From the Washington Post - looks like everyone knows he is trying to rehab his image:
10 Truths About Tom Cruise
Monday's second hour of Oprah's Tom Cruise fest was, well, enh. Unlike Friday's visit to the Colorado Cruise compound (Tom Shales reviewed part one in yesterday's paper) -- complete with a peek inside Tom's inner sanctum and a visit from Suri -- yesterday's in-studio visit had all the charm of an infomercial: enthusiastic sales pitches, marketing posters and an audience of rabid believers.
Still, it isn't every day we get to study the elusive Mr. Cruise for the better part of an hour and, never one to squander a chance to flop in front of a TV for 60 whole minutes, I watched. And, because this is how I work people, I took notes -- resulting in the following list of Tom Cruise Truths, a sort of recitation of realizations about the actor who [brainwashing begin] has been entertaining us for 25 whole years! Please buy the box set![brainswashing end]:
"TC." Tom's friends call him TC -- just ask pals Will Smith and Jada Pinkett, who delivered the first of several pre-recorded messages for the actor. They really like the guy and Jada, who looked like she'd just returned from imprisonment in a Yakuza flop house, has some things she could tell you about TC, but won't. Figures. Later, "Jerry Maguire" co-star Renee Zellweger called TC "blessed" and "magical." At about the same point, I called Zellwegger "high" and "delusional."
TC has no sense of humor. If you missed Cruise's lame attempt at a Jack Nicholson impression ("You can't handle the truth"), trust me when I say that Cruise's timing is about as reliable as my 20-year-old Swatch.
TC is most at home on a movie set. How shocking that this man, who may or may not be living a carefully constructed PR-motivated life, is most comfortable when immersed in an entire world of fakery. Speaking of fakery, TC's manufactured nervous laughter (again, gotta work on that timing, Tom) when asked about his fears wasn't even daytime-Emmy worthy.
TC is SO (gush) romantic! Continuing the surprising list of Cruise backers to send in pre-taped messages, David and Victoria Beckham used their time to share stories of hanging out in Spain with TC and Katie. "He serenaded her at the restaurant with 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling'," said Vic. Again? Didn't he do that at the wedding, too? I guess TC's more into recycling than we'd thought. Also, we learned that if you make the mistake of admitting you liked a Cruise movie, TC may just send you something he wore while filming that movie.
TC totally has something on Oprah. Point five coincided with the halfway point of the show. I believe we were just getting to the "Born on the 4th of July" portion of TC's career. As he mumbled something about challenging himself and Oprah launched into another "This is Your Life"-esque pitch, I found myself suddenly certain that TC either has some good dirt on O or her show is totally for sale.
TC is boring. As hinted at above, what with the whole bad comic timing thing, TC the actor may be one of the biggest box office draws of the last quarter century, but TC the man is a total dud. When he's not playing a part -- and make no mistake, his previous couch-jumping/Matt Lauer-devouring pose was just that -- TC is a massive yawn. When asked what he'd do if he had a day to himself, he stuttered far too long before blurting out something about taking his plane for a spin.
TC smells like team spirit! That's right, the new magnanimous TC is willing to abase himself as far as thanking craft services for keeping him fed while on set. And it just may pay off. Yesterday (dismissed as coincidence) Viacom chief -- and former TC nemesis -- Sumner Redstone said he'd welcome a fourth "Mission:Impossible" franchise starring Cruise.
"Magnolia" was a good movie and TC was good in it. I'm not all snark and criticism. Turns out that the blank slate, when presented with good material and direction, can actually turn in a respectable performance.
TC takes himself too seriously. Sure he's a man of few words these days, but every single word on yesterday's show seemed to be Oscar speech material: "I feel really privileged. I thank you for allowing me to entertain you." Barf.
Well, I don't have a 10. But I can say I'll be firmly planted in front of the TV again today at 4 p.m. ET to watch Barbara Walters confess her past sins to Oprah. You go, O! Get the Vaseline ready for that camera lens.






