Poor James Marsden

No not the guy who played the best friend on half of the TGIF line up. And don't mix him up for the guy that looks like that guy that was in Serial Mom. And don't mix the second guy up with this other guy from Fanboys.

Okay, for those keeping score, I don't pity Jason Marsden whom I had a crush on when he played Rich on Step by Step or a character with the name "Jason Marsden" on Boy Meets World. And he is not to be confused with Justin Whalin. I just found out these two both played the same character in General Hospital, so it's not just me. On IMDB, they both have on their respective pages "Known for..." and there is a picture of just James Franco. (Makes sense considering he no longer sleeps and is involved with every other thing in Hollywood.) And to clear up everything else, Justin Whalin played Jimmy Olsen in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman on TV as opposed to Sam Huntington (from Fanboys) who played the same character in Superman Returns with the object of my pity...James Marsden.

Extra points if you can identify each one. (Hint: Not one is Will Wheaton.)

In fact, Superman Returns is an example of my point, but I should back up a few steps. I get random cravings for a mushy, predictable romantic movie. I watched Enchanted and 27 Dresses back to back to eliminate it last time. I didn't plan it that way but it was a James Marsden-a-thon. With Valentine's Day coming up, I'm considering watching The Notebook. Unlike every other woman from ages seventeen to sixty-three who saw this on a loop when it came out six years ago, I decided this was a good movie to put in the vault for an occasion that I think my boyfriend* deserved to be jumped on immediately following the credits. (* Note: When the decision was made, he was my boyfriend. He has since been promoted to husband.)

Since I have zero patience, I still went online to see what the big deal was. Once again, James Marsden doesn't have a chance. I'm not entirely sure, because I don't know his character, but I'm sensing a theme. He's the nice guy that doesn't get the girl. Apparently he can't compete with Ryan Gosling. Or Patrick Dempsy. Or Hugh Jackman. Not even Brandon Routh.

Yes, this is an oversimplification based on a few movies, but it made me sad for the guy. You have to watch Gossip to get that sad taste out of your mouth. Or, for the nicer people, watch (Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't watched the trailer!) 27 Dresses. He apparently can kick Ed Burns's ass romantically.

We shouldn't worry for him though. He's my generation's Bill Pullman and he landed on his feet, right? What? Ohhhh...... Okay. I'm going to go watch Independence Day. He gets the girl then, right? Wait, never mind. Spaceballs it is.