Nerd girls, geek girls, whatever you call them, they are a major marketing group for the classic actor-cum-franchise, most recently and notably the marginal-actors-turned-blockbuster-stars, Johnny Depp and Ewan McGregor.
Admittedly, both men worked hard to first come to notice in worthy and notable roles but what goes conveniently unnoted by fan girls with these guys, unlike with actors who cater to regular audiences, is the aftermath of bad acting.
After his standout role in Trainspotting, Ewan produced a fair number of stinkers: Brassed Off, The Pillow Book, Down With Love, Miss Potter, (add your own favorites here.) Johnny too has occasionally stunk. He came to fame with an inspired performance as the lead role in Edward Scissorhands but after becoming Tim Burton's call boy, his discriminating taste seems to have dulled. Remember his corny sexy gypsy stereotype in Chocolat? His corny sexy gypsy stereotype in Don Juan DeMarco? His corny sexy gypsy stereotype in The Man Who Cried??? There are others we won't mention that are less easily provable. (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Finding Neverland -- okay, we lied; we'll mention them.) Even his excellent performance as Captain Jack Sparrow in the recent super-trilogy Pirates of the Carribean was hampered by a third film that seemed to want to ride more on the coattails of Depp's unsinkable appeal rather than have its own well-developed plot.
They, unlike other actors, can do no wrong in the geek girl community because everything they do (good or bad, there is precious little discerning taste in hardcore geekdom) translates to box office gold and more cold hard cash. Their acclaim, while once hard won and well-proven, rests now on their fan base rather than any recent performances; they can stink freely without fear of critical retaliation.
PS. Do a YouTube search on these two. The sheer number of campy tribute videos painstakingly and heart-achingly amateurishly produced on cheap digital cameras by glasses-wearing, tin-lunch-box-carrying geek girls is astounding. There are even a few honoring both actors and (like our featured jewel) inter splice Johnny and Ewan clips to an appropriately geeky power ballad. We kid you not.
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