blog @ xanatos.ca

Good Like Sunkist

So we went to see The Happening a few days ago.

I liked it, but then, I expected I would. I've liked all of M. Night Shyamalan's movies. There's just something about the guy's storytelling style that really draws me in.

I won't say anything more about the movie, other than to recommend it to any Shyamalan fans who have a strong stomach for gruesome death scenes.

I would, however, like to make a few comments on The Happening's leading man, Mark Wahlberg.

If you've actually seen the movie, then you already know that Wahlberg is convincing as Elliot Moore, a slightly awkward highschool teacher who's going through a rough patch in his marriage (which will soon be the least of his problems.) He ends up being a surprisingly genuine and resilient protagonist in what is otherwise a very dark story.

I guess what I'm saying is, Wahlberg puts in a good performance.

That's not surprising, really, because these days, Mr. Wahlberg is a well-known actor. He's been a star for long enough that even movie-goers who don't know his name will probably recognize his face:

It's difficult, then, to reconcile Wahlberg's subdued performance in The Happening with his previous career as a ludicrously over-the-top white rapper with an anti-drug message and strong penchant for piano solos. Difficult, and possibly hilarious.

You see, back in the early nineties, Mr. Wahlberg cast himself in very much the same mold as Vanilla Ice, except with much bigger muscles. Back in those days, he went by the name "Marky Mark", and he hung around with a band called "The Funky Bunch". I couldn't make that up.

Marky only had one big hit, or at least only one that I can remember:

I wonder if he still does backflips in the rain, just for old time's sake?

And lest you think that I'm unfairly picking on Mr. Mark...er, Wahlberg, let me confess that at age fifteen, I was a big fan of this song. Not to the point where I ever tried to do bicep curls with whole cinderblocks...but I did use the phrase "the vibration's good like sunkist" a couple of times.