After a day to digest it and wash off the shitty mood I was in all weekend, I [...]]]> I saw “The Artist” last night. Honestly, I wanted to hate it, and my first reaction (which got me booed by my friends Maeve and Steve who went with me) was “best children’s movie of the year!”

After a day to digest it and wash off the shitty mood I was in all weekend, I came around to liking it a lot more. The cinematography was gorgeous, and of course Dujardin is a masterful mime. But I couldn’t help but feel a pinge of cynicism when re-reading all the stratospheric praise the film received. Like many actors in Hollywood, it was incredibly charming and pretty, but like those same actors, that alone doesn’t make it brilliant and unique.

Part of the problem is that the film is both pretentious and self-aware, the latter of which provides a convenient and critically unfair excuse for trespasses of the former. A perfect unintentional metaphor for what I didn’t like about the film came with the cringe-inducing appearance of generic African tribesmen. In their first appearance, their context can be seen as satire or reflective of the times. In their second appearance, that context is gone and suddenly you’re left asking “was that necessary?” Not to mention the troubling racial aspect, but that’s a whole other can of worms and hardly surprising with a French director.

As a whole, though, my lack of matched enthusiasm for the film can be attributed to apprehension that extends beyond the mood it happened to catch me in. Rather, I have a longstanding predisposition against any work that serves as a love letter to its own form. You see this also in novels about writing and writers and plays about theater, and it drives me absolutely fucking bonkers. The play Title of Show is perhaps the worst example I can think of all these things, because it presents itself as a love letter to theater but instead quickly becomes a tribute the artists put on for themselves for doing theater. Rather than the form being wonderful, it is them being wonderful for being part of the form, and it descends quickly into irritating, self-conscious nonsense.

I felt this to an extent with “The Artist.” It is a very daring and unique movie if you have not seen many silent films. I don’t deign to be an enthusiast, but even I felt a bit of boredom with the concepts used, such as occasional use of sound (or lack thereof) as a metaphor for the film’s over-arching story. This seems to be a very clever device, except it was actually done with the very first big-time “talkie” film, the Al Jolson vehicle “The Jazz Singer.” In “The Artist” it is in the execution that one must find art, because in and of itself it’s nothing more than a ham-fisted send-up to prior works. Which, again, brings about a bit of disdain for it rooted in my cynicism towards our preoccupation with nostalgia and referential material as art. All art, of course, owes something to predecessors, but not all of it need be a very direct allusion to it that says “hey, remember our predecessors!”

What makes “The Artist” work, though, and why I ultimately think others are right when they tell me I’m just being too uptight is that it’s masterfully executed. It will likely, to the chagrin of many, be the belle of the ball at this year’s Academy Awards. Part of me, though, wonders what we will think in hindsight when we look back at this film five years from now and figure out that Hazanavicius, the film’s director, really isn’t capable of anything other than light comedy fair and whimsy (which is all his work thus far has constituted). It may seem preposterous to ask so much of something that is meant to be so silly and light and charming, but that’s par for the course when a film is put in the company “The Artist” is put into and especially when it calls itself “The Artist.”

But if you’re willing to postpone or overlook that context and conversation and simply marvel at a few magnificent shots and a fantastic display by Dujardin, you’re going to love it.

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On a less pretentious note, did anybody catch “The Walking Dead” half-season premiere or whatever the Hell we’re calling it? I liked the episode, but oh my God, Andrew Lincoln and Jon Bernthal are over-acting the shit out of Rick and Shane. When they’re in a scene together it’s like watching theater majors performing their midterm in a 200 level acting class. I like them both and maybe part of this can be assigned to the writers, but goddamn. Let’s knock it back from like a constant 11 to a starting point of, like, 6.

In response to criticisms that he only books acts that are ridiculously famous or white men from the Mid-West, Brill offered [...]]]> Comedian Eddie Brill, a veteran of the scene and the guy in charge of booking stand-up comedians for “The Late Show with David Letterman,” was profiled in a piece for the New York Times.

In response to criticisms that he only books acts that are ridiculously famous or white men from the Mid-West, Brill offered his critique of crazy dames who deign to get up and tell jokes:

Only one woman (Karen Rontowski) was booked in 2011. “There are a lot less female comics who are authentic,” Mr. Brill said. “I see a lot of female comics who to please an audience will act like men.”

Jessica Kirson, a comic who has performed on “The Tonight Show” several times but not on “Late Show,” responded: “What does that mean?” She added, “I like Eddie but the only way to make it as a female comic is to have strength and be assertive and confident.”

Look, Jessica honey doll sweetie cakes babe pie, here’s the thing: dames are just trying to be men up there! Right? Surely there’s a lack of authentic voices coming from female comics whereas it comes from male comics in spades.

From anecdotal experience I can dismiss that concept, because I find that while there’s more men doing stand-up locally, there’s a lot that are putting on an act. Even the acts Brill books are often going through very rigid, specific motions that have original material that you feel you’ve heard before. Is that honest?

What it comes down to, I fear, is that mindset still possessed by many veteran comics that women aren’t funny. It’s often cited, in fact, that John Belushi thought women weren’t funny and wasn’t shy about saying as much. But he also thought it was a good idea to speedball himself to death, so grains of salt and all that.

What I’m getting at is this: I’m sure Brill is a nice guy, just as sure as I am that he’ll insist he was taken out of context. But the idea that women are up there trying to act like men is intellectually offensive and downright untrue. It posits a very narrow and pig-headed definition of gender roles and feeds into hackery. It’s one of those statements that, I’m sad to say, makes me feel dumber for having heard or read it.

Gender roles aside, I find Brill’s thoughts on “honesty” in comedy interesting. I say Brill’s, but he’s certainly not alone in invoking that concept. Everyone from the beginner trying to reconcile his shortcomings (LIKE ME) to veterans with a more informed view on what constitutes comedy has a view similar to this, but it’s rarely explored or extrapolated upon.

Honesty in comedy is sort of a misnomer, isn’t it? It’s almost a Catch-22. If I was to get up there and just be “honest,” it might get real depressing real quick. So what do we mean by honesty? I suppose it depends on who you’re asking. If you ask me (you didn’t but this is my blog so fuck you, you did!) the only truly dishonest comedy is the kind that circulates and perpetuates material and acts that the comedian doesn’t think is funny but knows “works” with audiences.

Sure, there are comedians that portray a character or persona onstage. Are there any that don’t? Brill cites Carlin. Does he think Carlin walked around bug-eyed doing socio-political rants all day? Does Lewis Black scream out in frustration every three minutes when he’s at the grocery store? Is Stephen Wright walking across the country with his missing dog a few feet behind him?

My point is that even when a good stand-up adopts or exaggerates a persona or does character work, there’s honesty in it, and to try to disown or belittle it in any way – even unintentionally or in defense of your day job – is a disservice to the form.

Women doing stand-up doesn’t make them want to be like men, it makes them want to be stand-ups. It’s a shame that guys like Brill, good as he is, are so entrenched in the brick backdrop mentality that it prevents new, exciting comics from coming forth and getting exposure on Letterman. Which, by the way, puts stand-up comedians in the notoriously low-rated final segment. So why are they worried about trying something different in lieu of slathering mayonnaise all over the screen?

Enough of my ranting. Here’s some funny shit.

Natasha Leggero in two bits: in the first video, two minutes of quick bits. In the second video, a nice transition from crowd work to rants about the music industry and the effects of piracy. Good juxtaposition between her persona work and more traditional, straightforward bits.

Amy Schumer in one of my favorites. In this video, she deals with a drunk heckler in Atlanta. Her actual stand-up is even better.

Maria Bamford on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.” Bamford’s style is riveting. It’s genuinely funny, but also transcends to the level of performance art.

Tig Notaro on Conan O’Brien (cited in the New York Times piece).

Seen above, the Pentagon has released home videos of Osama bin Laden that it attained during the Navy Seal raid that killed the terrorist leader.

Most revelatory:

He loved watching videos of himself on TV. Yes, he was that guy.

“Guys guys, check out this part…..WHAMMO, hahahahaaha! Right in the face of the [...]]]>

Seen above, the Pentagon has released home videos of Osama bin Laden that it attained during the Navy Seal raid that killed the terrorist leader.

Most revelatory:

He loved watching videos of himself on TV. Yes, he was that guy.

“Guys guys, check out this part…..WHAMMO, hahahahaaha! Right in the face of the infidels! Heh! Guys, HEY, guys, watch this! Are you watching? Shhhh, listen…YOWZA! Ouch, that one’s gotta hit close to home! Oh man, Allah Ackbar. Guys, watch this part…”

Totally deserved it.

All joking aside: I think it does reveal a bit of what’s not talked about, which is that despite insistence that the movement was to re-establish an Islamic caliphate to rule over the region, there was no shortage of ego and cult of personality behind Bin Laden’s efforts and the following he attained.

Like so many before him, he had charisma. Pundits and journalists mistake his soft speech and thoughtful pauses for a lack of it, but that’s misleading. It was a different type of charisma that Bin Laden exuded which gave him the appearance of a thoughtful, reflective holy man. Charisma is not exclusive to extravagance and pounding your fist on the podium during oratorical rants.

Like Carlos the Jackal and so many other terrorists before him, the more involved he became in the movement the less it became about the actual movement itself, creating a level of self-deification owing either to egomaniacal delusion or outright insincerity. This does not mean we should not examine the means and the cause. Rather, no matter who or where we are, caution should always be exercised when a man becomes bigger than the movement he propogates.

This is what fundamentalism in all its forms always, inevitably, breeds.

Well…kind of.

Actually, Donald Trump doesn’t want to be President. Donald Trump [...]]]>

Image via Wikipedia

Entertainment headlines the last several weeks have been dominated by Donald Trump’s speculated Presidential bid. Trump has been everything from a bankrupt billionaire to a morally bankrupt reality television show host, and now he wants to be your next President of the United States.

Well…kind of.

Actually, Donald Trump doesn’t want to be President. Donald Trump isn’t the man who spoke before the CPAC Conference recently and was heckled by the Tea Party portion of the crowd. Donald Trump isn’t the guy who’s been making the rounds talking up his potential Presidential bid and suggesting he may run as an Independent instead of as a Republican. Donald Trump isn’t the one saying he doesn’t believe Obama was born in the United States (even though he totally was). Donald Trump didn’t recently call Bush the “worst President in history,” further polarizing himself amongst other GOP Presidential hopefuls.

That was television character The Donald.

We’re coming out of a decade where reality television dominated the landscape. Fortunately (for us), that era is coming to an end. The popularity of these shows is no longer guaranteed; slumping ratings for key shows and the embarrassingly low attendance at the recent Reality Rocks! Expo in Los Angeles are further proof that television is trending away from cheap voyeur programming. However, despite the sharp decline in popularity, it has left in its wake a permanent legacy: people knowingly portraying caricatures of themselves for the sake of entertainment or, more often, self-promotion.

The Donald from New York, like The Situation from the Jersey Shore, isn’t the same guy in front of a camera that he would be if you were to meet him in private. It’s a version of the real person with the volume turned up, along with a handful of personality traits created during the course of a television series. Although he made a name for himself initially in Real Estate, Trump has co-opted a method perfected by a new type of celebrity that is famous simply for being famous rather than any particular talent.

It’s not just his portrayal of The Donald  persona in public appearances that has me skeptical of a Presidential run. It’s also the timing. Talk of his running started in early March, the same time NBC was premiering the latest season of “Celebrity Apprentice.” Now he’s stated he’ll make his official decision in June…after the conclusion of the current season and the announcement of next season’s contestants.

In the meantime, the speculation will continue and more questions will be asked by everyone from Wolf Blitzer in his ominous Situation Room (which sadly is not located anywhere near the Jersey Shore) to Mario Lopez on the set of “Access Hollywood.” Will he run as a Republican or an Independent? Will he “Ross Perot” the GOP ticket, a reference to the theory that Clinton’s 1992 victory was the direct result of a split created amongst Conservatives by Perot’s candidacy? If so, is he really a Democratic plant  (I could have sworn during the 90s he even publicly identified himself as such)? Will he continue to surge in the polls?

No, because The Donald will tell us in June that he’s decided not to run. He will call politics a nasty business and infer that personal attacks against his character have come in conflict with his duties as a businessman. He’ll also note that he ultimately decided his life’s work as a businessman and media mogul was more important. Then he’ll wrap up by alluding to a conspiracy to force him out of the race.

The real reason, however, will be that The Donald can’t run because he – not Obama – isn’t a citizen of the United States. You have to be a real person to meet that criteria.

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I was a big fan of comedy growing up, and in particular the old Saturday Night Live episodes that used to air on Nick [...]]]> If you haven’t already, you can still enter to win two tickets to see “A Conversation with Steve Martin” at The Palace Theater. Contest runs through Thursday at 11:59pm.

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Image via Wikipedia

I was a big fan of comedy growing up, and in particular the old Saturday Night Live episodes that used to air on Nick at Nite. Of all the talent that was on that early cast, my favorite cast member was always Steve Martin.

You read that correctly and yes, I was mistaken.

Martin hosted Saturday Night Live on occasion, but was never actually a part of the cast. It just seemed that way because he was such a vibrant and electric personality that stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the early cast.

One gets the impression from watching those early years that the cast members know they’re onto something big. The backstage stories that later leaked out through interviews, anecdotes, and memoirs showed on the stage; they were comic rock stars, the whole lot of them. Steve Martin was different. He seemed to be genuinely having fun, regardless of who was on stage or what the material was. As a result, he stuck out like a sore thumb; a tall, white-haired figure who shot exuberance out of his fingertips.

It wasn’t until I was almost in my teens that I found out Martin was only a host and not a cast member. I had seen every episode and memorized so many skits by heart. How could I have operated under such a wildly incorrect assumption? I checked back thinking maybe – just maybe – Martin had hosted and appeared with such frequency that he might as well have been a cast member. To my surprise, he was a frequent host but still in those early years only appeared a half dozen times. Though he would go on over the course of the next two decades to host the program a record fifteen times, the fact that he was only a semi-frequent host rather than a regular cast member was surprising.

Martin with Dan Akroyd, seen above trying to convince Martin that 9/11 was an inside job.

The reason I thought he was a permanent cast member is because I wanted him so badly to be one. When watching those old episodes now, many of the bits don’t hold water. Some jokes are so hyper-relevant they dated themselves the morning after they aired, while others seemed so inside you could almost hear the audience faking their way through a skit, hoping the others around them will think they’re in on the joke and this special thing occurring onstage that they didn’t quite understand.

Martin was different. He brought with him a weighty charisma and enthusiasm that put him leaps and bounds above his contemporaries. I always imagined watching Martin perform must be the closest thing we can approximate to the experience of seeing those old Vaudeville performers that gave it their all in front of an audience, which would look desperate were it not for the fact that it worked and, more importantly, a complete lack of self-consciousness.

That’s what made Martin truly special to me. Murray, Chase, Belushi and others didn’t want you to know they were performing. Martin knew you knew, but it didn’t matter. As the youngest of five children who was desperate for acceptance and trying to carve out an identity for himself, I latched onto Martin’s performances and he became an early and lifelong favorite.

I still remained an SNL fan through the years, and that original cast and writing staff contianed some truly gifted minds. But as great as those old episodes of Saturday Night Live were, imagine if instead they had ten or twelve Steve Martins performing every weekend. Now that would be something worth staying up for.

TONIGHT: it’s the 4th anniversary of Troy Night Out! Join Elizabeth Young and the Downtown BID (sounds like a Motown Group) along with other city officials in Monument Square at 6:00pm for a special ceremony, then engage in all the great offerings of the city! Go to the [...]]]> Blogorama will be posted tomorrow.

TONIGHT: it’s the 4th anniversary of Troy Night Out! Join Elizabeth Young and the Downtown BID (sounds like a Motown Group) along with other city officials in Monument Square at 6:00pm for a special ceremony, then engage in all the great offerings of the city! Go to the official website for a full listing.

TOMORROW: UFC 127 showing live at Buffalo Wild Wings in Clifton Park. Join myself and the fine folks at Albany Alive for the event, with prelims at 9:00pm and the event itself kicking off at 10:00pm. Get there early to ensure a seat!

NEXT WEEK: We have our first ever giveaway, and it’s to a show that I guarantee will be one of the most sought-after tickets of the year.

In the meantime, check out the video below of Bell Biv Devoe’s appearance on NBC’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” Of course they performed “Poison.” Did you expect any less? Of course, Fallon’s house band The Roots provided back-up. It was glorious.

The trend continues with a Bel Biv [...]]]> You can never trust a big butt and a smile, but you can trust the producers of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to bring you epic awesomeness on the music end of things.

The trend continues with a Bel Biv Devoe Reunion on tonight’s show.

BELL. BIV. DEVOE.

“Me and the crew used to do ‘er.”

Check out the wicked effect at the 36 second mark.