Will Smith: American hero

Big Willie style

By Brett Buckalew, Special to Metromix

Few things say summer in America like biting into a perfectly BBQed hamburger, hitting the beach or watching a charismatic former rapper dispense catchy wisecracks in earnest-yet-irreverent action movie spectacles. At least that's been the case since the 1996 release of "Independence Day" catapulted Will Smith from cheesy ‘80s hip-hop artist Fresh Prince to box-office juggernaut Big Willie.

There's just something about Smith that embodies the American Dream, from his onscreen mix of goofy humor, brawny athleticism, and aw-shucks charm to his tendency to open movies on the Fourth of July weekend. His latest, “Hancock,” is even named after the Founding Father who left the most ostentatious, bling-like autograph on the Declaration of Independence. (Fortunately it's about a modern day superhero, and not a period piece set in 1776.)

Here’s a collection of moments from Smith’s past summer releases that further reveal—sometimes covertly, sometimes with flag-waving heavy-handedness—the actor getting jiggy with the red, white, and blue.