I'm Affleck, He's Damon

Driving is the only time I actually spend thinking about anything important. And, when you see what passes for my important thought process of the day, you'll understand just how meaningless my life has truly become.

Today, on the way to work, I saw a Dodge Magnum. This made me think of how Dodge was creating a police vehicle a couple of years back, which is in the Magnum line. This made me think of police cars in general, and the use of police-style vehicles in movies. This made me think of a particular car, the Ford Crown Victoria that Christian Bale drives in the movie "Hard Times." This made me think of Christian Bale, who's in excellent physical shape, and of the particular devotion he seems to devote to his acting (for instance, losing a ton of weight, and muscle mass, for his role in "The Machinist," and his recent work on the POW movie he did with Steve Zahn where they had to eat bugs and stuff).

This made me think of Matt Damon, because he's also in good shape, and has been so throughout his movie career, and he's done the weight loss thing for movies as well.

And then I started thinking of Matt Damon versus Ben Affleck, and that got me to where we are today.

My best friend, JLowe, is Matt Damon. I am Ben Affleck.

What does this mean? Well, Damon and Affleck are widely known as bosom buddies and best pals. They work well together. They're often inseparable in people's minds.

However, they are not the same in people's minds.

Matt Damon is, of the two, the apparent brains of the operation. Few would actually credit Affleck with the great writing job he did on "Good Will Hunting," mostly because most of us only believe that he helped come up with good cuss words here and there and supplied the insight into the outrageous baseball game that Robin Williams missed because he "had to see about a girl." Otherwise, the substance of the movie is, I would think, all Damon's doing. Damon has not made all the flashy moves, but over time, he's compiled a much more impressive career.

Affleck, meanwhile, is the happy-go-lucky guy who sort of just lucked his way into richness by being Matt's buddy. He's affable, easy-going, reckless, and comes across as the more regular-joe of the pair. He's probably who you'd rather have a conversation over a beer with, even though you'd learn more talking to Matt.

If you look at their careers, they point to the differences between the two. Matt's career is marked by a variety of great films with no real fluff. Bagger Vance was average, but ambitious. The trilogies of Bourne and Ocean's were not popular on accident. The Good Shepherd was a strong role. All are films that required some depth and discipline to be a part of, and the choices all speak to a certain discipline in decision making.

Meanwhile, Affleck's taken the easy paycheck. Aside from Chasing Amy, which I didn't like as much as most people, his films are a gallery of schlock. Daredevil, Reindeer Games, Gigli. Even Armageddon had a certain lameness to it, and one could argue that Affleck's inclusion was a big part of that.

Damon could've done any of those parts. But he's not an actor who would. Affleck would like to have been considered for Matt's roles, but he could never pull them off.

Affleck's life is also a mish-mash. Great successes (Jennifer Garner) here and there among a generally questionable existence. Gambling, rehab, JLo (who is hot and stuff, but, really, who ever took that relationship seriously), fat, thin. A great tribute to inconsistency and a lack of focus.

Meanwhile, Damon's been an engima. You see him when his films are out, but otherwise he lays low, keeps his hands clean, and generally tries not to make waves. Aside from his relationship with Minnie Driver a few years back, little was known about him until he got married and had a kid. A great tribute to discretion and sound decision-making.

And so it is with JLowe and me. He's Damon -- disciplined, smart, reserved, and bound to succeed in whatever he commits to (in part because, when he says he's in, he's in), and I'm Affleck -- likeable, funny, reckless, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants, and more likely to luck my way to victory than to achieve it through skill.

I could be depressed about that, but then I realized something. Good Will Hunting (and, indeed, Damon in general) needed an Affleck to lighten the mood and to keep it real. Otherwise it would have been a big, brooding mess. And Affleck needs a Damon to push him to where he ought to be. They are a good pair.

So, too, are my best friend and me.

And that, my friends, is my in-the-car musing of the day. For what its worth.