Is the rom-com king a played-out, one-note tune or a melody that never gets old...?

Owen Wilson has, over the course of the last decade or so, become one of those awkward bones of contention among the general cinema-going public. The forty-two year old funnyman is commonly referred to as part of the "Frat Pack" of the 1990's, regularly starring alongside other members Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, and his own brother Luke. He is well-noted for his role as a sweet, charming, amicable everyman, or the flawed, happy-go-lucky type in films such as Wedding Crashers or Shanghai Noon; typecasting that is found either endlessly funny or hugely frustrating, depending on who you speak to. It is also a view of him that often overshadows his less conventional comedies, Zoolander for example; or his straighter work in films like Permanent Midnight or Behind Enemy Lines.

Perhaps what gains the least attention is his writing, which is essentially where he started his career. He began by working with his friend Wes Anderson on the critically-acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful Bottle Rocket in 1996, and in 2001 the quirky The Royal Tenenbaums, which boasted a more formidable cast and was much better received. Public fascination with the man was morbidly heightened in 2007, when the press reported that he had slashed his wrists and taken an overdose of pills at his home in Los Angeles. Speculation was rife as to exactly why, but there was little doubt it threw his future career under a far harsher spotlight. Since that time Wilson has continued to achieve moderate success in his more familiar field with films such as Drillbit Taylor, Marley And Me, and Little Fockers. With a new film, Hall Pass, being released this year, Wilson appears to be adhering strictly to his comfortable template. So, what is it about him that is genuinely likeable, what is not, and when it comes to the crunch, on which side of the line do people stand? Does anyone even care anymore? If you're undecided, fear not, I have conducted the research. What follows are five commonly found reasons you could like him, and five reasons you could not. This list is by no means conclusive: but perhaps it contains some food for thought.

You Might Like Owen Wilson Because...

1. He is unconventionally attractive.

Run the search "Owen Wilson Hair" online, and you will be flooded with sites offering pictures of the man: whole articles focused solely on his hair and its aid in his sex appeal, and entire pages offering thorough, step-by-step tips on how to achieve his look. This is handy if you are a man who is lacking that style (you probably notice the sort of attention he receives for his hair, for a few seconds wonder why, and then find yourself considering how cool you might look if you did it). The answer you come up with is probably not very, which of course only magnifies your admiration for his casual coolness more. If you are a female fan of the actor, one of the superficial reasons is likely to be the way he keeps his hair in that relaxed, casual, "shaggy dog" style; whilst not neat and clean-cut in the more traditionally handsome sense, it works perfectly because, well, he is not traditionally handsome, right? To many female fans it seems the dishevelled, "I don't really know what to do with this" look, along with that famous, dodgy nose, endears him to them, making him seem cheeky, cute and a little lost; generally a look one might refer to as "adorable".

2. He makes a great partner.

Some may not be able to take them, but if you are into buddy movies, there is no denying that Wilson was one of the leaders of the pack as we came into the new millennium, starring in some of the most popular films under this umbrella. From Shanghai Noon and its sequel Shanghai Knights with Jackie Chan, through I Spy with Eddie Murphy, to Starsky And Hutch with Ben Stiller, and Wedding Crashers with Vince Vaughn, you most likely enjoy the company, humour and good nature of his character in these types of film, albeit vicariously. It is argued that Wilson is in fact at his comic best when able to bounce off a partner, and given that in a lot of these movies he is paired with somebody you would not immediately expect, the humour and general appeal of his character is emphasized all the more. No matter how awful you know the film to be, no matter how stupid an idea, how dodgy a re-imagining, none of it matters when what you see in Wilson, who is so well suited to these roles, is a buddy you know deep down you wish you could have.

3. He has comic talent.

Even as somebody who cannot claim to be a big fan, I will admit that having watched my fair share of his movies, he has skill when it comes to timing, expression, and delivery for comical effect, and people would be wrong to suggest otherwise. Is he a Peter Sellers? No, and he would never be able to achieve that level of dexterity in his performance; but it would be wholly unfair to say that he does not have good screen presence and awareness of what works. Wilson is well known for a fast wit, improvising and "going with it" when filming; it is said that some of his funniest moments in movies are ones that he created on the spot. This will have a lot to do with his writing, which he is said to wish he could do more of; he has a head full of ideas and claims the creation of great moments to be the most satisfying part of the process for him as an actor. Interestingly, his ability to improvise on his own so well and bounce off his screen partner is something that can work against the movie he is making. Watching the rather pedestrian Marley And Me, Wedding Crashers, or the ridiculous I Spy, it is quite clear that the parts that make you chuckle heartily, sometimes in spite of yourself, are those parts that are incidental, between him and Eddie Murphy, Vince Vaughn, a dog, or whoever else he is sharing the screen with. These moments are probably unscripted and completely apart from the rest of the movie, but kept in simply because they are funny, and they can tend to highlight the dullness of the rest of the screenplay. So, if you can claim to enjoy a film based solely on great timing and a tremendous comic wit, Wilson is your man.

4. He triumphed over adversity.

We cannot help but be fascinated by troubled celebrities; whether it be Christopher Reeve's mission to walk, Charlie Sheen's battle to stay on the wagon, or Michael Douglas's fight against cancer, we remain forever interested. A cynic might argue this is nothing more than cheap media and a way of making us feel better about ourselves, but it would not explain our exhilaration when these people overcome their hurdles. Look at Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke and Michael J. Fox, all stars who battled addiction or illness in order to make some sort of comeback, and in doing so, even if not completely winning the fight, earned our respect and admiration with their tenaciousness. So it is with Wilson, a man who is famously a young troublemaker, and whose view of himself appeared to hit an all-time low in 2007, resulting in an apparent suicide attempt. Regardless of your view on the choice to commit such an act in the first place, it is admirable of anyone to be able to come back strong, not only with no shadow of the event looming over their every move, but in fact continuing to achieve on both a professional and personal level. Let us not forget that Wilson moved on from Kate Hudson, reportedly a big part of the reason for his dark days, now has a child with girlfriend Jade Duell, and appears to have found happiness. Triumph indeed.

5. His charity work.

Perhaps a less publicised fact, but Wilson can be found at "Look To The Stars" as a celebrity who has supported various charities, and not only his friend Ben Stiller's "Stillerstrong" campaign. Along with Jake Gyllenhaal, Kevin Bacon, Steven Spielberg and so many others, he is listed as also contributing to other charities, such as Edward Norton's "Solar Neighbors Program", the "Chandler Sky Foundation" for orphaned children of Peru, as well as the annual entertainment auction "BID 2 BEAT AIDS". Quite apart from his work as an actor, his efforts in this area are admirable.

You might not like Owen Wilson because...

1. He has that annoying way of speaking.

Ok, we all have our different views on what it is exactly that makes a voice annoying, but it would appear there is very little argument, among those of you who do not like him, over the fact that Owen Wilson's voice is truly grating; to listen to the man in interview is to know frustration. What is sad about this is that he comes across as an alright bloke, but the way he regularly fills his thinking time with phrases like "it was kinda like, you know", and "sorta uuuuhm", does tend to drive you to distraction. When he lingers on words far longer than any human being should, you do wonder if his brain is completely engaged with his mouth. Add to this that heavy Texas drawl, and you tend to find yourself wanting to give him a slap and tell him to get on with it. Most certainly unfair, but so very true. Conversely, the fact his voice is so distinctive earned him parts in the animated feature Cars, Fantastic Mr Fox, and more recently the part of the dog in Marmaduke. Over the course of the movie you just grow sort of numb to it.

2. He is typecast.

This is one of those interesting points that could go under both the "like" and the "dislike" camp, depending on whether you are a fan or not. If we go back some time, we can find Wilson pushing himself a little in directions other than the hit comedy, with which he is now almost synonymous. Look at Permanent Midnight in 1998, or Behind Enemy Lines in 2001. The latter in particular finds Wilson co-starring with the great Gene Hackman, and though there is a slightly ham-fisted comic touch to his character early in the film, he is given a lot of screen time, a lot of action to deal with, and actually carries the film's success as an exciting thriller on his own shoulders. He delivers the humorous moments as you would expect him to, and he delivers on the more serious front with reasonable conviction; it's no Oscar-winning performance, but it holds up well. Granted, it is all done as Owen Wilson (see the next point), but it is good to look at these performances and see an actor who was perhaps breaking into the industry on a broader level. Over the course of the last decade, however, it has become customary to see him playing the flawed everyman, or the straight man to a screen buddy's clown that we have come to expect. Those of you who enjoy this type of thing are likely to be very excited every time a new Wilson rom-com hits the screens, such as this year's How Do You Know?, as he is good at what he does in this area; those of you who admire diversity in a performer probably hang your head each time you see the trailer, wondering why an actor who seemed to have some ambition at one point, both in acting and writing, appears to be sticking to such formula.

3. He is always Owen Wilson.

An accusation you might hear thrown at the likes of Michael Caine or Sean Connery, it is frequently said that "he always plays himself". This is not to say he is wooden, but he strangely becomes a cipher. We see Owen Wilson as husband and father, Owen Wilson as best friend in love, Owen Wilson as the humorous secret agent, or indeed Owen Wilson as an air force navigator. It cannot be argued that he does not provide well what the film needs from him, but somehow he lacks the ability to transcend the fact he is playing the part as Owen Wilson. He is not the only actor with this problem, but you throw in the previous point about being typecast as well, and you end up with a situation of: different story, different dialogue, different character, same man.

4. He agrees to films that are clearly incredibly bad ideas.

Fairly short point here, and not one that anybody could really argue with. Why does an actor/writer, clearly not without some intelligence and ability, agree to do films like Drillbit Taylor, Marmaduke and the dead on arrival Little Fockers? This question could be pointed towards any member of the cast of films such as these, and we refuse to believe their answer is simply for fun, or to pick up the paycheck. If it is the latter, I'm sure he receives offers that are more intelligent and less patronizing than these movies, and I am sure he knows bad when he sees it. If it be the former then he has undergone a lobotomy; in what possible world are things like Marmaduke remotely fun...even for children? Then we have the awful Starsky & Hutch; need I say more?

5. He does not deserve his position.

This is debatable, but looking purely from the point of view of those in the "Hate Owen Club", it is strongly believed that he simply should not be where he is. The common view seems to be that barring those couple of films all that time ago, he is just another failed comedian who is allowed to come onto a film set, work almost independently on what could loosely be described as a character with little to no direction and with often boring results. The fact he is constantly picked up for projects seems to annoy those who do not see him as any sort of actor, and even when it comes to those early roles, it is thought that he ruined what might otherwise have been good movies. Given that he appears to have completely given up on trying to be taken seriously at all, people feel he is now simply riding a wave, never pushing himself, never really doing anything interesting or funny, and simply being cast in roles for no other reason beyond the fact he has friends. It is also commonly understood that Owen Wilson is really only amusing when paired with somebody else, a clown to play off of, unable to carry a movie due to a lack of range.

So what do you think? Is Owen Wilson a good, funny actor, well cast in his films, and deserving of his place in Hollywood, or is he a talentless plank with bad hair and an annoying voice who, with every new film, erodes a little more at your faith in the general public's understanding of what good comedy acting is? I personally would not mind to see him return to roles where he is taking risks again, as I must admit I did not mind him in Behind Enemy Lines and thought he showed some promise; it is a shame that since that film, he has shown little ambition to stretch himself, but that is just me. Whatever your view, he is on our cinema screens, and does not show any sign that he is going away soon.

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