High Comedy
By now the people who read this blog know that I pretty much just vent the brain here, and in the process, attempt to make the reader think about what has been written. Well today's subscription will not be too far off course. The subject of which comedy "rat pack" was/is the best of all-time. There are three "packs" in this Mexican style shootout. May the best men win.
- The OG Squad: Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Sammy Jr., Frank Sinatra,
- The 80's Squad: Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, Chevy Chase
- The New Squad: Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell
This shootout will have different aspects upon which squads will be judged, the events/criteria used will be:
- Actual Humor- Are they really that funny?
- Diversity of Talent- Is it a one trick show?
- Staying Power- This event will obviously be curved in order to prevent unfair advantage
- Chemistry- Who is the best total unit?
the scores and explanations coming soon.
posted by Bert @ 9:22 PM
1 Comments:
Well, well. This certainly is a worthy topic, it's a shame I didn't conjure the idea first.
Your "squads" are a great slice of the ages, I must say. The categories are pertinent. Accordingly, I will reveal whom I think is the best and why, and who pales in comparison and why. I leave the middle out, because, really, who gives a shit about second place. People only want to know who the winners and losers are. (How's that for cultural assimilation?) :)
Winner: The 80's Squad. Hands down. Of course, there is clearly a generational bias here, as Bert knows full well, we grew up watching these folks. More than that, they were innovative and brilliant. Their comedy broke boundaries and scaled all the topics: political, slapstick, dirty, and quirky humor. Harold Ramis and Bill Murry are strange and genius. They have starred in and/or written many of the landmark comedies that people are still sampling and trying to pull off today, and can't quite get there.
Their diversity of talent is unmistakable. They have all played a variety of roles...ok, except for Ramis, he always plays a goofball. Murray is all over the place and successfully plays real character roles. Do I really have to name examples? Of course not, you all know the recent roles: Life Aquatic, Lost in Translation, and Broken Flowers to name a few. Akroyd plays tons of roles as well. So does Chevy.
Staying power: I believe their films will influence several generations to come. Who, in their lifetime, isn't going to watch Caddyshack or Animal House or National Lampoon's Vacation. Please. References from these films still continue to infiltrate "pop-culture" today.
The Loser: The New Squad. Also, I would have added Adam Sandler and Farley to this list, perhaps even Topher Grace or Seth Green. They are pretty new-school as far as comedy goes. If they are added to this list, then it is quite possible they overtake the 80's squad, though I couldn't say for sure.
Actual Humor: Strong, but not nearly as genius and brilliant as the 80's squad. They break the rules of "potty-humor", not any kind of political satire or quirky comedy. Maybe we could push Ferrell a little higher up in that category, but not high enough to win.
Diversity of Talent: Clearly, time will tell as to whether they can expand their roles down the road, but at this time the only two that come close to the 80's squad is Vaughn and Ferrell. And, mostly it's just Vaughn. Ferrell always plays the goofball, but he's funnier than Ramis.
Staying Power: This is unfair unfortunately. As they are the newest bunch, they will be around for eons and eons. And, as all trends in pop-culture, the old die away and are forgotten. Fashion, as dismal and worthless as it is, is the only one to capture the retro. I have this uneasy feeling that the 80's squad will be destined to obscurity as the OG squad has become. This group's staying power is tremendous, only because they are so young and are in all the major "new" comedies coming out.
A quick mention on on the OG squad, I would have included, for sure, Peter Sellers. He was beyond brilliant and also played tons of roles. He might have, for me, push the OG's up to first.
Also, in the 80's group, I would have included Steve Martin and John Candy. They too contributed greatly to the Nation's funny-bone.
Great Post! Love the show! Keep em' coming. What say you? What are your rankings?
Love,
Bones
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