Career intervention: Billy Bob Thornton

I reckon Billy Bob should put down that gee-tarr and start looking at scripts real hard. Mmm-hmmm.

What happened to Billy Bob Thornton, anyway?

The actor was working steadily through his early - and anonymous - career until he wrote, directed and starred in the insta-classic “Sling Blade.” He followed that up with the brilliant “A Simple Plan,” and it became clear a major talent had arrived.

He’s still waiting for another “Sling Blade” moment.

Some think he found it in “Bad Santa,” though I still don’t buy that as anything but calculated mayhem. But his recent film choices make “Santa” look downright Oscar-worthy.

“Mr. Buzzcock.” “School for Scoundrels.” “The Astronaut Farmer.” And this weekend, his new film “Eagle Eye” showed flashes of his former greatness, but nothing more.

He’s a unique film presence, a southerner with smarts and guile, an actor who looks like your seedy neighbor but he can still woo the ladies on screen.

Let’s hope the real Billy Bob comes back with a vengeance.

(Photo: Billy Bob Thornton stars as Karl, a mentally challenged man who gets involved with a troubled family in the 1996 film “Sling Blade.”)