Re: Will Ferrell Isn't Funny Either
Chris Gaudette
web...@polaris.net wrote:
>
>By Aaron Goldstein
>
>Last year, when the Kennedy Center named Tina Fey the 2010 recipient of
>the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, I was compelled to offer my
>opinion that Fey is not funny and that the only reason she was being
>honored was because of her imitation of Sarah Palin. Humor, of course,
>is in the eye of the beholder. So some people liked what I had to say
>about Fey's brand of "comedy" while others vigorously made their
>objections known.
>
>Well, last week the Kennedy Center named Will Ferrell the 2011 recipient
>of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. I am now compelled to offer
>my opinion that Ferrell is not funny and that the only reason he is
>being honored is because of his imitation of George W. Bush. Once again
>operating with the understanding that humor is in the eye of the
>beholder, some people will like what I have to say about Ferrell's brand
>of "comedy" while others will vigorously make their objections known.
>
>The year before Fey was awarded the Twain prize, the Kennedy Center
>bestowed it upon Bill Cosby, a true pioneer of American humor. Here is
>how I described the Kennedy Center honoring Cosby and Fey in consecutive
>years:
>
> The idea of honoring Tina Fey the year after Bill Cosby
> is kind of like the Baseball Hall of Fame enshrining
> "Marvelous" Marv Throneberry the year after inducting
> Mickey Mantle. The Mick and Marvelous Marv were both
> baseball players but the similarities end there. Cosby
> and Fey are both comedians but there too the similarities end.
>
>Well, honoring Fey and Ferrell in consecutive years is more of a lateral
>move. If going from Cosby to Fey is like going from The Mick to
>Marvelous Marv then going from Fey to Ferrell is like going from
>Marvelous Marv to Choo Choo Coleman. Indeed, much of the Saturday Night
>Live cast from the mid-1990s onward could be likened to the 1962 New
>York Mets.
>
>But Ferrell is nearly single-handedly responsible for making me stop
>watching SNL on a regular basis. I simply found his antics annoying and
>unfunny. At best, he was a tenth-rate version of John Belushi or Chris
>Farley. At worst, watching his act was like tuning into someone run his
>fingers down a blackboard week in and week out.
>
>Nevertheless, I realize Ferrell gained a fan base on SNL which turned
>out enthusiastically for his movies such as Old School, Talladega
>Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron
>Burgundy. Yet the Kennedy Center tells us:
>
> The Mark Twain Prize recognizes people who have had an
> impact on American society in ways similar to the
> distinguished 19th century novelist and essayist best
> known as Mark Twain. As a social commentator, satirist
> and creator of characters, Samuel Clemens was a fearless
> observer of society, who startled many while delighting
> and informing many more with his uncompromising perspective
> of social injustice and personal folly.
>
>Notwithstanding his success at the box office, Mark Twain is probably
>the last person who comes to mind when discussing the "humor" of Will
>Ferrell. Running naked while shouting, "Let's go streaking!!!" doesn't
>exactly convey an "uncompromising perspective of social injustice and
>personal folly."
>
>This brings me to George W. Bush. Now Ferrell is hardly the first SNL
>cast member to impersonate a U.S. President and he won't be the last.
>But make no mistake. Ferrell portrays Bush as a stupid and venal man.
>Contrast that with Dana Carvey's mimicry of George H.W. Bush, which was
>done with affection and in many ways humanized the 41st President. By
>Ferrell's own admission, he declined the opportunity to meet Bush
>because he doesn't share his politics. Indeed, when Ferrell was told
>that Tina Fey thought Ferrell's portrayal of Bush "almost made him
>likeable," he responded by saying he tried to make him "fumbling and
>bumbling."
>
>Consider also the reception Ferrell received when he took his act to
>Broadway in February 2009 shortly after Bush left office with "You're
>Welcome America: A Final Night with George Bush." Shortly before its
>opening, Patrick Healy of the New York Times wrote, "And who better than
>liberal New York theatergoers, they (Ferrell and co-writer and director
>Adam McKay) hoped, to appreciate a cutting post-mortem on the Republican
>president?" Well, not surprisingly, Ferrell's Bush was a smash hit with
>the liberal intelligentsia of the Upper West Side and was nominated for
>a Tony Award. Joe Dziemianowicz of the New York Daily News shared this
>sentiment when he wrote, "Unlike Dubya, Ferrell is lightning fast on his
>feet and turns each ad lib into a burst of hilarity, a mission
>accomplished, if you will." Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press
>echoes Dziemianowicz by writing, "As a thinker, Ferrell is a lot faster
>with a quip than the bumbler he is impersonating."
>
>I think you get the idea. The only purpose of Ferrell's portrayal of
>President Bush is to reinforce liberal hatred of him even after he has
>left public life. How else does one explain the video Ferrell made of
>Bush's reaction to the death on Osama bin Laden on his website,
>funnyordie.com? Of course, if a comedian of conservative inclination
>were to write and star in a play about President Obama, there is little
>doubt these same critics would cry racism before the curtain went up.
>But for publicly deriding a prominent conservative public figure, like
>Tina Fey before him, Will Ferrell is celebrated, feted, and given
>prestigious awards such as the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
>
>The only comfort I take in all of this is that Twain's contributions to
>American humor will be remembered decades after Ferrell's off-key,
>one-note act has been long forgotten.
Giving Tina Fey and Will Ferrell an award named after Mark Twain demonstrates both the lack of true humorists in our age and
the politicization of such awards.
The Mark Twain of our time, IMHO, is the aforementioned P. J. O'Rourke, another good Ohio boy I might add. His humor is
everything described in the award criteria---but unfortunately, he's a conservative/libertarian so he's pretty much
overlooked by the sophisticates who sit on awards panels.
Dano
news:182496....@web125509.mail.ne1.yahoo.com...
===================================
I won't even venture whether it's right or wrong...but obviously they are
looking for someone with a much higher profile...who reaches a much larger
audience than someone like O'Rourke...who I quite enjoy myself BTW. I
really don't think it has much at all to do with his actual politics...which
are at LEAST as far from todays so-called "conservatives" as from liberals.
Might be his problem...if you consider that a problem. I seriously doubt HE
does.
You might want to check out the actual website for the award...their
criteria is quite clearly stated. Of course you are free to accept or
reject it. It is what it is as they say in Joisey.
http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/specialevents/marktwain/#about
"The Mark Twain Prize recognizes people who have had an impact on American
society in ways similar to the distinguished 19th century novelist and
essayist best known as Mark Twain. As a social commentator, satirist and
creator of characters, Samuel Clemens was a fearless observer of society,
who startled many while delighting and informing many more with his
uncompromising perspective of social injustice and personal folly. He
revealed the great truth of humor when he said "against the assault of
laughter nothing can stand." "
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Much as I like and appreciate PJ's work...I can't agree that he has had the
requisite "impact on American society" they are talking about.
Got any OTHER candidates? PLEASE don't say Dennis Miller. I'm begging
you...hmmm...Glenn Beck maybe. :/