Movie Husbands By C.P. Stringham

Lupita Nyong'o

The Oscars are over for another year. The star-studded event is always fun to watch. The winners, the losers, the best dressed, the worst dressed, and the “what the hell was that?” moments. My daughters and I have made it an annual tradition to print up copies of the nominees and have a contest to see who picks the most winners—I won this year! I have to say my pick for Darling of the Awards Ceremony is Lupita Nyong’o. I loved everything about her from her red carpet dress to her truly inspirational acceptance speech. She was elegant and embodied old-style Hollywood. It was as if she channeled Audrey Hepburn. Honorable mention goes to Jared Leto. Without a doubt, the winners of the Best Supporting categories pretty much stole the entire awards show.

While staying within a motion picture theme, I thought I’d use my spin at the Broads of a Feather blog to talk about movie husbands. You know, those ruggedly handsome men delivering lines meant to make us swoon and, well, fantasize. Fantasize? Am I right? I know I'm not the only one doing this. C'mon. Admit it. I'm waiting. There! Now don't you feel better?! Here's my, I'll admit, non-traditional leading men list. If not married from the onset of the film, they say "I do" by the end.

Oh, Jack...

Husband #1: Jack Callahan (Bill Pullman) in While You Were Sleeping. I can remember going to the theater to see this film way back when. My friend, Andrea, and I went into the movie excited to see Peter Gallagher. We may or may not have been fighting over him. I know. Real mature. In all honesty, we didn’t even know who Bill Pullman was. Thirty minutes into the movie, we tossed Peter aside and fought over Jack. It’s no wonder Lucy forgot about Peter while he was sleeping.

Jack – “I'd say that she gets under your skin as soon as you meet her. She drives you so nuts you don't know whether to hug her or, or just really arm wrestle her. She would go all the way to Europe just to get a stamp in her passport. I don't know if that amounts to insanity, or just being really, really... likable.”

It's that smoldering look of longing that earns Matthew his place.

Husband #2: Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) in Pride & Prejudice. Okay, I know I’m going to catch some heat for this from the "Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy Fan Club." I have nothing against Colin. As a matter of fact, I’m quite fond of him. However, Matthew’s Mr. Darcy won me over when he delivered one simple line in the movie. Sometimes, that’s all it takes. He managed to deliver the line and make me feel that his need for Elizabeth Bennet was so great, he’d surely parish without her love. I remember watching it for the first time with My Gal Friday. The movie ended and we just sat there…both of us fighting the overwhelming urge to smoke a cigarette.

Mr. Darcy – “…you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you.”

Husband #3: Dill Penderghast (Stanley Tucci) in Easy A. I’ll be completely honest with you, Stanley Tucci could play the husband in the worst feminine hygiene product commercial of all time and I would love him. Love. Him. As Olive’s father, Dill, Tucci effortlessly steals each scene. It could be the witty writing or the fantastic chemistry between Stanley and his co-star, Patricia Clarkson, that makes Dill so appealing to me, but that’s just not it. It’s because he's STANLEY TUCCI. It’s a comedy movie and he’s in a supporting role. That means there isn’t a pivotal love scene line to quote from so I’ll throw in a clip from one of my favorite scenes. I dare you not to smile.  

Stanley Tucci is one sexy devil.

Husband #4: Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) Crazy, Stupid, Love. I know. Another Emma Stone film, but it’s a happy coincidence. Middle-age Cal is devastated when his wife, Emily, tells him she wants a divorce and that she’s slept with another man. While they are separated, Cal sees what the singles’ life has to offer. Even after arriving at some form of success as a ladies’ man, Cal realizes there’s only one woman for him and comes around to shoulder some of the blame for his marital problems. The moment that got me right here **putting hand over my heart** is when funny man Steve Carell made me look at him in an entirely new light with this delivery:

Cal – “I'm so mad at you. I'm really mad at you for what you did. But I'm mad at myself too. Because I should not have jumped out of that car - I should have fought for you. Because you fight for your soul mates.”

Just one look from Cal, tells it all. 

Husband #5: Henry Turner (Harrison Ford) in Regarding Henry. Not Harrison’s most popular role, but husband-worthy nevertheless. No matter how much you hated Henry Turner, the blood-sucking corporate lawyer and god-awful family man at the beginning of the film, you find yourself cheering for him by the end. After tragedy strikes and Henry suffers a traumatic brain injury, he is left to relearn everything at a rehab facility; walking, eating, dressing, etc. Besides the physical aspects caused by the injury, Henry’s memory and personality are drastically altered. In fact, he’s an entirely new person. His beleaguered wife and daughter embrace the change. It's the easy-going, vulnerable side of Henry that is so appealing and Harrison Ford pulls it off so effortlessly. 

Those are just a few of my favorite movie husbands. Believe me, I could go on and on. Do you have a favorite movie husband? Post in the comments below!