Mel Gibson: Can Mel Salvage His Reputation or Has He Fallen Too Far from Grace?

Australian actor and everybody's favorite anti-Semitic bigot, Mel Gibson, is back in the news. Unfortunately, it's not the kind of news that Mel needs or wants.

Mel Gibson and his baby mama, Oksana Grigorieva, have been fighting it out in the media the past few weeks over charges by Oksana that Mel Gibson is physically abusive and has not been caring for her or their baby, 7 month old daughter, Lucia, since their split in April of this year.

According to Oksana, Mel "beat her bad","knocked her teeth out" and is so abusive and violent that she took out a restraining order against him, forcing him to stay away from her and their daughter until they meet in court in July to iron out their differences.

Mel's camp hasn't been taking the accusations lying down and have thrown a few counter-punches of their own saying that Oksana's claims are lies and distortions and that he has care of her and the baby.

To date, the slug fest continues with the recent release of an explosive tape recording where Mel Gibson can be heard screaming vile profanities at Okasana, calling her names, using racial slurs and threatening to burn her house down.

At this rate, it's anybody's guess how it will all turn out - particularly after the release of this tape. Yet, one thing is for certain, it has been rather unseemly and more than a little unfortunate for a man who seems to have fallen hard these last few years from the grace and admiration he once enjoyed as one of Hollywood's biggest movie stars.

For those of us who have followed and admired Mel Gibson's career for the past 25 years, the bigger question is whether he will be able to redeem himself and salvage a reputation that is in absolute tatters.

The Early Years

When Mel Gibson first came to Hollywood, he had already made a few films, one of which was Mad Max in 1979. It was the 1981 sequel, however, The Road Warrior that caused people to sit up and take notice of the ruggedly handsome Aussie.

But, it was the 1982 film, The Year of Living Dangerously, with Sigourney Weaver, that was Mel Gibson's official break-out movie, opening the doors for him to become one of Hollywood's most successful star and film maker.

The years following in the 1980's and 1990's were especially good to Mel Gibson. Every leading lady in Hollywood lined up to star opposite the divinely handsome actor with the piercing, aqua blue eyes. There was Sissy Spacek, Diane Keaton, Julia Roberts and Jodie Foster for starters.

Then, there was Helen Hunt, Goldie Hawn and a few other lesser known leading ladies as well. There were even a few leading men like, Danny Glover, his co-star in the Lethal Weapon franchise, who beat a trail fast and hard to Mel Gibson's door. Mel Gibson was box office gold - not to mention, People Magazine's 1985 vote for sexiest man alive.

Mel Gibson the Director

In 1993, stepped behind the camera and produced his first movie, The Man Without a Face, in which he also acted. But, it was the 1995 epic, Braveheart that established Mel Gibson as a bono-fide director and producer of films.

Braveheart won Mel Gibson 5 Oscars for Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing and Best Make-up and remains to this day, one of Mel Gibson's finest achievements in film. .

Mel Gibson went on to produce three more outstanding and brilliant films: The Patriot in 2000, in which Mel also acted, The Passion of the Christ in 2004 and Apocalypto in 2006. All three films were highly successful, making Mel Gibson a billionaire and demonstrated to anyone who may have had any doubts, the indisputable film making genius of Mel Gibson.

Mel the Family Man

One of the things that made Mel Gibson so appealing to so many people was his stable family life. A staunch, conservative Catholic, Mel and his college sweetheart, Robyn Moore, married in Australia while Mel was a struggling unknown.

For close to 30 years, Mel and Robyn Gibson weathered the years of obscurity and poverty and then the years of fame and wealth together. Not interested in fame for herself, Robyn Gibson was quite content to allow her husband to bask in the glow of the spotlight while she quietly cared for their 7 children very much out of the spotlight.

Meet the Press

As Mel's fame and success grew, the press wanted more and more of him. But, Mel was clearly uncomfortable with it and was often cagey and evasive during interviews. In fact, so dodgy was he, that he gained a reputation for being difficult.

As his wealth and power grew, Mel Gibson became more and more adversarial with the Hollywood status-quo and was looked upon as a rebellious outsider. A reputation that Mel Gibson did nothing to eschew.

In addition, Mel's riches allowed him the freedom to pursue his film projects without the financial backing or hindrance of Hollywood power players. No doubt, Mel often thumbed his nose, played by his own rules and offered no apologies, which was not always well received by the Hollywood establishment.

The Long Slide Down

Prior to his 2006 DUI arrest in Malibu, California, Mel had made his enemies in Hollywood. So when he was arrested and launched into his now infamous anti-Semitic, curse laden tirade, more than a few (Jewish) Hollywood power players jumped all over the situation. It was payback time.

What ensued in the following months was painful to watch. Mel Gibson groveled and apologized profusely. Some Hollywood actors stood up for Mel, but others distanced themselves. He entered rehab to get help for his drinking - again and sought help from the Jewish community saying that he was "not anti-Semitic and that it went against his faith" . Unfortunately, Mel's apologies fell on many deaf ears and it appeared serious and permanent damage had been done.

For the next couple of years, Mel kept his head down and stayed out of trouble. Then, in 2009, he was photographed on a Costa Rican beach in a lip lock with, as the papers described, a "beautiful bikini clad brunette" who was not identified and who was definitely not his wife.

The subsequent media frenzy forced Mel to speak and it was learned that the bikini clad brunette was Oksana Grigorieva, his now infamous baby mama and that he and his wife of nearly 30 years, Robyn Moore had been separated for almost 3 years.

Not long after the photos surfaced, Robyn Moore Gibson filed for divorce. In keeping with her style, she maintained a dignified silence and the Gibson's quietly divorced with no fanfare whatsoever.

Mel and Oksana's baby, Lucia was born later that year and now, in 2010, well, I feel sure Mel Gibson wishes there wasn't so much fanfare.

With all that has happened in the past 4 years, it's hard to say if Mel Gibson will ever reclaim the kind of respect and admiration he once enjoyed. With each passing year, he seems less and less willing to pander to the press and with the type of "middle finger" attitude, he's been known for, it's highly doubtful that he will. But, then, I also think it's highly doubtful that he cares.

But, whether you love him or hate him, Mel Gibson's genius when it comes to film making cannot be denied. As long as he continues to put out quality films - and stay out of jail - I suspect Mel's career will be just fine. As far as his personal reputation, however, things are not looking good for Mel Gibson.

Sources:

Associated Content
TMZ.com
Yahoo!Movies
Imdb.com
Jon Dunmore
Fox News