Hey, Charlie, you’re a Sheen, not a Harper

Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper

It’s official, the CBS hit series Two and a Half Men has shut down production because of star Charlie Sheen’s bizarre downward spiral from reality. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who watches the show and has even a passing familiarity with the news reports about Sheen’s behavior lately. Apparently, a talented star hasn’t figured out how to separate reality from fiction. Unfortunately, Charlie’s going to find out the hard way that he’s a Sheen and not a Harper.

Charlie Harper, Sheen’s character on Two and a Half Men, is a boozing, womanizing, hard-charging entertainer who blows his way through a seemingly endless supply of hundred-dollar bills. And no matter how bad things get, they always turn themselves around within 20 minutes so that by the end of the show all his self-destructive behaviors are magically mitigated. The main difference between the two men, of course, is that Charlie Harper’s life isn’t real — it’s controlled by a team of writers who can change a script in the blink of an eye and make everything better. Charlie Sheen isn’t so lucky. Let’s face it, when Lindsay Lohan is worried because she thinks you’ve gone too far, that should be a pretty big red flag.

Maybe this is what uber-fame does to you. Maybe you lose touch with reality when you are surrounded by fantasy in so much of your life. And just maybe this case will help us all realize that we need to stop putting entertainers on a pedestal. They have their strengths and they can make a positive difference with their fame. But they have their faults and vulnerabilities. In other words, they are human. Their job is to help us all escape from reality from time to time. We can appreciate them and enjoy what they offer us, but they do not deserve to be worshipped, emulated or held to a different standard than the rest of us. Whether it’s what they are wearing, saying or politically supporting, they still put their pants on one leg at a time. Or, in Charlie’s case, take them off.

(Photo courtesy of CBS Television.)

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