Everyone comes to the answer man.
Luke Ventura is the epitome of what all men want to be. The character was conceived in 1987 but could exist in ANY era.
What I find fascinating about him is how likable he is despite his seemingly scummy ways. In all of his exchanges and come-ons, he still has a seemingly sweet nature to him. He knows who he is and what he wants and he's not apologizing for it to anybody, LEAST of all himself. That freedom is Tyler Durden esque; he literally has nothing. No love, no home, no family or belongings (not even real liquor bottles, only the tiny mini-bar bottles from random stewardesses). His likability is rooted in the ID, which is what makes him so seductive yet...pitiful. He'll always get part of what he wants but his existence in and of itself is only one facet of humanity.
"I can eat whatever I want and never gain a pound! My body's great. I can abuse it and it keeps coming back for more."
Al Bundy has resigned himself to a life with a wife and children who mock and disrespect him. He clings to his youth and to better days when he was king of something (FOUR touchdowns in one game). Like Al, and most people I think, I look at people like Luke and think: why not me? The tension between these two polar opposites added an awesome element of intrigue and surprise to how Al would react to any particular situation Luke put him in. Dancing with an elderly woman to earn commission or providing a seemingly "sure thing" in the way of a pair of stewardess neighbors, he shines a light on to what the "Al" in a lot of us feel would be the sweet life. Yet...his convictions as a human ground him, and Al can never be a part of that life. It's fun to witness. It is alluring and sexy, but has no emotional reciprocation or compassion. The grass is greener but also has no home or family attached to it. The leaves will wither and die and an empty plot will be all that reamins.
The end of times happens to every single person reading these words and the Luke Venturas will endure them. They wil have the times of their lives but that life...is finite, just as Al Bundy's is.
Luke Ventura can be the superficial fantasy of the single life. Everything fantasized, nothing realized. Yet, upon further reflection coupled with added years...he is...life.
Screen captures ©20th Century Fox