By Darryl Litteton
When was the last time you saw a really good actor
portray a stand-up comedian in a film and you
laughed? Now, when I say really good – I mean an
award winner. Think Tom Hanks in Punchline. This
guy has 2 Oscars under his belt, but as a neurotic
struggling comic he was mediocre to lousy.
Sally
Field was funnier in the same movie, but despite
having 2 Oscars to her credit as well her work was also
garbage.
How about 2 time Oscar winner, Dustin
Hoffman as Lenny Bruce in Bob Fosse’s 1974 biopic,
Lenny? Personally, I love Lenny Bruce. He inspired
me to want to be a comedian and I even did scenes
from the Julian Barry stage play of the same name in
college in the title role.
Without sounding too
arrogant, my black ass turned in a superior
performance over Dusty, the Rain Man and nobody
will ever mistake my black ass for Lenny Bruce.
Another dual Oscar winner, Robert DeNiro just took a
stab at playing a has been insult comedian
attempting a comeback. After getting a gander at it
theater patrons wished he had retired to an old folks
home instead.
Maybe if the comic had been a
gangster it might’ve worked, but as it stands, Bob’s
character in 2016’s, The Comedian should’ve taken
himself for a ride and never came back. If you want,
we can go all the way back to the dismal work of a
thespian heralded as one of the greatest actors of
the 20th Century. However, accolades only go so far.
Sir Laurence Olivier’s turn as supposed funnyman,
Archie Rice in the 1960 film The Entertainer was
anything, but entertaining.
Where’s Cedric when
you need him?
All the aforementioned actors are iconic, but the
second they were called upon to make paying
customers yuk it up they were no better than an open
mic first timer at a bringer in a bowling alley. Why
couldn’t they pull off what would seem to be just
another day-at-the-job, role?
I’ll tell you why –
because stand-up comedy is the hardest art form of
them all. I’m not talking about getting laughs with a
good tried and true joke. I’m referring to sustaining a
journey of laughter that enthralls an audience and
transports them into a world of your making. Music,
painting, sculpting, dance and yes acting are
interpretive and a matter of individual taste.
The average layperson is not trained or educated
in the subtleties of what makes one artistic offering
superior to another. You can rationalize the merits
of a decent painting and debate the precision of a
troupe pivoting and pirouetting all over the place,
but when it comes to laughing or not everybody is
on a level playing field.
If a comedian or
someone trying to pull off being a comedian is not
funny, they bomb on the stage as well as the box
office.
On the other hand, t rue comedians can do what
actors cannot – excel outside of their comfort zone.
Take Jamie Foxx for instance.
Though Foxx is a
musician, the first-time Best Actor winner got his
statuette in Ray for a part more tragic than
comedic. Original Queen of Comedy, Mo’Nique
took home Oscar gold for the role of a down
trodden abusive mother in Precious and not her
stellar work in Phat Girlz.
Whoopi Goldberg, the
only comedian to be recognized in the exclusive
and elusive EGOT club (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar,
Tony) got her O for channeling a scamming
medium in the Patrick Swayze vehicle, Ghost.
Manic funnyman, Robin Williams earned an
Academy Award for playing a depressed teacher
in Good Will Hunting. Bill Murray was nominated for
Lost in Translation, Eddie Murphy for Dreamgirls and
Richard Pryor was notoriously snubbed for his
legendary performance as Piano Man in Lady Sings
the Blues, the story of Billie Holiday starring Diana
Ross.
Most of these comedians are not trained actors.
They did not attend Julliard or tour with the Royal
Shakespearian Company.
They learned how to
act during countless sets on stages in front of
crowds of varied sensibilities. They had to be good
or get booed. There was no cue coming up that
would precipitate their exit or another performer
saving them from a flub or a director to yell “cut”
and another go at it was moments away. They had
to think on their feet or artistically perish and that’s
how they honed their skills for emotional layers. The
lines they recited were mostly their own (except in
the case of Williams) and they didn’t question their
motivation since they wrote what motivated them.
So, if you want to discuss who is better pound for
pound – I’ll put my money on the comedian over
the actor any day of the week and twice on
Sundays (to cover the never-ending building fund.)