Mel Gibson

Since I have been resting as much as possible this weekend, I have had loads of time to catch up on my reading and wasting time on television.  The upshot is that I finished The Help and I started reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter, both fine books by the way....and who knew the latter was set in Lexington, Kentucky?  The downside is that I have seen way too many bad movies and that all of my favorite shows are on hiatus.  Soooooo I decided to watch Braveheart for like the bazillionth time.

Is there really such a thing as watching Braveheart too many times?  I think not.  Mel's masterpiece can still elicit tears from me no matter how many times I have seen it.  The music is fantastic.  The lush, green hills and crystal water cinematography warms the soul.  A love story paired with war allows both men and women to enjoy the movie.  Mel with long hair, a kilt and a Scottish brogue....does it get any better than that? 

As I was appreciating this film it made me feel sad for Mel.  He has starred in so many good movies and he has directed some fine things too.  (I know Apocalypto got panned but I liked it!)  But despite all of his genius, Mel will forever be known as the drunk that made nasty comments about Jews and cops and for his fugly relationship with that Euro trash woman.  I know what he said was bad form, but he was intoxicated people!  Who among us has not said something we regretted  the second it flew off our tongues?  Now if we factor in the alcohol magnifying his mouth overdrive while simultaneously slowing the brain gears.....I feel like we should cut him some slack.  That bimbo?  Maybe there was some domestic violence but given her track record for being a gold digging ho.....I do not think I can condemn him for this bad judgement.  I mean we all know when the South Pole gets hard it shuts off a certain amount of blood flow to the North Pole, so he was clearly making decisions with an organ that was not his brain.  Plus, he was married for a long dang time to his wife and the only complaints she had was his drinking problem and his philandering.  I would tend to think if he beat her that the media would have caught wind of it and cheerfully broadcast this news.

Think about it folks.  If Mel Gibson was just an average Joe, we probably would never have heard about any of his failures nor his troubled life.  Being under the microscope is the trade off for his celebrity status.  This can't be easy.  Maybe I am being naive or simply infatuated with this talented, handsome man.....or maybe I realize that he is a mere human who is flawed like the rest of us.  Whatever the reason, I would like to send up this offering to Mr. Gibson:  In the words of William Wallace, "I love ya, I always have."