Cheer Up, Ben. You Might Have What It Takes to Enlighten Hollywood.

I started reading the Ben Stiller article (“Acting Is Happening,” by Hilary de Vries, Aug. 1), expecting hilarious sketch comedy and/or profound ruminations, but I ended up getting neither. Buttercup, baby! Is Ben margarine light? There was something about Mary, but there seems to be nothing about Ben.

In the dull Q&A;, Stiller came across as an unfocused doer, someone who “goes with the flow,” anecdotal rather than conceptual. Stiller’s challenge, like much of Hollywood’s, is to be not just amusingly impressionistic but enlightening as well--and thereby enduring. Few have achieved in blending such a career script.

Calvin Naito

Los Angeles

*

As someone who completely “gets” Stiller and basically considers him extremely talented and funny, I’m wondering why he is allowed to always appear so morose and gloomy in his photographs. Someone who is not yet a fan might get the impression that he is scary rather than funny.

Peggy Cordero

Santa Ana

*

Stiller’s parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, are two of the world’s funniest comedians. After many years of advertising Blue Nun, they now have a successful actor in the family--a fresh new talent. Their son is going to be around for a long time.

Gary Roller

Agoura Hills

*

Bravo to the magazine for the Aug. 1 issue. I read and enjoyed every page. An excellent interview with funny man Ben Stiller, a beautiful and thoughtful Very First Person by Dan Harder (“A Most Solitary Place”) and a fascinating and honest article about Marjorie Light by Dave Gardetta (“Some Misplaced Joan of Arc”). Fabulous! This is the kind of stuff I want to read. It makes us think about where we come from and where we’re going.

Amie Bernstein

Santa Monica