Need some help on your quest to be good? Zak Jason shows you how to Tivo your way to manhood.
Contrary to popular belief, Old Spice is not the answer. Men need role models—not instructive deodorant commercials. More so than therapy or self-help books, I would argue that men need movies. Films ingrain a vivid impression of what it takes to be a man. With that in mind, I present ten men we can all learn from. Whether it’s their relentless nobility, diabolical greed, unyielding fervor, or sheer badassery, these film characters will fill any man with an invigorated sense of purpose. Besides, I’m giving you a great excuse to watch more television.
10. Jefferson Smith—Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Though foolish and sometimes painfully hokey (i.e. gawking and tearing at the statue of Lincoln), Jimmy Stewart’s wide-eyed Mr. Smith illustrates both the power of one man over The Man and the power of listening to women (as he triumphs once he finally hears out his secretary). Plus, Smith’s eight-hour filibuster will inspire every man to make his own great speech.
9. Forrest Gump—Forrest Gump
“I’m not a smart man. But I know what love is,” says Tom Hanks, portraying America’s most beloved buzz-cut simpleton. Forrest’s saga through the 20th Century’s pivotal moments isn’t just a visual joyride through our history. It’s a series of novel snapshots about how men should behave across contexts: loyal almost to a fault. Whether lugging a dozen soldiers through enemy fire in Vietnam, perpetually returning to a boyhood crush who neglects him for an entire decade, or staying by his mother’s bedside, Forrest’s single-minded loyalty is worth emulating.
8. Phillip Parma—Magnolia
Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays a lonely nurse taking care of an insulting, greedy, borderline heartless television producer. But out of an innate goodness, Parma spends the entire night with the man, ordering porn for him, lighting fake cigarettes, and helping him search for his long separated son (Tom Cruise). For anyone bogged down by his tyrannical boss, take note of how Hoffman brushes off cruelty with his wry wit and unrelenting earneastness, which leads to one of cinema’s most haunting monologue’s on the fall of manhood.
7. Travis Bickle—Taxi Driver
We learn a few lessons through Robert De Niro’s mohawked maniac. First, short of castration, driving a New York City cab provides the most direct route to losing your manhood. Second, an obsession with an unattainable girl (Cybill Shephard) may result in talking to yourself. Bickle’s plummet into insanity is a cautionary tale.
6. Burt Farlander—Away We Go
John Krasinski’s bearded character loves his soon-to-be mother of his child (Maya Rudolph) so much that he talks to her tilted uterus. Amid nervous breakdowns and hippies, Farlander treks across the country to find the ideal home for a newborn. A warm, inventive example of patience and loyalty, Farlander marks a model for how men should act during their lover’s pregnancy.
5. John Rawlins—Glory
Virtually anything Morgan Freeman’s regal wisdom graces (even his voiceover work for Visa!) compels us to get our act together. But his performance as a slave turned Civil War hero, particularly when he puts a young and unruly Denzel Washington in his place, is a wondrous model of leadership. When you need to carry a team, be sure to adopt Freeman’s tactics of conviction, resoluteness, and tuneful prayer.
4. Dom Cobb / Teddy Daniels—Inception/Shutter Island
Leonardo Dicaprio plays eerily similar widowed government operatives in both films, which were released within six months of each other. The movies make a great double feature and teach men two important lessons: First, we may lose ourselves if we don’t let go of a loved one. Second, a firmly pressed suit will make you seem legitimate even if you’re insane.
3. Rick Blaine—Casablanca
Perhaps the noblest man in all of film history, Bogart’s Blaine can somehow make letting another man have the girl not only the right thing to do but the cool thing to do. A predecessor to Dicaprio, Bogart’s expatriate café owner also exposes how in smart clothes (in this case a white tux) a man can conquer pretty much anything.
2. Daniel Plainview—There Will Be Blood
The most evil man on this list, Daniel Day-Lewis’ maniacal oil tycoon reveals the grotesque depths of manhood. He abandons his son. He exploits innocent farmers. Between all of the backsliding, the scheming, the malicious mustachioed grins, and the milkshake slurping, Plainview rattles your core. And makes us take a hard look at ourselves.
1. Atticus Finch—To Kill a Mockingbird
“There’s a lot of ugly things in this world, son. I wish I could keep them all away from you. That’s never possible.” Gregory Peck plays Atticus Finch, a principled public defender and devoted father who raises his kids above the backward South with cracker-barrel wisdom—and generally teaches us everything we need to know about being a good man.
You forgot to include Edward James Olmos in Stand and Deliver.
Christopher Reeve as Superman in the original 1979 film is a strong figure from my very early childhood memories. He brought so much a warmth and nobleness to that role, and such good humour.
I like the lead character in a 1996 French film called “Ridicule”, starring Charles Berling in the lead role.
add harvey fierstein in torch song trilogy. amazing what you can learn about being a man from a guy in a dress.
Nice list. I haven’t seen all of them and appreciate the opportunity to go deeper with those films I have yet to see. Some other movies which I would also include – Into the Wild. Although in some ways irresponsible and selfish, Chris McCandless’s yearning for freedom from bondage and inner revolution is something most men can relate to. – Good will Hunting. Great example of an elder acting as a young man’s inner king, restoring in him the sense of his own inherent goodness. – Boy A Incredibly powerful on society’s ignorance of boy’s plight – their struggle and… Read more »
Great compilation, fun read. I included this in my best of the week post: http://thirtymag.com/weekly-30/weekly-30-july-23/
thanks for sharing!
Good list and clips. I really enjoyed it, wished I had more time to watch more.
Ben Kingley as Gandhi also comes to mind; also James Mason as Norman Maine in the old “Star is Born.” They both rose to the occasion.
One thing that struck me is how my far-right conservative friends and acquaintances who are in business admire Daniel Plainview from “There Will be Blood”…actually look to him as a hero who should be emulated.
Great list! The only person I would have worked in somehow is Homer Simpson. His undying love and loyalty to Marge, his love of life, and his unique humanity make him a great example (at times) of what it means to be a dad.
I don’t watch war movies, but for goodness in the face of a different kind of violence, I vote for Matt Damon as Rudy Baylor in the excellent film of Grisham’s The Rainmaker.
Clearly I could do this all day. You may have to tell me to stop. 🙂
I am thinking about men at war and trying to come up with role models of goodness in the face of violence. Saving Private Ryan (Tom Hanks character) comes to mind…
Interesting list, big YES to Atticus Finch. Interesting choice re Shutter Island, I really liked that film and his character, I’ll be seeing Inception soon. Good choices!
I vote for Chris Gardner, played by Will Smith, in The Pursuit of Happyness, very near the top. *sigh*