Best of C+S 2014: Things I’m Willing To Believe About Ben Affleck

2014 was a big year for Ben Affleck. He got to strap on the ~~Batfleck~~ Batman suit, he showed his peen on the big screen in Gone Girl, and he got his wifey pregnant. Or maybe not so much the last one. But the other two are true. Ben’s constantly in the tabloids, so what can we believe about him without dismissing it as another absurd rumour?

Well, friends, we’ve cycled back into that biennial rumor that Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are having another baby. Frankly, I just don’t know why this is a concern. Is it because people are worried about overpopulation? Because it’s not like the world is overpopulated with charming, well-dressed children who are genetically suited to star in romantic comedies and movies where they avenge the deaths of their blue-collar family members. If there even is a quota on that, we haven’t hit it.

The worst thing about these rumors is they usually say that Affleck is a massive jerk, and Garner is having another kid to “hold onto him.” I have a very specific, mostly baseless mental concept of Ben Affleck, and that just doesn’t fit with it. My Mental Ben Affleck could best be described as a “classy Masshole.” He has a heart of gold, or maybe the outside is gold and the inside is some kind of craft beer.

There are some fictional facts I’m willing to believe about Ben Affleck, but they’re more like this:

Ben Affleck’s first swear as a child was “Jesus, Mary and Joseph!”

Ben Affleck’s first job was giving tours of Old North Church.
Old ladies loved how into the “one if by land, two if by sea” bit he got.

All of Ben Affleck’s high school girl friends had names that ended in “een”: Maureen, Colleen, Eileen, etc.

The city of Boston has issued Ben Affleck a platinum Charlie Card.

On the regular CharlieCard, Ben Affleck is also the artist’s model for the guy in the ball cap blocking the door.

Ben Affleck lost his virginity at Fenway (it was closed), at whichever age you, personally, consider neither too young nor too old.

Every year, Ben Affleck makes a “Good Will Hunting” pun at his annual hunting weekend with the boys. Nobody thinks it’s funny, ever.

But make no mistake, Ben Affleck is freakin’ cherished by those guys.

When there’s a mosquito or a fly around his head, Ben Affleck is the only living human person who actually tells it to “buzz off.”

Whenever you see Ben Affleck carrying a Starbucks cup, don’t be fooled: it’s actually Dunkin’ Donuts inside.

In Ben Affleck’s wardrobe, Friday is Polo Day.

Ben Affleck was a very early member of New Kids On The Block. He named the band.
They were initially called “Kids On The Block” but Ben Affleck said they needed something that “sounds newer.”

Ben Affleck’s one true regret in life is never joining a frat.

Ben Affleck had to work with a dialect coach for Good Will Hunting. He kept getting psyched out and using his “acting voice.”

Ben Affleck has quite the collection of Hummel figurines. He inherited the first ten or so from his meemaw, but kept buying them because “fuck it, I think they’re cute.”

“If you don’t think this is fuckin’ adorable, you’re probably an asshole.” – Ben Affleck

What you may know (via IMDB) is that when he was a kid, Ben Affleck’s mother told him that in order to get a dog, he’d have to pretend to walk a fake dog for a week. He quit after five days and never got the dog. I like this because it has the air of an origin myth, like George Washington and the cherry tree, only possibly even more fake-sounding. What you may not know is that Ben Affleck’s imaginary dog lived to the ripe age of 17, and Ben continued taking it out for walks and to the dog park well into his early 20s.

Inspired by Ben’s mom, Matt Damon told Ben that he’d only collaborate on Good Will Hunting if Ben would show his commitment by writing a pretend screenplay for a week. By the end of the week Ben had written the first ten pages of Good Will Hunting, a children’s story heavily influenced by Make Way For Ducklings, and a limerick calling Matt a “doosh bag” (spelled exactly that way). The rest is history.

When Ben Affleck takes his wife for ultrasounds, he always looks up at the bulletin board and comments that the doctor “has a lot of babies.” Nobody’s sure whether he’s joking or not.
Now’s a good time to mention that Ben Affleck loves babies and babies love Ben Affleck.

In the mid-90s, Ben Affleck told Movieline magazine that his favorite TV show was “Singled Out.”

Whenever Ben sees a lady with a French manicure, he tells her that she “looks real nice.” He appreciates when you make an effort, you know?

Ben Affleck was at the receiving end of this – with a super soaker:

Ben Affleck has seen every episode of Dawson’s Creek, but hates “that doosh [sic] with the big forehead.”

Ben Affleck was in the original cast of Goonies, but his scenes were reshot with Sean Astin when it became clear that Ben’s baseball team had a real chance of making it to the Little League World Series.
They’re cool now, though.

Ben Affleck’s son, Samuel, is named after Samuel Adams. The patriot and the beer.

Ben Affleck hates Chicago. Says it “gives him the creeps.”
Gives Ben Affleck the willies.

Ben Affleck’s confirmation name is Matt. Matt Damon’s confirmation name is Ben. (Imaginary Ben Affleck is Catholic, although Real Ben Affleck is, evidently, not).