Dear Bradley Cooper

Over the weekend the movie Limitless was the number one movie at the box office.  Is it just me or does this movie look extremely stupid?  It got me thinking about all the actors who have went down this path that Bradley Cooper is starting to venture.  So Mr. Cooper, I am writing this for you.  Look at these actors who started out in a cool movie and then did a bunch of crappy movies.
There seems to be a pattern to these actors:  do a movie that earns you points, then some crappy action movies, then some kind of sports movie.  After that, it can either go way downhill or you can rebound...

Josh Lucas

 He started out with some pretty good supporting roles in Hulk, Wonderland, and A Beautiful Mind.  I am guessing that his big role where people really liked him was Sweet Home Alabama.  I never saw that one, but I know some folks who said it was not so bad for what it was.

Then it seemed like he was everywhere or at least being mentioned in every potential movie.  Then came the crappy action movies:  Stealth and Poseidon.  Then he played a basketball coach in Glory Road.

Where the hell did he go after that?  I am sure he has done some very worthwhile projects, but nothing that I remember.  I have heard he was in that new lawyer movie, and it was not awful.

Matthew McConaughey

He was so cool in Dazed and Confused (I do not believe he was actually acting in that movie though), and then he was really good in A Time to Kill.  Then he was in Contact, Amistad, and The Newton Boys (I enjoyed that movie, sue me).

Then it happened...Sahara, Failure to Launch, Reign of Fire, The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days.  Hell I could probably keep going.  He also did a sports movie:  We Are Marshall.   Sometimes I think he just says screw it and let me not act and just be myself.

I think that was why he was so amusing in Tropic Thunder.  Speaking of The Lincoln Lawyer, he stars in it.  Is that a weird coincidence.  Also, Bradley Cooper was in Failure to Launch.  That was one of the movies that kind of launched him.  He was hilarious in that movie.

Adrien Brody
What a sad case.  He rises up with The Pianist, then rocks it in The Jacket.  He was also good in King Kong and Hollywoodland.  Then he was in Splice and Predators.  I will say this though, he was definitely pretty ripped in Predators.  Now he is singing in some beer commercials.  What is next?  Will he be doing crappy local television ads for some law firm?

I actually have faith that he could turn it around...

I think you people get the idea of where this is going.  Let us take a look at a few other actors who seemed so promising, then do a bunch of crappy movies:

Gerard Butler and Clive Owen
These two will turn it around.  They are both filthy rich, so I imagine they will start being a little more picky about their roles.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon

They were cool in the Kevin Smith movies, then they hit it big with Good Will Hunting.  After that it seemed like Matt Damon did some pretty awesome movies (minus All the Pretty Horses).  He seemed to be going down a more comedic path and then he did the Bourne movies and people realized he could be an action star.

Ben was in some big time movies, but he was in so many shitty action films.  Hey Bradley, look at some of Ben Affleck's roles:  Paycheck, Reindeer Games...do those sound like Limitless.  Ben was at least smart and decided to start directing.  Maybe you can do that at some point Brad.

In fact, Matt Damon has said before that he almost ended up being in Daredevil and at that point in his career he would have taken just about any role offered to him.  Do not fall into that path.

Cuba Gooding Jr.
At one point, I thought he was going to be some great actor.  He won an Oscar for Jerry Maguire.  He was good in Boyz n the Hood and Judgement Night.  He was pretty cool in As Good as it Gets.  He was touching in Men of Honor.

Then wow.  Seriously.  Do you really want to be known as the guy who was in Boat Trip, Rat Race, Snow Dogs, or Radio?  Nowadays he can be seen in any number of Direct-to-DVD films such as...oh screw it, who has even cares.

So Mr. Cooper, please heed this warning.  If you go out and do some kind of true story movie next, such as playing a sports coach or maybe a handicapped individual from the military, then you might as well hang it up.

I hope the best for you.