Below Radar: Justin Long

Justin Long graduated from the same high school as me. This may be the reason that I began to follow his career when it started but the reason I have continued to watch him is because he has surprised as someone with a lot of comedic talent.

He began to be spotted on Hollywood's radar in Dodgeball. He was the kid that got hit by the wrench. Or the kid that got crushed by the rather large cheerleader. One thing that was for sure, he made audiences laugh through his physical comedy. This was my first chance to be able to tell people that this kid went to my high school. I would say, "the kid that got hit with the wrench. Yeah, he graduated from the same place as me." It wasn't exactly a badge of honor but it was a perk for every day conversation.

He took on a lead role in the lesser known Waiting... A movie, where he played the straight man to a very funny cast. He wasn't able to show a lot of his acting chops in this one. That material didn't really allow for that. But he still showed that he could be a straight man and play very well against some comedic heavy hitters such as Ryan Reynolds and Anna Farris.

He began to grow comfortable in his leading man status in the much lesser known and very underrated, Accepted. It wasn't a great movie but he made do with the dialogue he was given, proving himself worthy of leading man status.

Throughout his career, he has done several hilarious small parts along the way. No one plays gay funnier than him. He is one of the few good parts of the very flawed The Break-Up as the gay receptionist that made the movie almost tolerable. He started off Zack and Miri make a Porno, as a gay porn actor with a deep voice and cheesy confidence that set the tone to a very funny movie. He provided an entertaining moment in Idiocracy as a stupid doctor. He even took on the task of providing comic relief in the action movie Live Free or Die Hard. His most famous work is unfortunately in the Mac commercial series which everyone has seen.

Justin showed a different side to him when he starred in the most recent romantic comedy He's Just Not That Into You. This film, though very flawed, showed that Justin Long doesn't always have to make us laugh to entertain us. He showed that he could span further than comedy.

Justin Long has not had the lead in any masterpiece. He has never caught the attention of anyone serious and his goofy mug has never really been taken seriously but I can see a lot of potential and he is going to be big in the next few years. Justin Long has 8 projects he is working on currently, not all of them comedy. The future looks bright for this star. I would keep my eye on him.