As hotshot pool shark Vincent Lauria, Tom Cruise is taken under the wing of former hustler “Fast” Eddie Felson, played once again by Paul Newman in this stand-alone sequel set twenty-five years after the original The Hustler.
There can be much written about this film, The Color of Money (which is a pretty catchy pun for a title), but at the end of the day, the only majorly important detail is the fact that Vince ultimately hustles “Fast” Eddie Felson.
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| If Paul Newman is "Fast" Eddie Felson, then Tom Cruise is "Badass" Vincent Lauria Photo courtesy of tomcruise.com |
Let me repeat that for you one more time: Tom Cruise, a then up-and-coming film star, beats Paul Newman, a screen tycoon reprising his legendary role. Paul Newman was The Hustler! Tom Cruise beats “Fast” Eddie Felson! You see, Vince not only just beats Eddie, he outsmarts him, losing deliberately in order to make lots of money. Are we truly grasping this? Tom Cruise hustles the hustler!
Yet once again, the Oscar goes to the other guy.
Although none of the Academy’s mistakes matter much now, considering how marvelous an addition we are left with in the canon of cinema history: audiences still get to watch Tom Cruise school “Fast” Eddie Felson all over the green.
This is why Tom Cruise will always be…the best pool player.
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