Jay Mohr vs. Greg Kinnear
Battle of the Alternately Loathsome and Lovable Frat-Boy Types

Let's say you need a slimy, arrogant, slightly Aryan looking weasel to play, say, a shifty sports agent, or a conceited superhero, or a nasty Hollywood producer, or a vain car salesman. Who you gonna call? How about Greg Kinnear? Or have you considered Jay Mohr?

Now, say you need a decent, not overly handsome but definitely cute, goofy yet sweet-hearted regular guy to play the gay neighbour, or the unlikely love interest, or the gay unlikely love interest. Who you gonna call? Jay Mohr sure fits the bill! But would you like to see that in a Greg Kinnear?

See, the great talent of Greg Kinnear is the fact that he can alternate, fairly convincingly, between playing arrogant pricks and likable rascals. This is, however, also the great talent of Jay Mohr. It is not a skill to be taken lightly; it is not a skill possessed by, say, Lee Marvin or Tom Hanks. But both Kinnear and Mohr have it -- the ability to play both hunky and adorable (in that All-American, Tommy Hilfiger, frat-boy kind of way) and conceited and stupid (in that All-American, Tommy Hilfiger, frat-boy kind of way).

To be accurate, Kinnear is the slightly hunkier one, whereas Mohr has the edge in the slimy weasels department. And, at first glance, they may not seem particularly redundant; it's not like they're identical twins or anything. But quick -- which one starred in Playing By Heart? How about A Smile Like Yours? Or Dear God? Or Picture Perfect?

The answer, of course, is that it doesn't matter. They are, essentially, interchangeable, in the classic 2 Stars, 1 Slot kind of way. Not that either should be ashamed of his versatility. They should simply be resentful of the other one's versatility, which is plainly cutting into both their capacities to make an honest living as the conceited superhero, the adorable ad exec, the cutthroat divorce lawyer, or the lovable architect who was right there under your nose the whole time, girlfriend.

Advantage: We should probably say Kinnear, because he's more conventionally good-looking. But Jay's the funny one. And around here, we have one simple credo: the Mohr, the merrier!