Thoughts On Comedy
Dec. 31st, 2005 11:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poliphiloComedy is a young person's game.
Ok, there are some comical old people out there, but I can't think of many.
Most comics lose it as they get older. Steve Martin anyone? A lot of the smarter ones retire or find something else to do. Michael Palin, for example, has reinvented himself as an "explorer".
Comedy works by surprising us. The longer a comedian is in business the less likely it is that we'll find his/her schtick surprising.
All comedy is subversive. Even the gentlest. It challenges things as they are. The older, more comfortable, more embedded in the establishment a comedian becomes the less unsettled and unsettling s/he's likely to be, the less in touch with the zeitgeist and the less essentially funny. Witness the career of Bob Hope.
The more you have to lose, the less willing you are to issue the challenge.
The comedians who last the longest are those who are funny by nature. Those who can't help it. Frankie Howerd for example. Frankie's comic longevity had nothing to do with his material and everything to do with who he was- that shamble, that long rubbery face, that unique combination of campness and misanthropic gloom.
The comedian is always a misfit. Out of kilter. Peculiar. Shamanic even.
Comedins lose it because they get scared. They get scared of the weirdness. They get scared of themselves.
Every great comic is a Yorick- that is to say, a death's head.
Ok, there are some comical old people out there, but I can't think of many.
Most comics lose it as they get older. Steve Martin anyone? A lot of the smarter ones retire or find something else to do. Michael Palin, for example, has reinvented himself as an "explorer".
Comedy works by surprising us. The longer a comedian is in business the less likely it is that we'll find his/her schtick surprising.
All comedy is subversive. Even the gentlest. It challenges things as they are. The older, more comfortable, more embedded in the establishment a comedian becomes the less unsettled and unsettling s/he's likely to be, the less in touch with the zeitgeist and the less essentially funny. Witness the career of Bob Hope.
The more you have to lose, the less willing you are to issue the challenge.
The comedians who last the longest are those who are funny by nature. Those who can't help it. Frankie Howerd for example. Frankie's comic longevity had nothing to do with his material and everything to do with who he was- that shamble, that long rubbery face, that unique combination of campness and misanthropic gloom.
The comedian is always a misfit. Out of kilter. Peculiar. Shamanic even.
Comedins lose it because they get scared. They get scared of the weirdness. They get scared of themselves.
Every great comic is a Yorick- that is to say, a death's head.
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I'm sure that there are more and of course it is only my opinion
Date: 2005-12-31 07:40 am (UTC)George Carlin (even more sharp and pointed than ever) - if you don't know of him, try to find out. He has always been really good at saying it how it is!
Robin Williams
Lily Tomlin
anyone who remains from Monty Python
You also have some extremely funny British comedy shows with older actors and actresses.
Steve Martin's books are VERY funny and pointed.
Richard Pryor (before he became so ill)
Rowan Atkins
a while back:
Shelly Berman
Dan Rowan and Dick Martin (Laugh-In) - they were older
Benny Hill
All of the Muppets people!
Re: I'm sure that there are more and of course it is only my opinion
Date: 2005-12-31 08:39 am (UTC)I'm not sure about Rowan Atkinson. I think his golden days (Blackadder and Bean) are behind him.
Most of the Pythons are doing things other than comedy. Palin does travel documentaries, Jones does historical documentaries, Gilliam directs films. Cleese (who was always the most charismatic of them) hasn't really turned in anything except guest appearances since the critical and box office failure of Fierce Creatures.
All these people are still on top of their game but it's not the game they were playing in their youth. They're slowing down and/or diversifying as they get older.
Comic actors are rather different from comedians- and yes, they can go on forever. Dame Judy Dench is a fine comic actor, but not a comedian. Occasionally you get someone who is both a great comedian AND a great comic actor, but they're rare. Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields and (above all) Peter Sellers come to mind...
Re: I'm sure that there are more and of course it is only my opinion
Date: 2006-01-01 09:14 am (UTC)We also watched a Robin Williams special rebroadcast a few weeks ago. His standup comedy is still really, really right on the money! (and might I add... I have never seen anyone sweat so much!)
Re: I'm sure that there are more and of course it is only my opinion
Date: 2006-01-01 12:24 pm (UTC)