This NEEDS to Be Said!! (Stupid Occupational-Comedies Rant)

[Disney Duster]

Oh, well, I thought this was rushed because you were trying to type out all your feelings while you still felt exactly that way, but I see it was also because you were in a rush.

Hmmm...well, there's a trend of sports parodies, too, but profession is more broad. You can edit the first post further still yourself, to Rant on Stupid Profession Comedies, if you wanted to. But yea, I don't much like sports. I think most of my hate just comes from how popular they are and how some people are only considered worth something to society if they're interested in or play a sport. Especially in high school.

I understand your hate for one person's particular brand of humor, though. Will Ferrell's can at least act more different in each movie than Jim Carrey, whom I like but Carrey always does the same mannerisms and quirks in each movie.

Only Blades of Fury has looked like a real cry for something different, because it looks so awful. I guess it was one too many. Though I think the idea of spinning into the air and chopping of heads with ice skates is actually clever.

But you're right, this trend needs to stop for now. We need something different.

Stranger Than Fiction looked good to me, and actually quite different. That wasn't a parody of a writer or anything, it was more like serious, possibly clever or black comedy. It even ideas about how we exist and what reality really is. I didn't see it so I can't judge yet.

[Zoltack]

Oh yeah The Waterboy, I liked that one too and Elf I can actually stand.

[Lazario]

Elf was a potentially good film ruined by Will Ferrell who screws up almost everything he attemps to do as comedy. He is one of the least funny human beings ever to get paid over $10 million dollars.

I understand your hate for one person's particular brand of humor, though. Will Ferrell's can at least act more different in each movie than Jim Carrey, whom I like but Carrey always does the same mannerisms and quirks in each movie.

That doesn't much matter, because - 1) the writing in every single Will Ferrel movie is exactly the same, and 2) his "dramatic" role was a transparent attempt to do the same thing Jim Carrey did in The Truman Show. And The Truman Show was great because it had a great idea, was sharply and cleverly written, was as dark as it was light, was a biting social commentary that predicted the Reality TV boom before it started, and had a phenomenal cast appart from Jim Carrey (who was excellent in The Mask, I don't think anyone would argue that).

Will Ferrell is the anti-christ of the mainstream big-budget Hollywood comedy.

But you're right, this trend needs to stop for now. We need something different.

We certainly do. But it's not really that we need something different - we need something good. It's just going to keep going on... Like I said, pick a profession, any profession, and as long as Reject SNL writers can make some piece of crap Dodgeball / Old School rip-off, it's going to get made. Thereby dumbing movie audiences down even more and ruining Hollywood's reputation to turn out something decent even more than it's already been damaged in the early Sandler and late Murphy years.

Blades of Glory comes out Friday

The same day the world ends. Clear out your Bomb Shelters, folks!!

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

Museum Nightwatchmen... WHAT'S NEXT?

Night at the Museum was based on a book.

[Lazario]

Um... you don't really think the studios decided to greenlight the project because they liked the book, do you?

[2099net]

That doesn't much matter, because - 1) the writing in every single Will Ferrel movie is exactly the same, and 2) his "dramatic" role was a transparent attempt to do the same thing Jim Carrey did in The Truman Show. And The Truman Show was great because it had a great idea, was sharply and cleverly written, was as dark as it was light, was a biting social commentary that predicted the Reality TV boom before it started, and had a phenomenal cast appart from Jim Carrey (who was excellent in The Mask, I don't think anyone would argue that).

Maybe, but I preferred EdTV. None of the pretentious God/Mythological Quest/Plaything metaphors that are abound in Truman. Plus, I found EdTV to be much more biting with it's social commentary. I don't care if Truman was first because The Year of the Sex Olympics predicted the grim future of Reality TV, and the social engineering behind it much earlier (1968 in fact).

Anyhow, I agree with your assessment of Carrey in Truman. It never seemed like a stand out performance to me. But take the time to see The Majestic, I think he gives a wonderful dramatic performance in that film.

[Lazario]

Well, in Ace Ventura, he lampooned that sort of dramatic performance (the "Finkle is Einhorn" scenes), so it's not surprising that when he had to give one of them, it felt the same as him lampooning it again. Only now he's trying to make it look serious. But it doesn't matter, the movie was always ridiculous and I don't think was ever meant to be serious. A lot of people didn't understand this though and they thought it was supposed to be real. I'm not kidding. Some people actually thought it was a straight-forward drama.

[slave2moonlight]

Movies like that are made purely to enduce laughter, and there's nothing wrong with that. I love 'em, but I love smarter comedies too.

As for the occupation formulas, they are so random because they aren't that important. These are films to showcase the talents of certain celebrities. How does Will Ferrel see newscasters? How does he see ice skaters, etc... The humor is in the weird characters they create and the lines and physical comedy. It's laughing at stupidity. Yeah, they're stupid, but stupid happens in real-life too, that's what makes this stuff funny. One of these movies is like seeing all the rare but funny stupidity of real-life and real-people happening at one time or condensed into one person. Just laugh. It's funny. There are times when people overthink stuff, and there are some people who just can't stand to occasionally watch something stupid purely for the fun of it.

[Chernabog_Rocks]

I personally can't stand Will Ferrell or his movies. What makes me mad is how he gets paid millions of dollars to act like a complete idiot I've done things that are pretty stupid, and I know people who do stupid things all the time, and yet he's the one getting paid for doing these things. I just generally avoid anything made by him, or anything that looks like a stupid movie. I'll generally watch anything, as long as it doesnt have my "Hate" list actors in it But I guess you just have to take the good with the bad (and the occaisonal awful)

[PixarFan2006]

My local paper gave Blades of Glory a 7 out of 10. I guess it all matters on opinion. I'll see it eventually.

[2099net]

When I was young, I thought life was so pretty.
I could sing. I could laugh. Even at things that made me cry.
Now I'm too old full of hate and self-pity.
I look back, I look down.
On my heart a shadow lies.

[Lazario]

I personally can't stand Will Ferrell or his movies. What makes me mad is how he gets paid millions of dollars to act like a complete idiot I've done things that are pretty stupid, and I know people who do stupid things all the time, and yet he's the one getting paid for doing these things. I just generally avoid anything made by him, or anything that looks like a stupid movie. I'll generally watch anything, as long as it doesnt have my "Hate" list actors in it But I guess you just have to take the good with the bad (and the occaisonal awful)

(I recently realized that I hate it when people don't acknowledge when I add something to a conversation - so I'm responding to you, letting you know I think you're really bringing something important back)

BOG speaks the truth!

When I was young, I thought life was so pretty.
I could sing. I could laugh. Even at things that made me cry.
Now I'm too old full of hate and self-pity.
I look back, I look down.
On my heart a shadow lies.

Is that supposed to be clever, or something?

Movies like that are made purely to enduce laughter, and there's nothing wrong with that.

These are films to showcase the talents of certain celebrities. How does Will Ferrel see newscasters? How does he see ice skaters, etc... The humor is in the weird characters they create and the lines and physical comedy. It's laughing at stupidity. Yeah, they're stupid, but stupid happens in real-life too, that's what makes this stuff funny. It's funny.

Um... they are all exactly the same. They are killing the mainstream comedy. There is most definitely something wrong with that. If the same movie is made 40 times in 8 years, it's not funny anymore.

There are times when people overthink stuff, and there are some people who just can't stand to occasionally watch something stupid purely for the fun of it.

The death of film quality is not fun. It's a very bad thing. Did you not see The Wild? A Disney family film forcing fart and low-blow gross-humor jokes just to keep up with these sorts of ultra-unfunny crass SNL comedies. You think that's the last time these sorts of movies are going to keep making all other movies dumber? I'm not overthinking anything. Audiences today are just underthinking, and it's rubbing off on people like you. You must resist the urge to just brush it off like it doesn't mean anything. I mean- look at what you're doing... You're giving me guff and letting them completely off the hook. That's what they want you to do. Don't you see how they're manipulating you? They know if they can get movies like these to dumb people down, they'll attack all the smart people until they're all gone, and the writers won't have to work anymore. They'll just do what a South Park episode has already shown that these Dodgeball / Blades of Glory / Ricky Bobby writers do - put ideas in a tank and let animals pick them out by random. The characters in these movies are all the same! The humor in the movies is all the same! How can people laugh at the same joke 100 times in the same month?

[2099net]

OK, so you don't like Will Ferrell much. I'm not going to argue because it comes down to taste. And I suspect half of it is you don't like Will Ferrell vehicles, rather than Will Ferrell as such.

On the face of it, I don't like Adam Sandler, but I can acknowledge his performance in Punch Drunk Love (but, I actually find the film itself a little... unspecial).

Nobody pretends Anchorman, Talladega Nights or Kicking & Screaming are the apex of comedy stylings. Or at least, nobody sane does. But you know, I did enjoy Anchorman, but I found Talladega Nights very disappointing. Perhaps one was vastly superior to the other, or I suspect I was just in the right mood when I watched Anchorman. So maybe both were good, both were crap, or maybe it just depends on how you feel and how you look at it.

To have a rant about comedy today claiming that the same film is being made over and over seems a little short sighted. Abbott and Costello basically made the same movie repeatedly, so did Hope and Crosby with their "Road To"s... Keaton... Harold Lloyd... The 3 Stooges... Police Academy... Some are fondly remembered and will be for decade after decade, some, perhaps not.

If you're just frustrated that what are essentially throw-away movies are getting decent box office and home video returns, well, sadly, that always seems to be the case. Give me Shaun of the Dead over Anchorman any day. Or Clerks II over, say, [shudder] Date Movie any time. But you can't dictate what people can and can't watch.

I find it hard to believe people can see Anchorman and not laugh at least once. But then again, I think I'm one of the few people who realise Fight Club is actually comedy and laugh at it. I have a strange sense of humour sometimes.

[Lazario]

OK, so you don't like Will Ferrell much.

No I don't like the total destruction of cinema quality.

I'm not going to argue because it comes down to taste.

Or taste vs. no taste.

And I suspect half of it is you don't like Will Ferrell vehicles, rather than Will Ferrell as such.

He sucked in Zoolander as well.

I found Talladega Nights very disappointing.

As did most smart people.

To have a rant about comedy today claiming that the same film is being made over and over seems a little short sighted. Abbott and Costello basically made the same movie repeatedly, so did Hope and Crosby with their "Road To"s... Keaton... Harold Lloyd... The 3 Stooges... Police Academy... Some are fondly remembered and will be for decade after decade, some, perhaps not.

I'll give you that one. But some of those people were very funny. Will Ferrell is just evil.

But you can't dictate what people can and can't watch.

You're being paranoid. Who would ever give me the power to dictate anything?

I think I'm one of the few people who realise Fight Club is actually comedy and laugh at it.

I refuse to watch that film. I just won't do it. Someone has to have Cult Standards.

[2099net]

You should see Fight Club. Forget what everyone else says. It's actually a very dark, comic satire. It's not even hidden! it virtually shouts it's nature from the very beginning. I've no idea how so many people can class it as drama and ignore the comedy.

But then, some people think Showgirls is actually a drama.

[Lazario]

I can't. I've already committed to it. Just as I've also committed to never seeing any Star Wars, Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, Godfather, or James Bond movies that I haven't already seen. I also have refused to watch: Scarface, Carlito's Way, any movie starring Denzel Washington (that I haven't already seen), Legends of the Fall, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Blade or it's sequels, any episode of the X-Files, any film directed by David Lynch, any film starring Lindsay Lohan (with the exception of Mean Girls), any prequels or sequels or D2V's of American Pie, Scary Movie, or The Dukes of Hazzard, any movie starring John Wayne (that I haven't already seen), any movie directed by Uwe Boll, anymore miserable Shrek rip-offs (other than The Wild and Madagascar, which I have already seen - ug)...

[Prudence]

Television stations played Elf entirely too much this past December. I saw Madagascar during a free summer showing. It was worth every penny.

[PixarFan2006]

I saw Blades of Glory a week ago and it was not that bad, but it was not great either. Not Will Ferrells best.

[Lazario]

I saw Blades of Glory a week ago
it was not great

That's because it was terrible

Not Will Ferrells best.

Will Ferrell's best is every movie he's not in.

[PixarFan2006]

Keep your opinions to yourself for once. Not everyone can hate what you hate.