As Andy Dwyer on Parks and Recreation, Chris Pratt had undeniable comic timing that made many viewers fall in love with his goofy man-child character. Refashioned as a comic book space hero, Chris Pratt had undeniable six-pack abs. And now, as a celebrity with opinions, we can no longer deny that this guy is kind of a ding-dong.
Are celebrities required to be more than charming and beautiful and compelling on screen? I can’t answer that question, but I will say that if you are going to blab about politics, people will notice. In an interview with Men’s Fitness, Pratt talked about feeling like he doesn’t see enough media that represents him, a hot, straight 37-year-old white man.
“I don’t see personal stories that necessarily resonate with me, because they’re not my stories,”said Pratt, “I think there’s room for me to tell mine, and probably an audience that would be hungry for them. The voice of the average, blue-collar American isn’t necessarily represented in Hollywood.”
Pratt’s unique and untold story has also allowed him to see ways for us to heal and set aside all this political nonsense everyone in the country is talking about for some reason:
“I really feel there’s common ground out there that’s missed because we focus on the things that separate us,” he says, “You’re either the red state or the blue state, the left or the right. Not everything is politics. And maybe that’s something I’d want to help bridge, because I don’t feel represented by either side.”
Bridge me, daddy! Honestly, if Chris Pratt did pull a movie about a white, blue-collar guy out of his ass that somehow ended the strife in this country, I’d be the first to thank him. But considering his professed understanding of the issues in his films, I’m hesitant to believe this is possible. In an interview with Variety, Pratt weighed in on the controversy surrounding Passengers, a movie about a man condemning a strange woman to death because he’s lonely:
Asked if the reactions to the film surprised him, Pratt hesitates. “Yeah,” he says. “It did, it really did. I was really caught off guard by that. It was definitely a lesson.”
Pratt goes on to say that he stands by the film. “I personally think the movie is very good, I’m very proud of it,” he says. “I’ll be curious to see if it holds up — the criticism and the movie.”
He adds, “I’m proud of how the movie turned out and it did just fine to make money back for the studio.”
Will that criticism hold up? Maybe after Donald Trump has been Supreme Emperor For Life for a few decades, we’ll all be reconditioned to think Passengers is “good.” In Pratt’s favor, he does say that it’s not the fault of critics for criticizing a bad movie.
“I never want to be in a situation where I’m blaming critics for not liking a movie,” he added, “So I’ll just stop talking. It is what it is and I’m proud of it.”
Emphasis mine.