Lots of women I know — and more than a few men, too — get all dreamy-eyed when you mention the actor Bradley Cooper.
He’s been what you might call a stealth star for the past couple of years — his short-lived Fox TV series “Kitchen Confidential” and supporting appearances on ABC’s “Alias” and the naughty F/X series “Nip/Tuck” generated lots of “when is this guy going to become a movie star?” talk among my friends.
When I attended a press junket for “Failure to Launch” in Manhattan three years ago, friends asked me more questions about the fifth-billed Cooper than they did about the ostensible stars of the movie, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew McConaughey, so it was easy to see that this charismatic Philadelphia native was on his way.
Well, last weekend Cooper officially became an A-list movie star when his modestly budgeted “The Hangover” became the number one movie in the land — grossing more than twice as much as the very expensive Will Ferrell comedy (“Land of the Lost”) that was a distant number three and which reportedly cost more than $100 million to make (and probably another $30 million to advertise).
There was considerable “buzz” surrounding “The Hangover” in the weeks leading up to its debut — the studio was so high on the test screening scores that it signed the whole cast up for a sequel weeks before the movie opened.
“The Hangover” is the sort of fast and funny (and gross) comedy that made Ferrell a star. Coincidentally, one of the “Saturday Night Live” star’s breakthrough movies — 2003’s “Old School” — was directed by Todd Phillips who also directed “The Hangover.”
Cooper has four more movies coming out this year — including the September romantic comedy “All About Steve” where he plays opposite Sandra Bullock. Next year, he will be billed above Bruce Willis in a big-screen version of “The A-Team.”
Clearly, the actor’s days as a cult figure are over
