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On Ethan Hawke

 One reason I love Ethan Hawke is that he is the ultimate "dad"; though Hollywood sometimes forgets that families exist, Hawke plays a dad again and again and again.


In "Boyhood," he has a great scene where he demands that his kids report on their day. "Why should we? Why don't YOU tell us what YOU did all morning?"

In "Maggie's Plan," Hawke enrages Greta Gerwig when he forgets to do some marital heavy lifting. And in "Sinister," Hawke annoys his clan by insisting on a move to a creepy new house (and by "forgetting" to explain his reasons for the move).

But my favorite Hawke role is in "The Purge," a movie that looks like a dystopic tale but also looks like a domestic comedy. Hawke has enriched his children's lives by selling faulty security systems to the neighbors; he never stops to think that his ostentatious purchases might infuriate those same neighbors. Hawke has a daughter with some bad ideas about dating. And Hawke must try to feign enthusiasm for a new "low-calorie" entree that is making its debut at the family dinner table.

It's a delight, to me, to see all these moments on a big screen; the horror-film elements are just window dressing.

"The Purge" recently became a "rewatchable"--and I endorse Bill Simmons's decision. A wonderful movie.
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