A Channing Tatum Interlude.

I have to say, the most surprising thing about watching Channing Tatum’s movies is that they have all been quite enjoyable.  At this point, I’ve seen 11 of them, and they have been fairly different including romantic comedies, dance movies, dramas, action flicks.  He hasn’t been pigeonholed into just one role.

The thing I find odd about Channing Tatum is that in still pictures he looks rather goofy. Here’s his current picture on IMDB. His ears stick out, his neck is too large, he’s sort of flat and dumb looking.  His two-dimensional static representation, along with his idiotic name, may be the reason I never saw him in a movie until this July.picture from: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1475594/

It doesn’t help that movie posters tend to overemphasize his physique as in this poster.  With his ears and the focus on his abs, he just looks like a goon, and we all know goons can’t act.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2011/eagle.html

But can he?  I’ve tried to look past my strange infatuation and I think I can say, yes, he can indeed act.  He does do a bit too much of acting with the jaw clench, but I don’t think I would have enjoyed as many movies as I have (even ones I thought I would hate likeThe Vow andDear John) if he had the acting chops of say, Keanu Reeves.  (I love Keanu Reeves, but I heard him described once as attending the “Al Gore School of Acting” and I think that description pretty much hits the nail on the head.)

So yes, Channing Tatum is no Laurence Olivier, but he can certainly carry a movie.

And here’s why.  In motion, Channing Tatum is hard to look away from.  Something about the way he moves holds the eye.  He could be dancing, as in

Step Up.

Or fighting in Haywire.

Or wooing his wife in The Vow.

Whatever he is doing, when he is moving, he commands attention.  I think that what Channing Tatum might have is a healthy dose of charisma.  That charisma has made for a delightful personal film festival.