Written by DAVID KEYES

June 23, 2005

The title of this article is not an endearing statement concerning the individuality or elusiveness of the Tom Cruise name, but more or less a statement that most should feel relieved by. Reason: in the past six weeks, on a very public scale, Mr. Cruise has gone from being one of the most likable and down-to-earth motion picture actors to one of the most irritating public personalities I have ever seen.

It seems like only yesterday that Hollywood's most known talent was riding the high waves of success of films like "Minority Report" and "The Last Samurai." We not only liked his work, we liked him -- he was the kind of guy who didn't exhibit the behavior that suggested he was one of those celebrities that feeds off of popularity. He also has always been somewhat of an outspoken advocate of privacy, a quality that few celebrities are able to maintain under the watchful eye of countless greedy paparazzi and tabloids.

Now, just a week shy of the nationwide premiere of the long-anticipated "War of the Worlds" remake, Cruise has apparently abandoned all sense of priority and has finally let the disease of fame crack his skull. The mounting attention is almost sickening, as he parades up and down red carpets, throwing around proclamations of love while the mute Katie Holmes, his new girlfriend-turned-fiancée, stands off to the side and smiles.

Someone pass the barfbag, really. Never mind the fact that Cruise has never been one to call too much attention to the fact that reporters love probing him about his constantly-changing lineup of female partners, why in the hell is he suddenly so adamant about exhibiting his recent love affair in front of everybody? Certain other actions certainly cloud our perception of his priorities, like when he most recently berated an Australian reporter during a taped interview when asked about his current relationship with Nicole Kidman. "You're stepping over the line," he warned the reporter. Right, well you'll have to excuse us Tom for thinking you erased that line buy turning your new romance into an overzealous press release.

I for one am not buying this whole "love-makes-me-a-better-person" attitude. It was, in fact, almost like watching a harsh suspicion realized when Cruise blew up at a random reporter on the red carpet at the London premiere of "War of the Worlds" last week, when he was squirt in the face with water via a trick microphone. The prank, of course, was amateurish and stupid -- but still, you'd suspect a guy who claims to have been liberated by newfound love to easily shrug such a minor prank off, of which Mr. Cruise simply did not do. There is also that little matter of judgment he threw out to Brooke Shields on his most recent visit to Oprah Winfrey's talk show, in which he criticized her for relying on anti-depressants after the birth of her daughter sent her into a deep depression.

Is there a guideline in Scientology that suggests when it's the right time for high-and-mighty followers to shut their yaps?