Romcom Leading Man of the Week: Jack Callaghan

 

I was fourteen. It was a school night, and I was not allowed to have my phone in my room past 9 PM. I snuck it in anyway. I waited until I knew my parents are sound asleep, and then I opened Netflix. 

This had become a habit of mine--staying up late on school nights and watching romcoms I hadn't seen. As a freshman in high school, I thought it was my due diligence to educate myself in the cultural phenomena of the romantic comedy genre. High school was when the dating began, yeah? So I should at least be prepared. 

Under the cover of darkness, I watched Breakfast at Tiffany's, 13 Going on 30, Someone Like You. . .you name it. If it was a romcom, I saw it. 

The most important romcom, however, was 1995's While You Were Sleeping. This romcom had everything--Sandra Bullock, a Chicago setting, Christmas-themes, and, most importantly, Bill Pullman as Jack Callaghan. 

Jack Callaghan. In my opinion, one of the best leading men to date (pun intended). The definition of "best" meaning that I think Jack Callaghan might've set an impossible standard for myself in terms of the dating

1. He's a working man--works for his father's estate sale company, but wants to start his own business; he wants to build his own furniture. 

2. He's ever-loyal. Through a miscommunication, everyone in the Callaghan family believes that Lucy 

(Sandra Bullock) is engaged to the comatose Peter (Jack's brother). Jack confesses to unconscious Peter

that he's never been jealous of anything Peter has ever had. Now he is (and it's Lucy!! Gah, how romantic?) but he's willing to let go of his feelings for Lucy to see his brother happy. 

3. A genuinely nice and selfless guy. Family man. Puts his family's happiness before his. Also wants the best for his family.  He is immediately suspicious of Lucy from the beginning, and though he grills her ruthlessly (his suspicions are correct. . .kind of), he does it because he doesn't want his family getting hurt. 

4. VERY easy on the eyes. 

And this hardly scratches the surface. I highly recommend watching While You Were Sleeping. You will understand why I believe Jack Callaghan is the most-underrated and best leading man in a romcom.