Hey There Dear Listener: We Don’t Know What’s Worse - the Itching or the Scratching!
Films Reviewed This Week: The Love Guru, Tootsie, Groundhog Day
* The Film Talk - Part 32 - The Love Guru is No Tootsie or Groundhog Day! (Click to Play, Right-Click to Download)
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+ what I have done is record in Seesmic and post the URL in the comment but it's just not the same.
I feel like I need to have a IT person for the site! ;)
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~Mitch, his IT guy ;)
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I think that Cleese and Martin have suffered from what I once read someone describe as Murphy's Law, which related to the fact that Eddie Murphy has become increasingly unfunny as time has gone by. Murray seems to have escaped this by choosing to take on serious roles, Lost in Translation, Broken Flowers etc and as a result has maintained a great career. Jim Carrey is trying the same route too, with Eternal Sunshine and The Number 23 (I actually prefer him when he's not trying to be funny). So what can we learn from this? Do comic performers only have three career options; stay with comedy and become unfunny, go the straight roles way, or die before before you loose the touch like Sellers?
Of course straight actors that try comedy to draw out their careers can come off even worse - Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot anyone?
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+ Bill Murray is a unique = he's got something about/around him = jaded/distant/the removal of the artist that keeps him in the funny.
+ Gareth actually did a mini-review of 'Stop or My Mom Will Shoot' when Estelle Getty passed away - but we cut it for time. Make of that what you will.
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I can't speak for Cleese, but it seems that Martin, Murphy, et al, are still capable of being very funny outside of their movie roles -- so I don't know if it's purely bad choices or they just don't care. (Tropic of Thunder, by the way, completely ripped Murphy via a satirical spoof of his "fat" movies in a not-so-subtle way).
Some people hate Adam Sandler (I think he can be very funny in certain situations), and depending on whether or not you liked "Billy Madison" & "Happy Gilmore", the same could possibly be said for his movies (again, some people hate them all).
Are they getting paid too much? Could will Ferrell fall into the same trap?
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But this goes back to my original question for you and the good prof. dr. - what constitutes a good comedy to you guys...you said "if it works, it works". In your podcast you reviewed an obviously terrible movie (the jokes obviously did not work), and two movies which are considered "comedies" - but are more in-depth films than, say, a Mike Myers/Will Ferrell/Eddie Murphy/etc comedy. And so is Tropic of Thunder - very funny - but also some great acting as well....different type of comedy movie - does that make sense?
"Step-Brothers" is a low-brow kind of comedy, but I liked it for the sheer absurdity of the movie's premise - and it's just a series of jokes after that. I get enjoyment from seeing Ferrell in a Crystal Gale t-shirt, then complaining that it was ruined by a cougar (Talladega Nights)....of course if anyone has seen my website, you'd see that stuff is up my alley.
This probably would have been better suited for a video comment, but then Jenny would just skim through it.
+ Also Jenny: agree w/ Jett. Plus, I loved Stiller in "Zoolander", "Cable Guy", and "Royal Tennenbaums".
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Maybe I used a bad example for comparison to "Step Brothers" - and I'm not trying to defend it as a good movie - Step- Brothers, in thinking back, has very few 'cultural' references (if any) and is more closely tied to the premise of the film where the jokes are based on that. I don't know what point I'm trying to make here......is there a film out there, say like an "Anchorman" or "Dumb and Dumber", that you find funny versus films like "Tootsie" and "Groundhog Day", which I consider two different types of comedy movies?
And to your point, I guess that's why you can watch Charlie Chaplin and 70 years later he's still funny.
+ I learned a new word today!
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Comics who wink at the camera in that 'hey I'm funny' kinda way do tire after a while, better when they stay in character and stay 'true' to the world around them.
Favourite Ben Stiller role was probably in Keeping the Faith, although Ed Norton over stretched himself in places here, especially when doing drunk.
I mourn the passing of funny Steve Martin from the 80s, could re-watch Roxanne endlessly. There was a flash of a return to form for both he and Murphy in Bowfinger, but the promise of that didn't pay off in their subsequent films.
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When doing voices for animation, comics cannot wink at the camera - which may explain why Donkey is the best character Murphy has played in years.
RE: Murray - Any love out there for Rushmore? I love that film for many reasons, his performance is pretty near the top of the list though.
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