Yeaaah I'd be more excited about this if Cleese hadn't recently taken a turn for the GB News (note for non-Brits: GB "news" is the UK's right-wing rage-and-hate channel, similar to America's Fox...
Yeaaah I'd be more excited about this if Cleese hadn't recently taken a turn for the GB News (note for non-Brits: GB "news" is the UK's right-wing rage-and-hate channel, similar to America's Fox "News").
Having watched a few episodes, I think that's a great idea. I have little hope that the execution will deliver (due to the inherent difficulties of this sort of project), but the main character...
Having watched a few episodes, I think that's a great idea. I have little hope that the execution will deliver (due to the inherent difficulties of this sort of project), but the main character could present an interesting, critical, and uncomfortable contrast to our current zeitgeist.
I love Fawlty Towers, and I think a reboot could definitely work. My only worry is that John Cleese and his daughter let their right-wing, "anti-woke" personal politics taint the material too...
I love Fawlty Towers, and I think a reboot could definitely work. My only worry is that John Cleese and his daughter let their right-wing, "anti-woke" personal politics taint the material too much. Hopefully Rob Reiner can help prevent that though.
I fully expect someone like Cleese to put the comedy first. And it's not like progressives are immune to intelligent criticism. It can be done, even though admittedly that's more theoretical than...
I fully expect someone like Cleese to put the comedy first. And it's not like progressives are immune to intelligent criticism. It can be done, even though admittedly that's more theoretical than anything. There are not many super funny right wingers out there talking insightfully about issues.
I wouldn't count on that. Not anymore, anyways. And John Cleese and his daughter don't generally do intelligent criticism from what I've seen and heard from them recently. John's political rants...
I wouldn't count on that. Not anymore, anyways. And John Cleese and his daughter don't generally do intelligent criticism from what I've seen and heard from them recently. John's political rants are verging on "old man yells at clouds" territory, and his daughter's culture war tweets aren't much better.
I see. I didn't know that. I was wondering if that would factor into his comedy. I have one example of a comedian that separates the two things well: Joe Rogan. His more recent standup specials...
I see. I didn't know that. I was wondering if that would factor into his comedy.
I have one example of a comedian that separates the two things well: Joe Rogan. His more recent standup specials are actually quite good, with universal appeal. He got me laughing ranking dog breeds. I learned of his political positions much later.
Yeah, it can certainly be done. Adam Sandler was (still is?) a registered Republican, performed at their 2004 National Convention, has been on the Glenn Beck podcast complaining about SNL...
Yeah, it can certainly be done. Adam Sandler was (still is?) a registered Republican, performed at their 2004 National Convention, has been on the Glenn Beck podcast complaining about SNL supporting Hillary Clinton, gave money to Giuliani's Presidential campaign, and yet none of his political opinions make it into his comedy movies. But John Cleese has gotten increasingly crotchety, and vocal about his right-wing political beliefs over the years, so I don't know if he can manage to keep that separate from his comedy work anymore. We will just have to wait and see, I suppose.
Yeah. To be fair, I think leftists wouldn't be very funny if they used their comedy as a platform either. They'll usually talk about their own experiences, which have political implications. But...
Yeah. To be fair, I think leftists wouldn't be very funny if they used their comedy as a platform either. They'll usually talk about their own experiences, which have political implications. But it's not like "Marx 101" or whatever.
Eh. I watch a lot of stand-up, and there have been plenty of extremely politically focused comedians (both left and right) that have actually managed to make that work. E.g. Carlin, Colin Quinn,...
Eh. I watch a lot of stand-up, and there have been plenty of extremely politically focused comedians (both left and right) that have actually managed to make that work. E.g. Carlin, Colin Quinn, Janeane Garofalo, David Cross, Dennis Miller, Lewis Black, Doug Stanhope, Bill Hicks, to name a few of the greats. And there are tons of new, incredibly outspoken, heavily politically focused up-and-comers now as well. Although far fewer of them are of the conservative/right wing variety anymore, since that side of the political spectrum (at least in the US) seems to have jumped the shark into borderline/outright fascism, which is anathema to good comedy.
David Cross may be a genius. What these great comedians do is create a narrative with political implications. Those implications can be pointed, and I would argue that non-conservative comedians...
David Cross may be a genius.
What these great comedians do is create a narrative with political implications. Those implications can be pointed, and I would argue that non-conservative comedians have an easier job because, well, conservatism doesn't make any sense :P
Yeaaah I'd be more excited about this if Cleese hadn't recently taken a turn for the GB News (note for non-Brits: GB "news" is the UK's right-wing rage-and-hate channel, similar to America's Fox "News").
Having watched a few episodes, I think that's a great idea. I have little hope that the execution will deliver (due to the inherent difficulties of this sort of project), but the main character could present an interesting, critical, and uncomfortable contrast to our current zeitgeist.
I love Fawlty Towers, and I think a reboot could definitely work. My only worry is that John Cleese and his daughter let their right-wing, "anti-woke" personal politics taint the material too much. Hopefully Rob Reiner can help prevent that though.
I fully expect someone like Cleese to put the comedy first. And it's not like progressives are immune to intelligent criticism. It can be done, even though admittedly that's more theoretical than anything. There are not many super funny right wingers out there talking insightfully about issues.
Rightism seems allergic to good comedy.
I wouldn't count on that. Not anymore, anyways. And John Cleese and his daughter don't generally do intelligent criticism from what I've seen and heard from them recently. John's political rants are verging on "old man yells at clouds" territory, and his daughter's culture war tweets aren't much better.
I see. I didn't know that. I was wondering if that would factor into his comedy.
I have one example of a comedian that separates the two things well: Joe Rogan. His more recent standup specials are actually quite good, with universal appeal. He got me laughing ranking dog breeds. I learned of his political positions much later.
Yeah, it can certainly be done. Adam Sandler was (still is?) a registered Republican, performed at their 2004 National Convention, has been on the Glenn Beck podcast complaining about SNL supporting Hillary Clinton, gave money to Giuliani's Presidential campaign, and yet none of his political opinions make it into his comedy movies. But John Cleese has gotten increasingly crotchety, and vocal about his right-wing political beliefs over the years, so I don't know if he can manage to keep that separate from his comedy work anymore. We will just have to wait and see, I suppose.
Yeah. To be fair, I think leftists wouldn't be very funny if they used their comedy as a platform either. They'll usually talk about their own experiences, which have political implications. But it's not like "Marx 101" or whatever.
Eh. I watch a lot of stand-up, and there have been plenty of extremely politically focused comedians (both left and right) that have actually managed to make that work. E.g. Carlin, Colin Quinn, Janeane Garofalo, David Cross, Dennis Miller, Lewis Black, Doug Stanhope, Bill Hicks, to name a few of the greats. And there are tons of new, incredibly outspoken, heavily politically focused up-and-comers now as well. Although far fewer of them are of the conservative/right wing variety anymore, since that side of the political spectrum (at least in the US) seems to have jumped the shark into borderline/outright fascism, which is anathema to good comedy.
David Cross may be a genius.
What these great comedians do is create a narrative with political implications. Those implications can be pointed, and I would argue that non-conservative comedians have an easier job because, well, conservatism doesn't make any sense :P
Indeed. The dude can make literally wishing people dead somehow funny.