Ryan Reynolds Cursed After Sexiest Man Alive Victory?

Last fall, Ryan Reynolds seemed to have reached a new level of stardom, after being named People's "Sexiest Man Alive" Since he had his own superhero movie out the next summer, had a box office hit the previous year with Sandra Bullock, won raves for the indie experiment Buried, and was with Scarlett Johansson, it looked like Reynolds was on top of the world. However, right now he looks like the latest to learn that being the Sexiest Man Alive isn't an entirely good thing.

His looks didn't save Green Lantern from being trashed by critics, and having one of the weakest $50+ million openings in recent years. What's more, it didn't prevent his second movie of the summer from having a worse opening, as The Change-Up made only $13.5 million and actually had worse reviews than Green Lantern.

If this summer was going to prove that Reynolds was the next big leading man in Hollywood, it is safe to call it a dismal failure. Two critical and commercial bombs in the span of two months is a notable setback, and makes him one of the unsexiest figures of the season.

But it isn't like setbacks after being named People's Sexiest Man Alive are new. In 2008, Hugh Jackson won the title, and that didn't stop Australia from bombing out a few weeks later. Johnny Depp hasn't done much since his 2009 victory, as The Tourist tanked last fall even with Angelina Jolie, and the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean stands to be the least profitable of the franchise. Fortunately, these two were already bankable stars before then, but Reynolds isn't that lucky yet.

The failure of Green Lantern may not be completely attached to Reynolds, although not everyone thought he was better than the material. He did get some praise for acting like Jason Bateman in The Change-Up, yet it wasn't nearly enough to pacify the critics. Superhero movies and R-rated comedies have been the most successful genres of the summer, so it makes more of a statement that Reynolds couldn't make his superhero epic and R-rated comedy any bigger.

Even sexy icons like George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon don't have a lot of box office hits- although they do have acclaimed dramas, Oscar contenders and the occasional big budget spectacle. Reynolds still has a lot of time to build his resume, as Clooney, Pitt and Damon did over the years. Besides, even Clooney had to endure Batman and Robin before he conquered the big screen.

The press and pundits were pushing for Reynolds to take the next leap forward, as evidenced by the Sexiest Man Alive title. But no People Magazine honor, or media blitz, can turn someone into an A-list star on their own. Reynolds may still be on the cusp of that status, yet it's clear he's not quite there, especially after Green Lantern and The Change-Up.

However, he has upcoming films with Denzel Washington and Jeff Bridges, two animated movies, and a potential spinoff movie as Deadpool from X-Men Origins, so he will have a few chances to recover soon. Perhaps the Sexiest Man Alive buzz was premature, yet time will tell if writing him off after these last two months is premature as well.