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FASCINATING line from New York Times review

posted 9 years ago by DietSoda78
10 replies | jump to latest

"Part of a sorority that is redefining what funny means in movies, Ms. McCarthy is proving that women can be comedy’s font, not just the killjoy who shuts off the tap."

This really got me thinking: Chaplin, Peter Sellers, Eddie Murphy, Sandler, Leslie Nielson, Jim Carrey, etc. These men were the 'font' of the comedy in their movies, meaning that the comedy was entirely built around them as zany comic performers. Who remembers the women who were in the Pink Panther or Ace Ventura movies? Women basically plan the 'straight man' role in all of these male performer's comedies; they're the love interest, sometimes the villain, but they are not funny by themselves.

The overall take of the NY Times was that The Boss wasn't that great, but that it is interesting so see a female performer be at the center of such a ludicrously silly comedy. Can anyone name a single comedy before, say, 2000, that starred a zany, histrionic female comic performer? Witty rom coms don't count; Carry Grant or Richard Gere engaging in witty banter with a hot woman isn't the same kind of comedy as the latest Sandler or Murphy flick, where we basically go for a performer we like to act crazy on screen and make us laugh. This is new for women. Is it good?

[–] x0064 9 years ago

Whoopi Goldberg

[–] zilla7777 9 years ago

Whoopi Goldberg

...is not funny in even the most remote sense of the word.

[–] CelluloidAdmirer 9 years ago

Goldie Hawn
Meryl Streep
Bette Midler

and the difference between these ladies (including Whoopi) and McCarthy is that the former did it with wit, style and cleverness while McCarthy does the same lowest common denominator schick over and over again.

Non stop profanity and crude humor alone is not funny, just lazy.

[–] ecbush 9 years ago

CelluloidAdmirer:

Goldie Hawn
Meryl Streep
Bette Midler

I'll add to that fine list:

Lily Tomlin in The Incredible Shrinking Woman (good clean fun)

Marilyn Monroe in the Seven Year Itch

Mae West -- maybe the original comedy-dominating gal who never used the F-word but still had everyone thinking about it.

[–] tawdry_hepburn 9 years ago

There's something about Mary?

[–] lebowskithedude 9 years ago

I think what's being referred to is the kind of "face on the poster comedic star" who can bring in 20 million dollar weekends despite atrocious reviews and massive amounts of hatred from the general populace. When's the last time Ryan Gosling, Clooney, Hemsworth, Downey Jr, anyone can say that? Every time I told someone I was going to see The Boss, they said, "Ew, really?" Well, I went to see it and so did many others.

The fact is McCarthy, like her or not (I'm in the middle towards her, I find her funny but sometimes irritating), is a comedic movie star on the level of 2000s Adam Sandler or 1990s Jim Carrey. Am I saying she's as funny as them? That's irrelevant. She sells like they do, and it's worth something that a major movie star is a woman in her mid-40s who isn't by conventional standards beautiful. She's viewed for her abilities (or lack thereof, if you dislike her) and that's fine. But it's certainly a different, more progressive time in Hollywood than 20 or even 10 years ago, and that's worth something.

[–] Chris12955 9 years ago

Cat Ballou with Jane Fonda was a comedy with a female lead, and it stunk too. Barbarella also with Jane Fonda was great though, seriously check it out. That is off the top of my head. I am sure I could come up with more if I thought about it, but I kind of want to forget The Boss right now, and this would just remind me of it.

[–] ebright99 9 years ago

Two words: Dorris Day

[–] Chris12955 9 years ago

OOOO, good pick. I can't believe she is still alive at 94 years old. I saw With Six you get Eggroll recently. You would be hard pressed to say the film did not center around her, she has that big of a role in it.

How about adding Katharine Hepburn? I loved Bringing up Baby and The Philadelphia Story. There are plenty of good female leads in comedies who were the major draw of the picture if you are willing to look for them. Heck, Lucille Ball is rightfully so well known as a famous comedienne.

[–] trikkeBallakke 9 years ago

Nothing new here.
To add to the list of zany female leads...

Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame

Ellen DeGeneres- not so much in movies, but in her 90s TV show "Ellen"

Carol Channing and Julie Andrews in Thoroughly Modern Millie

Goldie Hawn (as previously mentioned), Bette Midler, Diane Keaton in The First Wives Club

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld), Carol Burnett (Noises Off!), Tracey Ullman (Tracey Takes On), Megan Mullally and Debra Messing (Will & Grace)... all around or before 2000.

And a personal favorite,

Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley in Absolutely Fabulous

I'd say that many women have done this before and to a better degree, no?