Will Smith — Modern Master
If Will Smith wasn’t everyone’s hero by the end of the night, I would be very surprised. He wants to “wake up every morning and make sure that someone’s life is going to be better because he woke up today.” Leonard Matlin made it all the better with his wide array of compelling and riveting questions. At first, Smith was up there, making people laugh and answering the questions like he was supposed to. As he alighted the stage, he noticed a sheet of paper stuck to his shoe. He suddenly jumped back in alarm and jokingly blamed his wife for not noticing. Once he was seated, she walked up the stage and detached the last piece of paper from his shoe. And with that, the show started.
So many comical moments ensued. His impersonation of a photographer demanding “ope” out of Tommy Lee Jones, his “everlasting love” for Leonard Matlin and of course, his many jokes throughout the show. But his humor was only the half of it. He had the ability to talk with meaning and even give depth to something as shallow as Star Wars. His commitment to his family when he said that every morning he should wake up and think about how he could be a better father, a better husband, and a better person blew me away. His pledge to humanity that every day, he “wants to do good” left me completely dumbstruck. Will Smith is one of the most inspirational speakers I’ve ever been to and I’m so glad I went. I think that I just wasn’t expecting a presentation like that from the man who made Men in Black and Hitch. But whether I was ready for him or not, he moved me to a deeper level of understanding of what life is for.
So many comical moments ensued. His impersonation of a photographer demanding “ope” out of Tommy Lee Jones, his “everlasting love” for Leonard Matlin and of course, his many jokes throughout the show. But his humor was only the half of it. He had the ability to talk with meaning and even give depth to something as shallow as Star Wars. His commitment to his family when he said that every morning he should wake up and think about how he could be a better father, a better husband, and a better person blew me away. His pledge to humanity that every day, he “wants to do good” left me completely dumbstruck. Will Smith is one of the most inspirational speakers I’ve ever been to and I’m so glad I went. I think that I just wasn’t expecting a presentation like that from the man who made Men in Black and Hitch. But whether I was ready for him or not, he moved me to a deeper level of understanding of what life is for.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
