Vince Vaughan: Greatest Actor of this Generation?

When you think of iconic actors, you think of Pacino, DeNiro, Hanks, Nicholson, and Denzel. These guys set the standard, with movies such as The Godfather, Goodfellas, A Dog Day Afternoon, The Shining, Training Day, Philadelphia, et al. (Hell, even American Express commercials are enjoyable with these guys.) These were true movies. I'm not talking about "snappy" one liners and CGI. I'm talking about great acting and truly great movies. Who comes to mind in this generation of actors?

Will Smith? Nic Cage? Keanu? Vince Vaughan?

Let's start with the easiest part. It's certainly not Keanu; he's an idiot and couldn't act his way out of a paper bag. The Matrix was good in spite of this jackass, not because of him.

Nic Cage is just garbage. He can't act at all. National Treasure? Really? That really sucked. I mean orca bad. Con Air? Anyone buying Nic as anything but the female in the prison? Certainly not a bad ass. Certainly not.

Will Smith? He's certainly done some big movies. Independence Day was good, even if it didn't age well. But Hitch? That movie where everybody is dead and he hits golf balls? (Disclaimer: I didn't see this movie, but I did see Castaway, and that was so boring I was hoping Wilson would be rescued and not Hanks, but anyway...) Survey says? No to the Fresh Prince.

Could it be Vince Vaughan? He was money in Swingers. Too bad he has been the same character is every movie he's done since then. I mean, it's not like he's been type cast like Djimon Hounsou, but I get it already. Vince Vaughan is sarcastic. He looks sleepy. He's tall. We all get it; give it a rest.

Act as another character. Not how you are in real life. Something other than your real persona. I think that's called acting. You might like it. (Note: this could easily be directed at Will Farrell, but his movies stopped being funny three sports ago. Ever notice all his movies are the same, only with a different sport? Go ahead, think about it. Ice skating, basketball, baseball, racing. See? All the same.)

I'm not saying Vince needs to be Col. Jessup or Michael Corleone, but come on meow. If you needed a lead character for a movie, which actor of this generation are you picking? Are you going to pack the young make up on Hanks' face as in The DaVinci Code? Are you going to pick Russell Crowe? He's just going to get drunk and headbutt a kangaroo. Matt Damon? A case could be made for Damon, but anyone who knowingly chooses Ben Affleck as a friend is suspect in my book. Marky Mark? The man used to drop his pants at concerts. He was also once a white rapper, in case you forgot. Brad Pitt? Isn't he a little "political"? The only difference between him and Tim Robbins is Pitt's mother isn't Susan Sarandon.

You think about who you're picking. I'm going to watch Godfather II.