Where have you been all my life?

As you're reading this, I'm in San Francisco with Dr. Brilliant and Baby Nurse, very hung over after a bachelorette party that includes expensive Asian fusion cuisine, male strippers, dance clubs, martinis, bachelorette scavenger hunts and oh yes... the famous Ladies of Asia drag queens. Toto, we're not in Alabama anymore. Gotta love that town. Anyway, I'm not here, so I'm writing this up in advance.

This past weekend, DB was away visiting family in Maryland. Left to my own devices, I thought I'd scan the DVR and see what things I haven't watched (because he won't watch them). I'd Tivo'd the Royal Tenenbaums a few weeks ago after catching the slightest glimpse of it before heading to work, so I decided to watch that. Now I have to say this movie is probably not for everyone. It's damn weird. Quirky. I found it to be quite funny...brilliant, really. Just weird. Definitely a cult classic.

It has a great cast - Gene Hackman, Angelica Houston, Gwynneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Danny Glover, Bill Murray and the Wilson brothers - Luke and Owen. I usually find that large ensemble casts like this usually don't work. But this worked. It also shined a light onto something I'd never really paid much attention to.

Luke Wilson.

I've seen him in a couple movies - usually something dumb like Old School where he isn't exactly in a romantic lead. Royal Tenenbaums isn't exactly a romantic lead kind of movie either. To tell the truth, he spends most of the film with long hair and a wooly beard, always wearing the cotton headband from his tennis glory days. You can barely see him under all that. But then, later in the movie he has a breakdown and pulls a "Britney" and shaves his head and his beard off. Then he tries to kill himself. Then he confesses his love to his sister. Thank goodness she's adopted. Anyway, not exactly a romance novel come to life. But I was captivated by him. His raw emotion in those scenes. It made me wish someone had said something to me the way he did to Gwynneth Paltrow. (I don't have a brother, but even if I did, hopefully it would be someone not related to me by blood or marriage.) It wasn't Shakespeare. It was simple. The intensity of his words were carried in his expression.

So, once the movie ended, I decided not to delete it off the Tivo quite yet and started digging through my DVD collection for other Luke Wilson films. I watched about 45 minutes of Old School, but there was too much naked Will Ferrell to distract me from his yumminess and I turned it off. I forgot he was in Legally Blonde and Charlie's Angels, which I also have. I set my Tivo to tape Alex & Emma and some other movie he's in. (I just love that I can enter in "Luke Wilson" to my Tivo and it will tell me everything that he's in that's coming on in the next few weeks!) I'm planning a locker update with this yummy shot in it. I still love Johnny, of course, but there's enough room in my heart for Luke too. I've also decided he's going to be the hero of my old Hollywood book when I get around to it.

I guess I never noticed him because he was always doing something goofy. Now I have a whole new appreciation. Expecially after watching the same 15 minutes of the movie over and over. (Have I mentioned I love my Tivo?) So...have you developed any new star-crushes lately? Anyone just jump out and grab you that you've never even noticed before? Share with us that we might develop new star-crushes with you!

SP