George Wallace revives acting career – in women’s roles

I don’t know about you, but when I think Iranian-American romantic comedies, I think George Wallace.

So it’s only natural that the Flamingo headliner turns up in “Shirin in Love” as a cop who pulls over the movie’s heroine, absent-minded literary critic Shirin (Nazanin Boniadi), so often they’re on a first-name basis.

“It’s just a beautiful little love story,” Wallace says of the movie opening Friday at AMC Town Square.

Torn between her Iranian-born Beverly Hills plastic surgeon fiance and a WASP-y mystery man, Shirin seeks advice from Wallace’s character, who, like Shirin, is an aspiring novelist.

In other words, Wallace is playing the girlfriend role.

“That’s true!” he says with a chuckle.

Continuing a theme, he’ll be on the big screen in June, playing a “beautiful lady” in “Think Like a Man, Too.”

In the Vegas-based sequel, Kevin Hart’s character is teaching his buddies his blackjack system, Wallace says, and it’s all based on finding the most gorgeous dealer in the casino. “And then as soon as they’re getting ready to gamble — clap, clap — she leaves, and I come in, and I’m the beautiful lady.

“And I don’t take (expletive) from Kevin Hart.”

Expect a few more people to see Wallace talking back to Hart, arguably the biggest box-office draw on the planet right now, than dispensing advice to a lovestruck Iranian-American girl, but both roles are part of Wallace’s mission to reinvigorate his brand. He’s actively pursuing acting roles, including one in a potential ABC sitcom that he jokes is down to him and the guy who’s going to get the part, in a way he hasn’t in recent years.

It’s about time. He’s no longer even the first George Wallace listed on the Internet Movie Database, ranking behind “George Wallace,” a 1997 TV movie starring Gary Sinise as the Alabama governor.

Wallace is celebrating a decade at the Flamingo this week. Although he still loves his night job, he realizes he’s been so committed to it that there’s a growing number of potential fans out there who don’t know who he is.

“I’ve lost a whole generation,” he says.

On the ‘Money’: The new reality show “Money Talks” (10 p.m. Wednesday, CNBC) follows Steve Stevens, aka Darin Notaro, as his Las Vegas-based VIP Sports sells picks to gamblers.

Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567.