Pirates of the Caribbean, 2003, Disney Productions, Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp)

STATS: Conniving, roguish, and charming, Captain of the Black Pearl.

THE LOOK: Approximately 5′ 9″, brown eyes, long brown dreadlocks, with a devilish grin, and something of an odd swagger. Often appears as if he needs a good scrubbing.

LEADING LADY: The Black Pearl. As a true captain of the open sea, Captain Jack (Johnny Depp) (as he is affectionately called by his rag tag crew of pirates), loves his ship above all things. When talking about the ‘Pearl’, he always refers to her lovingly. Although Captain Jack took it under consideration (once or twice), not even Miss Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightly) can take the place of the Pearl. To Elizabeth, he says: “Darling, it just wouldn’t work you and I.”

The Pearl is easily recognized by her black hull and sails, which allow her to move through the night undercover. Once called the Wicked Wench, the name change came when Jack made a deal with Davy Jones to have her raised from the sea bottom. She’s also one of the fastest ships on the water.

BOTTOM LINE: Johnny Depp has created a lovable, memorable and funny character in Captain Jack Sparrow. His swagger and demeanor were copied from Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. Depp has taken the character to new heights with every Pirate movie. In our pop culture, when ‘Pirate’ is mentioned, people see Captain Jack, with his wit, charm, and scoundrel attributes. But hidden under his selfish demeanor is a brave man who is willing to die for his Pearl, as seen in the second movie, Dead Man’s Chest.

Davy Jones: “He’s a Captain that will go down with his ship.”

A crewman: “Captain Jack has bested the devil.”

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Why do we love Captain Jack, even when he’s at his worst and weakest? Do we all wish we could be so good at being bad, like Captain Jack?

Amazon Lily by Theresa Weir (Bantam, 1988)

Asher Adams is like Linda Howard’s Ben Lewis (Heart Of Fire), only a little more heartbroken. His heartache doesn’t come from the loss of a woman, but from the loss of his brother.

STATS:

An Amazon bush pilot suffering from malaria and heartache. His primary goal is to find his brother, lost years ago in the Amazon and presumed dead.

Has a tattoo on his bicep that says “Born To Raise Hell.”

THE LOOK:

Damp, corded muscles. Long, athletic legs. Shaggy, brown hair. Ripped jeans. Foul cigars.

“Profound, deep, vulnerable eyes….” “They had dark lines running through the smokey gray, giving them a strange multifaceted, starlike pattern.”

“She was the innocent lamb, he was the wolf in wolf’s clothing.”

LEADING LADY:

Corey McKinney is a small-town social worker hoping to make a difference to the native Indians of the Amazon. She’s engaged to a man everyone expects her to marry, and she’s convinced she wants to marry him, too.

Ash calls her Lily, first as in “lily white” then as in Amazon lily.

Memorable moment:

When Corey is claimed by a local tribesman, Ash gives up a prized possession (a red swiss army knife given to him by his brother) in order to keep her safe. Even though he dismisses the trade as a steep one for “a lay,” the significance of his sacrifice is unmistakable.

Soon thereafter, when Ash laughingly realizes that the tribesman gave Lily an aphrodisiac, we know he’s laughing at his own expense. As he proves, the man has too much honor to take (full) advantage of a woman that helpless, and that only endears us to him more.

Taking his duties seriously

Secondary to keeping Corey safe is Ash’s determination to show her “that making love is more than tab A going into slot B.” He succeeds wildly, proving himself to be alternately a dominant, passionate lover and a whimsical, tender one.

BOTTOM LINE:

Ash is in his element in the steamy jungle, but when he leaves his home to go after Corey, he’s willing to do anything to keep her-even play (and cheat at) bingo with her fiancée and family, and feed baby lambs with a bottle. When Corey moves with him back to the jungle, we know their lives will be as poetic and mystical as the moonlight he finds in her hair.

QUESTION ON THE DAY:

What do you think of tattoos? Would you want your hero to have one? If so, what kind?

Heart of Fire by Linda Howard (Pocket, 1993)

Ben Lewis is Linda Howard’s take on Indianna Jones, and I have to say, as sexy as Harrison Ford is in those movies, this guy won for me hands down. When we first meet him, he seems like a womanizing drunk with more ego than brains. He tells the waitress that he’s worth the wait, and that “A couple of hours of screwing would take the edge off.” Needless to say, we’re every bit as skeptical as the heroine when her brother hires him as a guide into the Amazon Jungle. But what we’re skeptical about is not whether the two will get together, but how this guy is going to turn around to be worthy of our heroine. In the end, he more than proves his hero-ability.

STATS:

A guide in Manaus, Brazil, he’s hired by Jillian Sherwood and her brother to find a lost Amazon city.

THE LOOK:

Don’t underestimate him. When Jillian first sees him, he “lazed as if half asleep, an open bottle of whiskey in front of him. His appearance was deceptive, however. Even from beneath those half-lowered lids she could see intensity gleaming in his eyes….This man, in his mind, already had her stripped, spread-eagled, and penetrated, and didn’t care if she knew it.”

LEADING LADY:

A “buttoned up” archaeologist, Jillian Sherwood is on a mission to clear her father’s name, and the way she’s going to do that is by proving that “crockpot” Sherwood was right about the lost Amazon city. She has to go on the expedition, because she’s the only one who knows how to get there.

She’s strong, she’s mouthy, and she’s smart. Even when she gives in to the passion with Ben, she’s no push over. When he teases her about why they can’t have sex during her cycle, she says because “I don’t feel like it, don’t want to, and won’t let you.” He responds, “I guess that about covers the issue.”

Memorable moment:

When Ben and Jillian stay with native villagers and he tricks her into washing his laundry, she decides to punish him by messing with his food. Then he gives her a better idea. When he so clearly expects her to withhold sex, she goes along with it. Later, he tells her to go with her own instincts next time.

Genuine bewilderment:

Ben can’t understand why Jillian won’t give in and sleep with him. When he asks her, and she jokingly replies she doesn’t want children, so why bother, he stares at her and says, “You’ve never had a climax, have you?”

The journey from crude to caring:

When he first meets Jillian, Ben tells her to say home, and that “there isn’t enough prime pussy in the word as it is, and a man need to protect the supply.”

Later, he blithely reassures her that he would never “leave her hanging,” and he proves this by “marking her as his woman” so the men in their expedition will leave her alone.

Finally, by the time he and Jillian take the journey back to Manaus, Ben indeed thinks of Jillian as “his” and he’ll do anything, tender and violent and anything in between, to keep it that way.

BOTTOM LINE:

Like most of Linda Howard’s heroes, I find Ben Lewis irresistible. He’s sexy, he’s irreverent, and he’s a true swashbuckler. In the end, he makes a huge sacrifice for Jillian, and we know that there ll be nothing but adventure and good times ahead.

Question Of The Day?

The fourth Indianna Jones movie is coming out this year. Are you excited to see a more mature Harrison Ford in this role again?