In only his second big production where he is the main character Dane Cook plays Mr. Smith in the Psychological thriller Mr. Brooks. Can Dane Cook handle such a serious role this early in his film career? Many of you know Dane Cook as the energetic standup comic whose antics have recently landed him in the film world as he has blown up in the Myspace revolution. The popular guy was a big hit in Employee of the Month, but will his follow up film show a different side of the Dane Train that many have grown to love?
Mr. Brooks is about Earl Brooks (Kevin Costner) a family man and local business man who is respected in the community. Mr. Brooks has a dark side to him that no one has seen and has an alter ego Marshall (William Hurt), who he blames for his “other” behavior. Detective Tracey Atwood (Demi Moore) is trying to solve the crimes committed by Mr. Brooks but a lack of evidence is frustrating her and she has no leads. When Brooks is compelled by Marshall to do one final murder, he gets sloppy and a voyeuristic neighbor Mr. Smith (Dane Cook) catches the act with his camera. Mr. Smith has a strange blackmail scheme. To make things worse Jane (Danielle Panabaker) Mr. Smith’s daughter has announced plans to drop out of college. With all of the players of the game on his trail Mr. Brooks and Marshall are forced to play out the elaborate game.
So Dane Cook takes on a huge role in this film, although it’s not a main character in the story it is a character he isn’t accustomed to playing. Dane goes from the funny man in Employee of the Month to a twisted voyeur trying to blackmail a killer. This is a huge change from the Dane Train’s typical role in anything he has ever done. I still remember Nick Miranda from Simon Sez, if you had seen Dane in that role you would never think of him as serious actor. He has definitely come a long way since his start in Hollywood, but can he handle this role and will he deliver a believable character?
Dane was hilarious in his other roles like Wade in the movie waiting where he played a crazy cook with an attitude and the smart mouthed sausage in Mr. 3000 but what can we expect from him as a serious character. From what I have seen and read about the movie there isn’t much talk about Dane and his role but I think he will do just fine. The previews of the movie show that even though Mr. Smith is a serious role Dane puts a lot of himself into the character and gives him a zany edge. I think the character will be a serious well played guy with a touch of Dane, probably without any Gay Lord. Dane puts his heart into everything he does, and always gives it his all, so I suspect this will be the same.
I expect Dane to do a decent job, he probably wont win an award for his acting in this movie but hey it has to be better than either Jim Carrey’s or Adam Sandler’s first attempts at the serious roles. Remember those horrendous movies, Punch Drunk Love for Sandler which was worse than Gigli and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for Carrey which was equally as bad. I do have to say though both Sandler and Carrey have great films coming out that will show they have range as actors, The Number 23 for Carrey and Reign Over Me for Sandler both look amazing.
But back to Dane and his ability, he has the guts to take on anything and the drive to make it work. I don’t think anyone will get to crazy over his first attempt at a serious role but he already has others lined up and I think one day he could be one hell of an actor. With the right training and roles the Dane Train could become an A-list actor. He has the fan base that supports him in everything he does, and he is taking on new things everyday. I see a very bright future for Dane Cook in film and plenty of roles both serious and goofy.
So to answer the question I posed at the beginning of this article, yes Dane will do just fine in his new role as a serious character. He will deliver a good performance and his fans will be impressed and for the ones who hate him will probably be shocked that he can pull off such a role. Go watch Mr. Brooks June 1st this summer and see what Dane Cook brings to the screen in his first serious role!
Watch the trailer here (http://theressomethingaboutmrbrooks.com/main.htm)
