the voice of a generation, in Tomcats

It's been quite some time before I took on the world of entertainment, and I figured that tonight is about as good a time as any to get in the game and offer my tribute to one of entertainment's lesser appreciated masters, Jerry O'Connell. I have to admit that our long time friendship is one of the contributing factors to my writing this piece, but it's a long and joyous ride that I would like to take you through; my hope is that you can also appreciate the artistry of one of our generation's most appealing actors.

Jerry O'Connell entered most people's eyes with his role as the lovable chub in Stand by Me. I hadn't seen that movie until I got to high school. No siree, I first saw Jerry O'Connell on his phenomenally awesome teen/sci-fi show, My Secret Identity. In the show, he was a run-of-the-mill teenager who, with the aid of the neighborhood scientist, found out that he had super powers that could make him do good... or cause rascally mischief. Lucky for us, he had a tendency towards the latter!

It was in this show that I saw Jerry O'Connell's potential for the future. Though I was only at the ripe young age of seven, I decided to hop a plane to Hollywood and find this young actor so that I could get him on the road to stardom that he so readily deserved. It wasn't easy getting a plane ticket at seven, so I waited and watched O'Connell focus his craft from afar. It didn't work, as he disappeared for the time between My Secret Identity and the next listing on his resume, Camp Wilder. This TV show coupled our hero with NJ-native Jay Mohr. When I saw the show my interest was sparked immediately. This meant Jerry wasn't dead! (which I had no real reason to assume, in that he was done MSI in 1991). I figured this would be a good time to introduce myself. When I made it to Hollywood, this time at eleven, I found Jerry fast. We quickly became friends, despite our nine year age difference. It was only a matter of time before my skills as a twelve year old Hollywood agent got Jerry a spot on the Jason Priestly fronted Ca lander Girl. Jerry was excited, and rightfully so; Jason Priestly was hot stuff back then. We signed a contract to work with each other for five years and he had no idea what things would come his way.

Within two years, Jerry was signed to a strange little pilot/movie for Fox called Sliders. This would mark my favorite performance from Jerry as Quinn Mallory, a brilliant slacker who finds a way to move between parallel dimensions. This movie made for a great series that would occupy several time slots on Fox before its demise. Once shelved, the show was bought by the Sci-Fi Channel and took even more terrible turns from a low-budget writing staff. I still enjoyed the show for some strange reason, until Jerry bowed out. Jerry was kind enough to give his brother a start in acting as, of all things, Quinn Mallory's brother, Colin. It was an interesting twist, but it was ultimately futile in maintaining a quality enterprise.

Through the years, O'Connell found himself in Jerry McGuire, a 1996 flop. This was quite discouraging after he starred in the epic '95 MTV film Joe's Apartment. This stellar cinematic experience followed Jerry O'Connell living in a building closely resembling Luksic Hall in that it was full of dancing and singing roaches. This was a nutty flick and it was a classic in most circles. It only hurt his career when Tom Cruise came calling for his low-budget movie. Jerry McGuire almost killed Jerry's career, but he didn't let it keep him down. After all, I have to accept part of the blame for that. I did recommend against the film, but not as strongly as I could have. Regardless, I managed to hook Jerry up with some major roles. An un-credited shot in Can't Hardly Wait seemed like a bad idea, but I knew it would subliminally put Jerry's face into the minds of teens around the country. This was a masterful move after his "killer" role in Scream 2, featuring his on-screen singing debut with his rendition of "I Think I Love You." The TV mini-series The 60's, Body Shots, and Mission to Mars were all minor stepping stones on the way to the film that clinched Jerry's career, and mine: Tomcats.

Tomcats is a film that defines a generation. It follows a man who takes a brief trip to Las Vegas, only to find himself in a deep hole of debt. Sunk, he remembers a pact that he and his childhood friends once made: whoever is the last bachelor will get a lot of money from his friends. While it sounds silly in theory, the pact is still being held by the friends. Jerry's character, in debt to Vegas, has to marry-off his best friend (Jake Busey) and get the money. To me, it was gold (and Gary Busey's son only made the pot sweeter). Jerry succeeded in making this film a flat-out hit! He clinched the teen audience of a lifetime and made his name in history, thanks to your truly of course. After this success, I felt that I had no more to offer Jerry and I retired as his agent. I was pleased with how far we'd gone, and I didn't believe that we could go further. Boy was I wrong.

Kangaroo Jack hit theatres in 2003 and Jerry wowed me again. His charisma oozed off the screen and his comedic timing was impeccable. The film chronicled a pair of friends who take a job transferring money for the mob, but do they know it? In transport, the money is taken by a criminal mastermind and kangaroo. The duo tracks the kangaroo all across the outback while simultaneously being hunted by the mob. Who is the hunter? Who is the hunted? The plot was so thick that few could handle its depth. I myself had to watch multiple timed before appreciating the artistic value in the piece.

...and he's not giving it back

Jerry is currently at work on more films, though one can only wonder how he can top himself. He's come a long way since graduating from NYU with a concentration in screen writing.

In the end, the friendship between Jerry and me is long and thick. I don't hold his success in Kangaroo Jack against him, because it's all about the art of acting. One thing's for sure with me though, Jerry O'Connell can make a movie better than many of the actors of our time. You have to respect the journey from child star to B-teen-idol to legitimate actor. Ya know, he used to go to school with Sarah Michelle Gellar, who he would later date, and Tara Reid, who he would costar with? And he was made a legitimate heartbreaker in Mariah Carey's video for the number one hit "Heartbreaker." Today, you can see Jerry for free on Crossing Jordan, Sundays at 10:00 PM on NBC. He may be starring in a spin-off from the show soon. Keep your finger's crossed. I know I will. There's no denying, Jerry O'Connell is right up there with my Uncle Lou!