Incendiary Advice

Is it March 5, yet?

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Fairly new to the Hoffman bandwagon; it started with Boogie Nights and his confused lovesick mancrush on Mark Wahlberg's Dirk Diggler. He was so compulsively repellantly wonderful; I didn't know whether to hug him or get him therapy.

But it wasn't until two years ago, one Saturday night at midnight while feeling out of sorts that I saw Magnolia was playing on IFC.

Years earlier this former friend of mine, Brian (a mini charismatic reprobate not unlike Capote), spent months trying to get me to watch Magnolia - to no avail.

Anyway, it turned out to be a lovely four hour long movie. By 2 a.m., my eyes felt like someone gave them a Visine acid wash. But I couldn't turn it off.

Phil Parma - Philip Seymour Hoffman's character - just held my attention, if not my burning eyes.

Humane, thoughtful, quiet amongst a sea of dysfunctional characters, he grounded and centered the entire Jason Robards/Julianne Moore section of the movie. I wanted him to be my nurse if I was dying.

I wanted to marry someone just like him: solid, dependable, thoughtful, openly emotional and above all, kind. His performance seemed like a protective warm embrace; it enveloped you with a sense of peace.

This, from the guy who was such a jerk in Scent of a Woman. Such a fabulous queen in Flawless. Such a snide, pompous ass in The Talented Mr. Ripley. This is the same wonderful Phil Parma in Magnolia.

Hard to believe, but true. Ever the chameleon, it's impossible to pin-down which of his characters, if any, come closest to the real Philip Seymour Hoffman. But to me it will always be Phil Parma from Magnolia: the guy we all secretly want to marry.