Zero Effect

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ben Stiller is considering giving up acting for directing: "...as a director I feel much more freedom. There are just so many different kinds of movies that I can make that aren't limited by who I am as an actor."

I can't blame him for wanting to follow his muse, but I hope he doesn't go this way. I've yet to see his latest, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, which hasn't officially opened, but I have seen his four previous films.  First came Reality Bites, which tried to be about a generation but generally didn't make it.  Then came The Cable Guy, the film that interrupted Jim Carrey's streak of big hits in the 90s.  After that Zoolander, a one-joke comedy based on a character from a sketch that should never have gone full-length.  Finally there's Tropic Thunder, an attempt at epic comedy, which was big, all right, but not funny enough.

I recognize each of these films has its defenders, but every single one was a disappointment to me.  Who knows, maybe Walter Mitty will change that, but right now, I definitely vote for Stiller as an actor.