It's been nearly a decade since we've seen Matt LeBlanc in a feature film. His last credited role was Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Since then, Friends has wrapped up, his spin-off series Joey premiered and fizzled after two seasons, his hair has taken on a very becoming sort of Clooney-look, and he's made a fairly major comeback on the small screen with a starring character in Showtime's Episodes, a series that earned him the Golden Globe win Friends and Joey never did, despite him being nominated for both. The timing seems right for another attempt at feature film.
Variety is reporting that LeBlanc is set to star in the indie comedy Lovesick. Written by King of the Hill's Dean Young, the film will mark the directorial debut of Luke Matheny. It follows Charlie Darby (Leblanc), a man who can't find love because the emotion actually makes him clinically insane. When he finds his dream girl, he has to overcome this issue.
For some reason, I picture Steve Carell in a role like this, but LeBlanc could definitely work too. One of the things that makes LeBlanc's role in Episodes work so well is not simply because he's playing a fictional version of himself - or because he's actually a funny guy, which he is - but because the series knows what to do with him. They haven't tried to recreate Joey Tribbiani, a character who, as Joey demonstrated, doesn't really work so well outside the context of Friends. Episodes let LeBlanc grow up a little bit, and while part of the humor of the character lies in his ego and fame, LeBlanc adds his own layer of charm to it without going overboard with "How-You-Doin's." It'll be interesting to see what he brings to the part.
