Here we have Channing Tatum. Most recognize him from his great work in that movie that did really well at the box office and was received extremely well from critics, um you know that movie he did that garnered so many awards, you know the one where his performance left audiences in tears? No? You don't remember that ever happening either? Good, because it never did. This guy has never been in a good movie in his life and wouldn't know one if it sat on his face. In fact he has had arguably one of the worst starts to an acting career that I have ever seen before. And it really peeves me off because from the outside looking in it appears Tatum has all it takes to be a successful Hollywood actor. This guy was once a big shot Abercrombie and Fitch model who had dreams of making the transition from model to actor like the way Ashton Kutcher did so well.
He was just getting his foot in the door as an actor and after the mistake that was "Supercross: The Movie" he was cast in the inspiring flick "Coach Carter", starring the beloved Samuel Jackson. I loved him in this movie. He was the white kid on an all black team in basically an all black town and he was able to hold his own on the court, get some solid PT on a championship team and really made a name for himself. After being kinda accepted by critics and making a fairly strong $67 million some said that Tatums career was on the rise. At the time I agreed with that some, I was excited for Tatum and quickly jumped on his bandwagon. However looking back at his role in "Coach Carter" he appeared to just fit in a little too well with the urban cast around him and made that crossover from a white kid riding dirt bikes, to a white kid hanging out with the homies in the gym working on his hoop game a little too well to go unnoticed to not get cast in a similar role down the line.
After a couple minor roles in "Havoc" and "She's the Man", Tatum was finally awarded a lead role. The casting directors must've saw what I saw in "Coach Carter" because he was cast in the urban hip hop dance off you got served wannabe piece of shit that was "Step Up". I dont know if it was the appeal that he finally got to be a lead actor and get his own trailer on the set or if he maybe just wanted to prove to an ex-girlfriend that he actually could dance that made him take this role. Whatever it was "Step Up" ended up being like a gateway drug for Tatum. You know kind of like teachers used to say about marijuana, you would use it and then keep on using drugs that were just worse and worse for you. Well "Step Up" was like weed for Tatum because after that he took a couple roles in which he was totally unmemorable in "Battle in Seattle", "The Trap", and he somehow had enough time to take out of his busy schedule to appear in "Step Up 2:The Streets".
Still in the haze from "Step Up" he managed to try to get his career back on track with "Stop Loss" co-starring Ryan Phillippe. But once again awards and box office millions were not receieved. I never saw this movie and it actually looked kind of good from the previews but it looks like it came out too soon and might of hit home for a lot of Americans.
Even though "Stop Loss" bombed at theaters Tatum was getting back into movies with actors I had actually heard of before and it appeared for a short while him and his camp were righting the ship. Then I saw a preview for his next movie titled "Fighting" with Terrence Howard. Wow,how much is the genius who came up with this title being paid? Let me break this movie down real quick, Tatum is a down on his luck counterfeiter working the streets of NYC when somebody comes by and pisses him off and so Tatum fights this guy and beats his ass. Incredibly Terrence Howard, who is some kind of underground Don King, is walking by notices Tatums got "skillz" and decides to take him under his wing so he can become a rich street fighter. Really Hollywood, really?
His dreams of turning into the next Ashton Kutcher are really starting to fizzle and it looks like he might be the next Paul Walker at this rate. But at 28 he is still young enough to turn things around. The good news is that he is still getting work according to his IMDB page. It will remain to be seen if in any of those movies he will perform like he did in "Coach Carter" ever again. Maybe that was just a once a career brilliant performance? For my sake and those still remaining on his bandwagon I hope not.
Haymes
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