Video: "Slightly Tarnished!"

By: Holley Sinn

Verdict: Denied (but barely....rent it)

This week's HFH features a film actor for whom I think we've all secretly been rooting for the past decade. Remember the bright-eyed, charming and lovable Tom Cruise from the days of "Risky Business"? The dreamy Irishman from "Far and Away"? Even the terrifying but alluring assassin from "Collateral". We want him back. We all feel betrayed. Why, oh why, did he have to go and get weird? Why couldn't America's golden boy stay....golden? "Knight & Day" may not win him any Oscars....strike that...it WON'T win him any...but this could be the PR that the once beloved Cruise needs to bring him back into our good graces.

"Knight & Day" stars Cameron Diaz as June, a mechanic who is en route from Kansas home to Boston when her plane is mysteriously hijacked by a smooth-talking, intensly observant gun-wielder named Roy Miller, played by Tom Cruise. After Roy crash lands the plane, he gives June strict instructions for her impending encounter with authorities. When she doesn't heed his warnings, Roy is forced to take June on as an accomplice in a mission he is closely guarding.

Roy's job involves protecting a highly potent battery, strong enough to power an entire city, invented by a young man whose life is in danger. Roy explains that he has been pegged as a rogue federal agent when actually, his partner is the one looking to sell the battery and kill its creator. June buys his story and vows to stay by his side even though it means being continually drugged to minimize her erratic behavior.

The madcap, worldwide chase takes a turn in Austria where June overhears a conversation suggesting Roy has been lying. However, she soon learns that has not only been an accomplice but a critical piece in a plot that is constantly thickening. While "Knight & Day" certainly meanders, it is consistently endearing throughout, and much of that is due to Tom Cruise. His portrayal of the lovable rogue...a product of federal training and perhaps a little misunderstood...is what keeps this otherwise ridiculous romp from collapsing. Diaz is charming enough - she can't decide whether or not to affect a Boston accent, but other than that, she and Cruise do have good chemistry.

I'm denying "Knight & Day" on the basis that it would make an excellent rental but isn't worth your nine dollars at the theater. However, if you are bored this weekend and looking for a break from the heat, you should know it is rated R and is now showing in theaters all over the bay area.