"the" list

CLC tagged me with this meme, which I've always loved. Remember this Friends episode? The celebrities, if you were in a committed relationship, that if you bumped into them and they were interested, you were allowed to sleep with, without repercussions? And Ross went a little too far and laminated his list, and bumped into Isabella Rosselini, but he had decided to take her of his list? Good stuff.

At the time, it was a hot topic at happy hours. We talked about it endlessly at work, and we noticed that guys would immediately rattle off like 20 names without thinking. But women would hem and haw and caveat. Ralph Fiennes, but only in The English Patient, not his other ferret faced roles (late 90s, remember. I can't imagine anyone would list him now). Or Matthew McConaughey, but only if he showered (hmm, and this one still rings true 10 years later).

Actually, when I was going through some boxes last year, I found the list of all my coworker's lists. But who the heck knows which of the boxes it might be in. So here goes, off the top of my head -

1. Clooney. Is he the quintessential charming movie star or what? Cary Grant for our generation. Though, I do wish he'd stop with the plastic surgery. I think he's starting to look a little stretched out (so that's my caveat, Clooney about 5-8 years ago). A while back he was on the cover of Esquire or GQ - I tried to Google but couldn't find it. The picture was of a crowd of men wearing suits all facing away, and Clooney facing foward, reaching through the crowd. Yummy. God, I love that picture. I should have bought and framed that cover.

2. When I was a teenager, I never really had crushes on stars, I thought it was stupid. I sort of pretended to like Shaun Cassidy, but really, I thought Tiger Beat was lame and a waste of brain power. There were stars I liked, but never really a crush. Imagine my surprise when I developed, in my late 20s, my first real crush. On Ben Affleck. God help me. He just seems real, he has a sense of humor, he's a big lug, but smart, interested in politics. The JLo thing almost did it in. But this is good stuff. Did I mention he had a sense of humor?



3. Lord this one is embarrassing. After years of no real celebrity crushes, but reeling from the "Bennifer" debacle, American Idol did me in.



The smoldering eyes. The peering from his lanky hair. That thing he used to do with the "call me" when Ryan would give his number. I was on a business trip in Europe when he was kicked off, and was so upset I couldn't bear to watch the episode (tivo). I was pregnant at the time, so I'm blaming it on hormones except I saw another clip recently of him singing Hallelujah and I still think he is yummy. Great song.

4. Johnny Depp. I always say there are two Johnny Depps - good Johnny and bad. I like the clean cut look with just a little scruffiness. And Johnny Depp can really pull out the weird. But when he looks good, he really looks good. I LOVED him in Sweeney Todd. LOVED. Am pissed they canceled the Golden Globes and so he didn't get to give an acceptance speech for his win. Though usually award show Johnny is bad Johnny.

5. This one is a catch all in some ways. I love old movies, and I love Cary Grant, and I should put him on my list. But, he's almost too suave and debonair for a country girl like me. So, despite what we now know about him, love Rock Hudson. Love this movie (Come September). It's on fairly often - set your Tivo and enjoy.



I seriously geek over this meme so much, I am tagging everyone reading. Let me know if you do.