What on earth happened that suddenly made Jamie Foxx decide he was going to be a top notch actor?!?! I have HATED Foxx for a long time. Uggg.. I still have bad dreams of his horrible work in Any Given Sunday, Booty Call, I never liked him on In Living Color either, and don’t even get me started on The Jamie Foxx Show.
Then came along this under the radar action/comedy flick called Bait. That was the first time I thought Foxx wasn’t half bad. He seemed to have some decent timing and the film (while not spectacular) worked for what it was. Then he was solid in Ali playing a very respectable supporting role. After that he got his first bit of real critical acclaim for his performance in the TV movie Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story. All of a sudden Foxx wasn’t a joke. But I still wasn’t a believer, and when I first saw the trailers for Collateral I told a friend it was a huge mistake to cast Foxx in that role and the movie lost all credibility in my eyes. BOY WAS I WRONG! Foxx did an AMAZING job opposite Tom Cruise (who was also at his very best) and some have whispered about a possible Oscar nomination for Foxx.
Now, Ray is almost upon us and the Oscar whispers are turning into loud shouts. Foxx looks terrific in the trailers, and those in the know are saying it’s one of the best performances of the year. So what happened? How did this guy suddenly become so darn good? Is he the next Denzel Washington? Your thoughts?
