September 1: I'm Derek Jeter!

One of my favorite things about a movie is the use of the celebrity cameo. For whatever reason, a person playing himself is always funny. I think I've always found it an entertaining part of going to the movies, but it wasn't until I saw Austin Powers in Goldmember that I fell in love with the cameo. Tom Cruise as Austin Powers, Gweneth Paltrow as Dixie Normous, and Kevin Spacey as Dr. Evil, and a cigar-smoking Danny Devito as Mini Me all directed by Stephen Spielberg within four minutes? Absolutely hilarious. As terrible as it was, The Love Guru has by far, my favorite cameo. There is a scene in the Mike Myers flop that takes place at a professional hockey game and the game announcers are spotting celebrities in the crowd. Two of those celebrities? Mike Myers and Kanye West watching the game together. Brilliant.

It's the celebrity cameo that really attracted me to Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm. The premise of these two shows make the perfect venue for a cameo. Entourage is about a fictional movie star and his group of friends. The show follows the group around Hollywood as the star makes movies, buys expensive cars, and meets other real celebrities. Now in it's seventh season, it has gotten pretty bad, but seeing Matt Damon and Bono ask for philanthropic donations is great. Although the cameo isn't the only thing that I like about Curb Your Enthusiasm, it's always fun watching the main character wrestle with the likes of Rosie O'Donnell over such trivial things as who will pay for lunch.

My biggest gripe, however, with these two shows is the lack of consistency with their celebrities. Now, I understand the producers and writers of these shows can't have every cast celebrity play themselves, but it gets really annoying when a semi-star like Tim Meadows or Elisabeth Shue plays a fictional character in a mostly nonfictional world.

In one of the latest episodes of Entourage, an actor that has received most of his recognition from fellow HBO show, Curb Your Enthusiasm plays a fictional sitcom writer and it ruined the entire episode for me. Jeff Garlin plays a Hollywood agent named Jeff Greene on Curb. Being that he plays a character with his name, it makes it easier for viewers to remember his real life name. To guest on a show on the same network (a premium network that people pay to have, no less) as a character in the same industry with a different name is just dumb. If he had to be on the show, couldn't the writers keep him Jeff Greene? That would actually be kind of cool!

I know not everyone is as big of a film/celebrity buff as I am so these things probably aren't that noticeable, but there are a lot of people who know a lot more than I do. Tim Meadows? The guy was on Saturday Night Live for twenty-five years! Elisabeth Shue? She's an Academy Award winner and Hamlet 2 was advertised with her making an appearance as herself! She was Daniel Larusso's first love, for cryin' out loud! She plays an actress on Curb! She is an actress! Why couldn't she have played herself?!

There are plenty of capable actors and actresses out there that can play these roles for half the price. But, Brandon. What happens when those actors become famous? Then you're in the same situation, right? In a way, yeah. But you cast the show for today and not tomorrow. Do you think Mel Gibson would be as famous if his latest escapades happened twenty years ago? No.

Austin Powers, Entourage, and Curb Your Enthusiasm have some of the best celebrity cameos out there. A Will Ferrell movie usually has a few good ones too. I love cameos. I loved when Derek Jeter yelled, "I'm Derek Jeter" in The Other Guys. If Jeter would have yelled something like, "I'm a relief pitcher for the Round Rock Express," I would have been really irritated. So the next time you're casting a movie, remember this post. Thank you.