettable, but this is how actors make millions.

That being said, Vince Vaughn did have a couple of actual acting jobs under his belt before he became "Vince Vaughn." He may be done with that now, but we don't have to pay attention to him anymore.

[Flick James]

Well, like I said before, I don't fault him at all. I'm just getting tired of it. I think the reason it p**ses me off is that I actually like Vince Vaughn, but I'm getting less and less interested the more he keeps phoning in the same old thing. I keep thinking "how long can he keep making that viable?" Then I think about people like Jerry Lewis and answer my own question. Just my personal take on it. I'm not claiming to be a judge of what works with the general public and what doesn't. I could never manage a celebrity's career. They would fall flat on their face within a year.