Once upon a time, there was an actor named Tom Cruise. Despite being marginally talented, untraditionally handsome, allegedly straight, and a midget, he went on to become the undisputed king of the box office. He started off in mediocre films like The Outsiders and Taps and then went on to capture glory in such films as Risky Business and Rain Man.
His success continued into the 90s. Everything he touched turned to cinematic gold. Cruise could play the full range of comedy roles, to drama, to action hero, such as his action franchise Mission Impossible. The film Jerry Maguire captured Tom Cruise at his pinnacle. He took a rather unlikable, slimy sports agent and made everyone love him. Tom Cruise grinned his way through yet another movie.
The new millennium has not been so kind to Tommy, as Rosie O'Donnell would lovingly refer to him. His marriage to Nicole Kidman had crumbled and his next ladylove, Penelope Cruz, left him after four years. He made several movies that just didn't have the impact of his previous works: Eyes Wide Shut, Magnolia("Respect the cock!"), Vanilla Sky, Minority Report, and Collateral(he played an assassin of all things) as examples.
He made a film called The Last Samurai and it was critically acclaimed. He played a disenchanted Civil War veteran who traveled to Japan to train the emperor's troops to protect the emperor from his former bodyguards, the samurais. Tom Cruise goes from being a Westerner to a samurai. This was a bit much for many observers. All in all a good film, yet it still did not have that Tom Cruise magic.
Tom's latest movie, War Of The Worlds, is upon us. Coincidentally, his whirlwind romance with Katie Holmes has reached a fever pitch and they have announced their engagement. Tom's declaration of his love for this woman has absolutely destroyed his image with him acting nothing short of a Rain Man on Oprah. The man was jumping all over Oprah's couch and pounding his fist on the floor. It gave everyone in the world pause, Tommy had lost his mind.
Many critics feel that this relationship was a publicity stunt to draw attention to each of their films. Holmes is starring in the latest Batman film, Batman Begins. A sequel to the great movie has been announced and all of the actors with the exception of Holmes were invited back to reprise their roles. The producers stated that they wanted to go with a stronger actress.
The story of Tommy's descent into madness goes farther. He either cannot or will not refuse to give interviews. He insulted Brooke Shields' belief in psychiatry and prescription drug use for her post partum depression. He was the victim of a prank at the London premier of War Of The Worlds where the pranksters squirted him in the face with a joke microphone. Then he further humiliated himself on NBC's Today Show.
Cruise actually got into an argument with host Matt Lauer on the "pseudoscience" of psychiatry. The topic of Brooke Shields was brought up and Cruise repeated his feelings of her situation. He felt that there was no such thing as chemical imbalance and that mental health can be maintained through various things like exercise and vitamins.
A transcript of the interview is as follows:
LAUER: TOM CRUISE CREATED A FIRESTORM WHEN HE CRITICIZED BROOKE SHIELDS FOR REVEALING THAT SHE WENT INTO THERAPY AND TOOK ANTIDEPRESSANTS TO DEAL WITH HER POST PARTUM DEPRESSION. AS A SCIENTOLGIST, HE DOESN'T BELIEVE IN PSYCHIATRIC MEDICINE. I ASKED HIM ABOUT HIS COMMENTS.
CRUISE: I've never agreed with psychiatry, ever. Before I was a Scientologist I never agreed with psychiatry. And when i started studying the history of psychiatry, I understood more and more why i didn't believe in psychology.
And as far as the Brooke Shields thing is, look. You gotta understand, I really care about Brooke Shields. I-- I think here's a-- a-- a wonderful and talented woman. And-- I wanna see her do well. And I know that-- psychiatry is-- is a pseudo science.
MATT LAUER: But-- but Tom, if she said that this particular thing helped her feel better, whether it was the antidepressant or going to a counselor or psychiatrist, isn't that enough?
TOM CRUISE: Matt, you have to understand this. Here we are today where I talk out against drugs and psychiatric abuses of electric shocking people (PH), okay, against their will, of drugging children with them not knowing the effects of these drugs. Do you know what Aderol (PH) is? Do you know Ritalin? Do you know now that Ritalin is a street drug? Do you understand that?
MATT LAUER: The difference is--
(OVERTALK)
TOM CRUISE: No, no, Matt.
MATT LAUER: This wasn't against her will, though.
TOM CRUISE: Matt-- Matt, Matt, Matt--
MATT LAUER: But this wasn't against her will.
TOM CRUISE: Matt, I'm-- Matt, I'm asking you a question.
MATT LAUER: I understand there's abuse of all of these things.
TOM CRUISE: No, you see. Here's the problem. You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do.
MATT LAUER: Aren't there examples, and might not Brooke Shields be an example, of someone who benefited from one of those drugs?
TOM CRUISE: All it does is mask the problem, Matt. And if you understand the history of it, it masks the problem. That's what it does. That's all it does. You're not getting to the reason why. There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance.
(OVERTALK)
MATT LAUER: So, postpartum depression to you is--
TOM CRUISE: Matt--
MATT LAUER: --kind of a--
TOM CRUISE: --don't--
MATT LAUER: --little psychological gook--
TOM CRUISE: That--
MATT LAUER: --googley-gook?
TOM CRUISE: --no. No. I did not say that.
MATT LAUER: I'm just asking what you-- what would you call it?
TOM CRUISE: No. No. Abs-- Matt, that is-- the-- post-- now-- now, you're talking about two different things.
MATT LAUER: But that's what she went on the--
TOM CRUISE: No.
MATT LAUER: --antidepressant for.
TOM CRUISE: But what happens, the antidepressant, all it does is mask the problem. There's ways of vitamins and through exercise and various things. I'm not saying that that isn't real. That's not what I'm saying. That's an alteration of what-- what I'm saying. I'm saying that drugs aren't the answer, these drugs are very dangerous. They're mind-altering, anti-psychotic drugs. And there are ways of doing it without that so that we don't end up in a brave new world. The thing that I'm saying about Brooke is that there's misinformation, okay. And she doesn't understand the history of psychiatry. She-- she doesn't understand in the same way that you don't understand it, Matt.
MATT LAUER: But a little bit what you're saying Tom is, you say you want people to do well. But you want them do to well by taking the road that you approve of, as opposed to a road that may work for them.
TOM CRUISE: No, no, I'm not.
MATT LAUER: Well, if antidepressants work for Brooke Shields, why isn't that okay?
TOM CRUISE: I-- I disagree with it. And I think that there's a higher and better quality of life. And I think that promoting for me personally, see, you're saying what, I can't discuss what I wanna discuss?
MATT LAUER: No. You absolutely can.
TOM CRUISE: I know. But-- but Matt, you're going in and saying that-- that I can't discuss this.
MATT LAUER: I'm only asking, isn't there a possibility that-- do-- do you examine the possibility that these things do work for some people? That yes, there are abuses. And yes, maybe they've gone too far in certain areas. Maybe there are too many kids on Ritalin. Maybe electric shock--
TOM CRUISE: Too many kids on Ritalin? Matt.
MATT LAUER: I'm just saying. But-- but aren't there--
TOM CRUISE: Matt.
MATT LAUER: --examples where it works?
TOM CRUISE: Matt. Matt, Matt, you don't even-- you're glib. You don't even know what Ritalin is. If you start talking about chemical imbalance, you have to evaluate and read the research papers on how they came up with these theories, Matt, okay. That's what I've done. Then you go and you say where's-- where's the medical test? Where's the blood test that says how much Ritalin you're supposed to get?
MATT LAUER: You're-- you're-- it's very impressive to listen to you. Because clearly, you've done the homework. And-- and you know the subject.
TOM CRUISE: And you should.
MATT LAUER: And-- and--
TOM CRUISE: And you should do that also.
MATT LAUER: And--
TOM CRUISE: Because just knowing people who are on Ritalin isn't enough. You should be a little bit more responsible in knowing really--
MATT LAUER: I'm not prescribing Ritalin, Tom. And I'm not asking--
TOM CRUISE: Well--
MATT LAUER: --anyone else to do it. I'm simply saying--
(OVERTALK)
TOM CRUISE: Well, you are. You're saying--
MATT LAUER: I know some people who seem to have been helped by it.
TOM CRUISE: I-- but you're saying-- but you-- like-- this is a very important issue.
MATT LAUER: I couldn't agree more.
TOM CRUISE: It's very-- and you know what? You're here on the Today Show.
MATT LAUER: Right.
TOM CRUISE: And to talk about it in a way of saying, "Well, isn't it okay," and being reasonable about it when you don't know and I do, I think that you should be a little bit more responsible in knowing what it is.
MATT LAUER: But--
TOM CRUISE: Because you-- you communicate to people.
MATT LAUER: But you're now telling me that your experiences with the people I know, which are zero, are more important than my experiences.
TOM CRUISE: What do you mean by that?
MATT LAUER: You're telling me what's worked for people I know or hasn't worked for people I know. I'm telling you I've lived with these people and they're better.
TOM CRUISE: So, you're-- you're advocating it.
MATT LAUER: I am not. I'm telling you in their case-- (LAUGHTER)
(OVERTALK)
MATT LAUER: In their individual case, it worked. I am not gonna go out and say--
TOM CRUISE: Matt--
MATT LAUER: --"Get your kids on Ritalin. It's the cure-all--
TOM CRUISE: Matt, Matt.
MATT LAUER: --and the end-all."
TOM CRUISE: Matt, but here's the point. what is the ideal scene for life
TOM CRUISE: Okay. Ideal scene is someone not having to take anti-psychotic drugs.
MATT LAUER: I would agree.
TOM CRUISE: Okay. So, now you look at-- and you go okay. A-- a departure from that ideal scene is someone taking drugs, okay. And then you go, okay. What is the theory and the science behind that, that justifies that?
MATT LAUER: Let me take this more general, 'cause I think you and I can go around in circles on this for awhile. And i respect your opinion ...
MATT LAUER: Do you want more people to understand Scientology? Is that-- would that be a goal of yours?
TOM CRUISE: You know what? I-- absolutely. Of course, you know. And people--
MATT LAUER: How do you go about that?
TOM CRUISE: You just communicate about it. And the important thing is, like you and I talk about it, whether it's-- okay, if I wanna know something, I go and find out. Because I don't talk about things that I don't understand. I'll say, you know what? I'm not so sure about that. I'll go find more information about it so I can-- I can come to an opinion based on-- on the information that I have.
MATT LAUER: You-- you're so passionate about it. And I'm--
TOM CRUISE: I'm passionate about learning. I'm passionate about life, Matt.
END OF INTERVIEW
There's no telling how successful this War Of The Worlds film will be. The one guarantee is that the star that is Cruise's career, much like his reputation, will never burn as bright. The sad thing is, Cruise doesn't realize the more he talks, the more damage he does to himself. Maybe the universal rule of movie theatres is something that Cruise should observe rather than the scriptures of his Scientology - Silence Is Golden.
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