10.04.2010

Every once in a while, a few media outlets will get together and seize the actor of the moment, proceeding to hinge their hopes of success on this singular person. Luckily for us, that man appears to be Jon Hamm: the man behind the grey flannel suit of Don Draper.

The Town, released on September 17th, coincided perfectly with the hype from the mid-season shenanigans at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Surprisingly, though, Mr. Hamm’s character from The Town shares a few character traits with his small-screen counterpart.

The Town is set in Charlestown, a neighborhood in Boston notorious for bank robberies, and Hamm portrays an FBI agent attempting to catch the “bad guys." About midway through the movie, the astute Mad Men viewer will begin to notice some strange parallels between Agent Frawley and Mr. Draper. Their prickly boardroom demeanor, emotionless pragmatism in regards to their businesses, and (excuse the pun) take no prisoners attitude in regards to their adversaries, the two Hamm dopplegangers are surprisingly similar. 

The only logical conclusion is that Don Draper conducts business like a cop on the edge. That can really only make us like him all the more. 

The movie itself was quite impressive, a generally good crime film. Any fan of Mad Men should see the movie, as director Ben Affleck weaves a gritty, realistic piece, reminiscent of the grit and realism of the recent episodes in the Fourth Season of Mad Men. The ins and outs of Ben Affleck’s second outing as a director aside, the movie itself  becomes quite comical when you say to yourself, “Oh, damn, there goes Don Draper, but with a shotgun”.

2 comments:

  1. When I watch movies or television shows, I always find myself deciding whether I can truly see the actors playing the role they are in. A good actor or actress would be able to fully put themselves into the role they are playing and not have me thinking the other roles they've been in. For example, I have a hard time seeing Rupert Grint as playing anyone other than Ron Weasley. While I've never seen The Town, it would be interesting to see if Jon Hamm can separate Don and Agent Frawley in his acting.

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  2. Being from Boston, well five minutes outside of Boston, I'm always excited when movies are centered around my lovely Beantown. It's nice to see familiar landmarks, it seems that every movie (with the exception of "Fever Pitch" is about townies who are involved in gangs or mobs. I would just like to say that it is not an accurate representation of Boston today.

    These Boston based movies portray the gritty parts of Boston in the 80's and 90's. They're very entertaining, but if you go into Dorchester or South Boston (not to be confused with the South End) you might be disappointed that you won't witness bank robberies and muggings in broad daylight (come back around midnight).

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