Jeff Goldblum's Psychosexual Power Will Hold You in Its Thrall

Jeff Goldblum does not kowtow to intergalactic terrorists.

I first saw Independence Day in 1998, during Christmas vacation. It was while watching satellite technician David Levinson save the world from intergalactic terrorism that I first became aware of the confusing allure of Jeff Goldblum.

I was 10.

Jeff Goldblum was a fortysomething nerd in Rivers Cuomo glasses, wearing a thin white tank top under a flannel, all sweaty olive skin and furrowed brow and vague dissatisfaction, with a disarming streak of magnanimity. Behold: the enduring psychosexual power of Jeff Goldblum, the original confusing crush for girls like me everywhere, and a whisper in my young ears: Forget the hot, simple guy you're supposed to like! Go for the cranky scientist with daddy issues!