In the Movies.

Gentlemen:

Think of the last movie you saw with a man who had every woman he wanted. I can promise you it wasn't the Avengers or Cabin in the Woods, and it definitely wasn't The Dictator (shame on you if you even saw that one). Think back further. Remember that Steve Carell movie that came out a little while back? It was entitled Crazy, Stupid, Love. Now I don't think we need to go into all the details of this film, but I do want to bring to mind a particular character from the movie (here's a hint, it wasn't Steve Carell or even Kevin Bacon). Remember the character, Jacob? Or as we might call him in man-culture: the guy who got with Emma Stone? The guy that all of us wanted to be at the end of the movie. I want you to picture that character very clearly in your mind and remember his entrance into the film.

When we first meet the character of Jacob, the camera starts on his shoes (NOTE: they are not New Balance sneakers) and slowly pans upward until reaching his face. Why do they do this, you may ask? Well, in order to understand it a bit better, lets go back a little further into the history of film and examine the way male protagonists are introduced in a scene.

If we go back far enough, there is a fascinating French film from 1937 by Julien Duvivier entitled Pepe le Moko. The film tells the story of a french gangster living in the Casbah of Algier and his chase of a beautiful woman (as well as his escape from several others). As we meet this character, the pan of the camera is exactly the same as it is when covering the character of Jacob in Crazy, Stupid, Love. We see the shoes; well shined. We see the suit; well tailored. We see the face; well groomed. We see the hair; well cut. And we see the man-- filled with confidence-- approaching the woman he wants without hesitation.

So what is the lesson here? Why should we pay attention to these iconic men in cinema and what are the lessons we learn by doing so? Well, whether you want to be the smooth talking "Jacob" of today or the effortlessly slick "Pepe le Moko" of yesterday, keep this in mind:

Shine your shoes.
Tailor your suits.
Groom your face.
Cut your hair.
Be a man.

If you want this:

First, you have to be this:

Cheers.

--Dapper Chris