Can we change our minds about actors we find repulsive?
Margaret Schlachter, Mill Valley
As for actors that we find repulsive, I used to have a few, but as a result of having to see all their movies, I got to like everybody I initially disliked. But I can imagine myself being put off if I'm watching a romantic movie and just don't like the actress. I mean, it's one thing for me to think, 'She wouldn't appeal to me,' and something worse to believe that the guy in the movie wouldn't like her, either.
However, I can't leave you in this state of permanently disliking Ethan Hawke. Try him in ' Juliet, Naked.' Read my review first, then watch the movie. If you still can't stand him, give up. The definition of wasting time is watching the same movie over and over and expecting a different result.
Dear Mick: Are you the person who mentioned in a Chronicle column enjoying MollyBoy on YouTube? What a joy he is. Simple but ineffable charisma, his twinkle, the sudden gobsmacked are-you-serious stares at the camera. What a treat he's been.
Cort Worthington, Berkeley
Dear Cort: You're talking about the young English guy who does first-time reaction videos to classic pop songs on YouTube. For some reason, I like first-time reaction videos, and I've seen all of the various people who do them. MollyBoy is the best for all the reasons you mentioned, but also because he seems to be genuinely perceptive as a critic.
He says he'd like to be a movie actor, and I think he could be. The kid's got something.
Richard Kibsgaard, Berkeley
Dear Richard: Well, it's not metaphysically wrong, and it's not a faux pas, like using the wrong fork. So I can't see in what way it can be wrong. However, I can see how it could be inaccurate. That is, you might think you don't care, but if you're spending a lot of time asking yourself this question, then you probably do care. Or you care too much about not caring.
The ideal state is to be uninfluenced in your thinking, while remaining open to being educated if you turn out to be wrong. As for me, I've never cared what other people think when it comes to movies, not because I'm so mellow, but because it doesn't matter. Besides, if you disagree with me about Ethan Hawke you might agree with me about Sydney Sweeney.
But some critics are weird on this score. I once knew a guy — a local critic from a while back — who, if you disagreed with him about a movie, even in casual conversation, he'd turn red and his lips would start quivering. There's a technical term for people like that — nuts.
Good afternoon Mr. LaSalle: I believe my take is the likeliest reason Gene Hackman recommended a particular eatery to your reader. Gene Hackman was part owner of that particular eatery.
Ted Speros, San Francisco
Good afternoon Mr. Speros: You're referring to the now-legendary incident in which Hackman generously suggested a restaurant — or 'eatery' — to a Bay Area couple when they happened to run into him at an art gallery in Southern California. All I can say to your theory is that yours is precisely the kind of reader participation that I applaud. This is teamwork. We pool our collective insights and come up with the most plausible explanations for hard-to-explain events. Nice work.
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