Hey Joe, I Think We Should Hang Out

(Disclaimer: This will be a gush-y, fawn-y post about Joseph Gordon-Levitt. There will be lots of adjectives and adulation and geek-ing out over mundane things. This post most probably will involve a LOT of estrogen. Run away while you can (come back for the other, less estogen-y posts, ok?) You have been warned.)

I've always loved Joseph Gordon-Levitt since I saw him on "10 Things I Hate About You". I think I was 11 then, and my little tween heart thought this scrawny boy with dimples was such a dreamboat. He wasn't a Leo Di Caprio (who, at the time, was a hit with girls my age post-Titanic) but JGL was adorable.

JGL on 10 Things: What made my 11 year old heart squee

JGL was scrawny and awkward then, unlike Leo who was already a pretty boy through and through. Back in the late 90's, JGL was one of the lesser known Hollywood stars (well, next to the explosive Titanic fame of Leo) so it was kinda cooler (at least according to me) to say he was your favorite. Apparently, I was already trying to channel hipster cool even before I understood what it was haha.


#TDKR
I caught The Dark Knight Rises (with Neng and Mahal) over a week ago and I was reminded of my love for JGL. In the movie, he plays New York cop John Blake. Great movie (again!) from the genius mind of Chris Nolan (maybe a separate post on my 2 cents on the Batman trilogy... maybe).

John Blake in TDKR: beefier JGL in a cop uniform
- I think I just heard my egg cells say thank you

 Kudos to the Nolan brothers and the rest of the TDKR ensemble for an amazing last installment -- but my biggest takeaway from the move was... BEEFIER JGL. Yuh-huh, much beefier JGL. Mmm.. mmm. *Now I let a teeny bit of shame wash over me. Aaaand, we're back to my original thought, beefier JGL... In a cop uniform. Are you kidding meee*

A writer once described JGL's build as uh... "like a gymnast's." I'm not sure if that's a compliment. But as far as manly men go, erm... I wouldn't exactly be excited at the mental picture of a guy in tights. BUT... thank you to TDKR (or maybe his new other movie "Don Jon's Addiction"?) our favorite boy has gotten a little more beefy! Broader shoulders, beefier arms, and a full face that make him look more leading man material and less of 'that guy that got friendzoned in 500 Days.' When JGL came onscreen, looking every bit spiffy in his NY cop uniform, Mahal and I were elbowing each other trying our best to keep our stifled squeals in. Definitely way hotter than his whiny 500 Days' Tom! :)

JGL = GQ Cover Material
 A few days ago, I was on Facebook and I chanced on a link to a JGL GQ article. He was apparently on the cover of GQ for August of this year. And our favorite geek is cleaning up pretty well.  Just look at how that vest hugs him. Right? 31 looks good on him :)

I've always loved him for his geeky charm. He is the quintessential boy-next-door. As bad as that cliche is, he literally can be how your neighbor looks like when you get lucky in the neighbor lottery. He's cute but unpolished; none of the glossy, unbelievably beautiful spawns of Hollywood. His uncertainty kinda gives off a feel that he doesn't think he's good looking. That alone makes him a knockout in my book. But our boy has some more surprises.

All grown-up JGL (Yum! haha)

You look at him and you get an inkling there's so much more than to that (yummy) scruffy face of his. The GQ write up about him just about confirms my suspicions about him -- that he is interesting and smart and will make awesome conversations. I really think we'll be fun together when we hang out. (Haha, yuh hanggang "heng out, heng out" level ang na-aabot ng imagination ko.)

His self-awareness makes it so fascinating to hear him talk about himself. He says he didn't go to his prom and admittedly thinking/talking a little too old for his teenage self. JGL on his teenage self:

"I was a sort of serious little dude—snobby. I thought girls my age were very frustrating. They were, like, looking in their compact mirrors and shit, and I thought that was evil," he says, adding that he was in danger of becoming "a hopeless ivory-tower douchebag. I'm a little more forgiving now. I've grown to laugh at myself a little bit more than I did."

He sounds like he's the type you can talk to about many things. And that he is self-aware is kind of an insurance there'll be less douchebag-gery (if any, at all) and more candid thoughts. He sounds like he doesn't take himself too seriously and that always makes for fun conversations. I have a feeling it'll be super fun to spend an afternoon with him, drinking coffee and picking his brain. There'll be witty banter and really interesting exchange. And yup, he seems to be the type to pull out verbal calisthenics and not make it look weird! And yeah, I will be ogling him all throughout coffee. And since this is my blog, maybe he will ogle me back. Maybe.

Zooey D. describes him as, "Very intellectual. Very, very serious and very intense". Mama likes (yes, I am aware that those two words don't sit so well with me and my personality, and I am bothered by how those two words are uh, awkward, but... it's just so... fitting haha).

Hey Joe, (JGL apparently likes to be called 'Joe') how are things? You know, I think, maybe we should hang some time :)