Archive for February, 2008
16 items.
Apologies for the lateness of today’s post. For some weird reason, I was having a really hard time connecting to the database that updates the blog component of the site. I guess lucky for me that the comic went up on time?
Onto the movies…
I was watching a commercial for Witless Protection the other day and it occured to me that Larry the Cable Guy has been showing up in an awful lot of movies lately. And I’m not counting ensemble pieces likes Cars or The Blue Collar Comedy Tour. I’m talking about straight-up top billing.
First there was Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector in 2006, then Delta Farce in 2007. With Witless Protection coming out this weekend, that’s three movies in three years. I think that’s a dangerous trend. If Larry the Cable Guy continues to spit out this kind of quality with continued frequency, it won’t be long until he becomes the Earnest P. Worrell of the new millenium.
Today’s comic was maybe a little bit harsh on fans of Larry the Cable Guy and I realize it’s unfair to categorize people based on their preference of something subjective as comedy. For example, if you’re reading my comic, there’s probably no accounting for taste. I plan to explore that idea further in Friday’s comic. So if you want to see Tom get his come-uppance beyond the realm of atomic wedgies, come back for that.
That said, I am kind of annoyed that so many people fell hook, line and sinker for his redneck character considering he pretty much started his career as a carbon copy of Joey Gladstone from Full House.
Geeze, what’s with the 80’s references today?
Real quick, I just wanted to extend a quick shout-out to those of you who are coming to visit the site from FirstShowing.net. Response has been really positive since we announced our partnership on Monday and I’m thrilled to be a part of the team over there.
Just so you know, we have over 780 comics in the archive, plus reviews and guest comics. That’s a lot of content to sift through. While I like to believe that every new reader starts with the first strip and devours the archive like a ravenous beast, realistically, I know your time is precious. So why don’t you check out the Top 50 strips as voted on by our readers? It’s a handy little short cut and it really captures a fine selection of comics across our nearly 6 year existence.
If you’re feeling extra saucy (and, truthfully who isn’t feeling a little saucier these days) check out the archives page and type in any movie title you can think of into our handy search engine. All of the comics have been catologed with key words, so if you input your favorite movie, chances are I’ve spoofed it!
That’s enough of the self-promotion for now. You guys take care. I’ll see you here on Friday!
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In Wednesday’s blog I talked about today’s comic being a continuation on our discussion of the subjectivity of comedy. I’m also aware that I mentioned Tom would be on the receiving end of additional come-uppance for his negative comments toward Witless Protection and fans of Larry the Cable Guy.
Then I hit on this idea of a perpetual cycle of abuse involving atomic wedgies and I had to go that route.
Jared’s opinion of Will Ferrell has been stated once before and the outcome was similarly disasterous. So it’s nice to revisit that motif while maintaining continuity.
Back to our conversation about subjectivity in comedy… It’s not really fair for me to pick on fans of Larry the Cable Guy because I am a die hard Will Ferrell fan and am waiting in breathless anticipation for his new movie Semi-Pro, coming out next Friday.
In my rational mind, I know that this is just another dip in the same well for Ferrell. Again he plays a paunchy, unweildy sports start who fancies himself God’s gift to women. It’s a character we’ve seen him play several times before and the odds of diminishing returns are stacked against a film like Semi-Pro because there’s only so many times you can do the same thing before audiences get bored. Just ask Mike Meyers.
It’s somewhat depressing to me that Ferrell chose to make Semi-Pro so soon after Blades of Glory. Considering the range and emotional maturity he displayed in Stranger Than Fiction, I had kind of hoped he would be more attracted to those kinds of roles and that he would “return to his roots,” so to speak, only when it was financial necessity or if he had to raise his profile a little.
I think fans like me are never going to get tired of his buffoonish persona. But good things come in small doses. I mean, both Old School Dos and a potential sequel to Anchorman are in the works. That’ll keep me happy for the next 10 years. But don’t lower your stock by putting out a half dozen sports comedies in the meantime.
Excuse me. I slid off into a rant.
My point (contrary to the tone of the last few paragraphs) is that I LIKE Will Ferrell. I like him a lot. I like him to the detriment of my own time, money and patience. I like him to the point that I wlll see him in nearly any movie he’s in just for a glimpse of something brilliant or some quotable line that I’ll be regurgitating for the next two weeks. You’re talking to the guy who saw Ferrell’s remake of Bewitched IN. THE. THEATER!
So, in other words, I probably shouldn’t be throwing stones at the Larry the Cable Guy fans.
That’s all I’ve got for now. QUICK REMINDER – Me and The Triple Feature crew will be doing a special post-Oscars broadcast Sunday night at 11:00 PM CST. We’re going to give your our gut reaction to the awards ceremony while it’s still fresh in our heads. What do we think of the winners? Who got screwed? Who’s wearing the prettiest dress? All that jazz. Then, Monday, we’re doing our regular show at our regular time with a more in-depth discussion of the Oscar telecast while we take your calls.
For those of you who don’t know (maybe those of you reading this post over at FirstShowing.net), The Triple Feature is a podcast that I host every Monday night with two of my web comic buddies. Both of my friends write and draw their own movie-related webcomics. Joe Dun from Joe Loves Crappy Movies and Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex. We’ve known each other for a few years, have hung out at conventions together and then in late 2006 decided “Hey! We all like talking about movies! Let’s start a podcast!”
And The Triple Feature was born.
We host our podcast at TalkShoe.com and we love it because it allows us to record our show in real-time while accepting calls from listeners and fielding discussion topics in the same-time chat field they offer. If you’ve never listened to a podcast through Talk Shoe, you should give it a try. We love communicating with our listeners and love it when they call in to ask us questions! Sign up now so you’ll be ready for the next two shows!
So, remember – post-Oscar show at 11:00 PM CST Sunday and full recap of the Oscars Monday at 9:00 PM CST. Mark it down on your calendars and we’ll see you then!
Have a great weekend, everybody!
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I kind of painted myself into a corner with today’s comic because, originally, the set up required there to be some kind of massive upset at last night’s Academy Awards ceremony. The only problem, there were no real upsets! Pretty much everyone who was supposed to win, did. There weren’t really any awards handed out that I was upset with. I didn’t finish watching the show thinking anyone was snubbed or robbed. So I had to reconfigure the point I was making a little bit, but I think it comes off well.
Discussing today’s comic with Cami, I actually hit up a little mini-arc that addresses some of the politics behind the Oscar voting as well as attempt reveal some truth about persona biases.
That sounds pretty lofty. It’s not high-concept, or anything. I’m just trying to give you the head’s up that there will be a mini-arc this week. So if that gives you an excuse to come back to the site on Wednesday and Friday, feel free to use it.
Thinking back on last night’s show, the only real upset I can recall is French actress Marion Cotillard winng her first Academy Award for her portrayal of singer Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose. Then again, Best Actress is always a crap shoot anyway. And – not to be xenophobic – the award hardly ever goes to an American actress, so I just kind of ignore it.
I was pleased beyond reason that “Falling Slowly” from Once won Best Original Song. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova’s performance made me want to stop what I was doing and watch Once all over again – easily my favorite movie last year.
Beyond that, nothing much to get excited about. Certainly it was obvious that there weren’t any huge blockbusters or A-level celebritires like Tom Hanks or Julia Roberts being celebrated. I’ll be curious to read about the ratings sometime today.
But when your Best Picture nominees include downers like There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men, it’s likely to ostrisize the casual movie goer. Maybe that’s a good thing? More left over for the die-hard fans?
We discussed these issues and more on a special Sunday night recording of The Triple Feature over at TalkShoe. Gordon, Joe and I hopped on the line immediately after the Oscar telecast wrapped up and we shared our immediate impressions. You should really think about downloading a copy of the show. We kept it brief – 30 minutes since we recorded on a day we don’t typically record. It’s a good introduction to what we do. If you have a chance, give us a listen!
That said, we still have ANOTHER broadcast going on this evening. The three of us will be talking about NEW movies tonight including Be Kind, Rewind, Vantage Point and the recent multiple cast announcements for the upcoming Wolverine: Origins.
So be sure to tune in tonight at 9:00 PM CST for another episode of The Triple Feature! See you there!
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Feb27
For the record, Julie Christie is a total G.I.L.F.
Then again, maybe some thoughts are better kept to yourself.
I don’t know how today’s comic became a commentary on the overabundance of opinions in the digital age, but I don’t think the observation is any less true.
You can’t swing a USB mouse online without being confronted by someone else’s opinion about something. Truthfully, we have no one to blame but ourselves. We seek it out. When we buy a new camera, we want to learn about someone else’s experience with it. When we hear about the latest celebrity scandal, we check our favorite blogs to have our disgust validated by someone with a more erudite sense of humor.
The downside to all of this is that it creates a Critic Culture. Just like I pointed out in the comic, everyone has an opinion and no one can be wrong.
It may be a moot point when it comes to something like the Oscars since winners have always been chosen by industry people – members of the Academy or Motion Arts and Sciences.
Still with the annual cottage industry set up around the Oscars, all of the articles written, the handicapping, the predictions, the red carpet coverage, the dissection of fashion – it’s become more than recognizing achievement in film. And between the internet and cable television, there are a lot of hours to fill with opinions about all of it. Audiences asorb it and become part of the process. They start spouting off their own opinions. Is anyone an expert on anything anymore? Would you trust them if they claimed they were? Probably not. It won’t be long until every awards ceremony basically becomes a blown up version of the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards.
Maybe that’s not such a bad thing? Certainly no one is taking them seriously now. I mean, the lowest rated telecast in Oscar history? Yikes. Either people are starting to see through the charade the Oscars have become (do we really need so many montages during the show?) or true movie fans are a dying breed.
The Academy made some interesting choices this year. A lot of indie fare that most people didn’t get to see. So blame the Academy or blame the audience. Me – I blame the Critic Culture.
The one I proudly represent.
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Real quick, I wanted to point you to an interview I did with a website called The Scienteers. They’re a collective of sorts. Several different webcomics and creators mingling about. It’s very ingenious of them to interview other creators and host their responses on their site.
At any rate, I thought these guys asked some really great questions – some of them almost personal. It’s clear they’re aware of Theater Hopper beyond a cursory glance, which felt nice. Because their line of questioning extended beyond the typical in these kind of situations.
Swing by their site and give it a read!
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That’s it. I’ve official flown off the reservation. Once you start making Prince Valiant references, there’s really no going back. Relevancy is out the window.
What’s next? Cracking jokes at the expense of the Texaco Star Theater?
Yup, I’m just digging a deeper hole.
Maybe it’s appropriate that I’m making cracks like these on a Leap Year. You’re not going to read lame one-liners like these for another four years! Scout’s honor! I’d probably be better off making jokes about Semi-Pro since it comes out today. But I kind of blew my chance by making fun of it last week.
Much has been made of Javier Bardem’s haircut in No Country For Old Men. Apparantly the Coen Brothers saddled Bardem with the unfortunate look after stumbling across a photo of a brothel patron from 1979. What I wouldn’t give to see that original photograph. I’d love to meet the man that walked around with that haircut sincerely. You know at some point in his life when he was sporting that look, he’d glance at himself in the mirror before leaving that day thinking, “I look gooooood!”
Poor, poor soul. The brothel patronage is starting to make sense.
Not much else to report at the moment except that (as previously mentioned) I have my eyes on Semi-Pro this weekend. Yeah, it’s like, the umpteenth dumb sports comedy starring Will Ferrell. But I’m still excited for it.
Actually, I just saw a trailer for another movie he’s in this summer with John C. Reily called Step Brothers. It speaks a little more to my sensibilities since, y’know… I don’t like sports. So I have to look foward to in case Semi-Pro bombs.
We have some friends coming into town this weekend who’ve expressed an interest in seeing Be Kind, Rewind. I’m not against the idea, even though I’ve heard the ending kind of falls flat. I probably wouldn’t have an excuse to see it otherwise.
Oh – last thing… Did you guys watch Lost last night? Did you happen to see the new trailer for a certain Golden Avenger? A totally EXCELLENT new trailer for Iron Man hit the airwaves last night and the internet soon thereafter. This is the superhero movie to beat this summer, if you ask me. Move over Hulk. Step aside Batman. Tony Stark is going to hand you your asses. “Talk to the repulsor, cuz the face don’t want to hear it!”
Then again, I might be a little biased…
This is about one-fifth of my total Iron Man figure collection. If the photos from the 2008 Toy Fair are any indication, I’ll be adding to it very soon! Guess who’ll I’ll be going as for Halloween!
Have a great weekend! See you here on Monday!
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