ShareThisAre you ready for a pretty outlandish theory? Michael Douglas is the world's most perfect "gentleman rascal."
Look at his signature, Oscar-winning acting role: Wall Street's Gordon Gekko, who returns to theaters Friday in Oliver Stone's sequel to his 1987 classic take on American greed. He's dapper but foul-mouthed. Nurturing yet abusive. He wields the common sense and philosophic practicality of a Buddhist monk, but his innermost instincts to scheme, lie and steal are ultimately his undoing.
In one awful yet reassuring revelation, there's a little bit of Gekko in every one of us. And that's what makes the character and the actor himself so appealing.
In "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," Gekko returns from eight years in prison. Has he learned anything about rehabilitation or penance? We'll see.
Meanwhile, here's a look at some other of Douglas' film bad boys.
THE TOP FIVE MICHAEL DOUGLAS RASCAL ROLES
1. Steve Taylor ("A Perfect Murder," 1998): Douglas is Ice Age cold as he plots the murder of his wife (played by Gwyneth Paltrow). Alfred Hitchcock would have gladly cast Douglas as his villain had he been available back in 1954 for the original "Dial M For Murder."
Memorable line: "The only way you leave me is dead!"
2. Jack T. Colton ("Romancing the Stone," 1984): Oh, you can call him the handsome hero if you want. I consider him a fun-loving soldier of fortune -- what does his middle initial stand for? Trustworthy! -- who should have stuck with his plan of romancing the treasure map away from Kathleen Turner's character.
Memorable line: "Now I ain't cheap, but I can be had."
3. Oliver Rose ("The War of the Roses," 1989): A Kathleen Turner character as the love interest ... again?!? As his fairy-tale marriage falls apart and she turns psycho, I can't blame Oliver Rose for going rogue during their nasty divorce.
Memorable line: "You have sunk below the deepest layer of prehistoric frog ... at the bottom of a New Jersey scum swamp."
4. William "D-fens" Foster ("Falling Down," 1993): What made Douglas' character go nuts in this movie: losing his job as a defense worker and then walking home through L.A. ... or being forced to wear a flat-top haircut?
Memorable line: "You have a choice. I can kill you. Or you can kill me, and my daughter will get the insurance."
5. Dan Gallagher ("Fatal Attraction," 1987): Wait a second. Isn't Glenn Close's Alex the real villain here? Faced with the awkward premise of defending a relatively innocent, albeit philandering husband, I must concede: It takes two to tango.
Memorable line: "You're so sad. You know that, Alex? Lonely and very sad."
(E-mail smspears(at)sptimes.com.)
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