The Necessity of Humour

Every dreamer,as I've mentioned before, will be met with resistance.

Why? Because we are taught as a society to conform, to do things "the right way." This often means doing things the way everyone else is doing them. Or the way your family has done them. Or the way your colleagues and friends do them.

It's disheartening.There's is nothing more discouraging than telling your dream to a loved one or friend or family member and have them shoot it down.

If you aren't willing to face this kind of criticism and ignore it, you'll never get there. One reason I admire actors in Hollywood so much is that (If you do enough background reading), you see how often they are rejected for roles before they "make it," and how persistent they are in the face of so much negativity. It doesn't excuse the shallowness of some of them, but it helps you understand that you need something of an ego to endure the countless people who tell you that you're just a pretty waiter.

Which is why all dreamers need humour in their life. As a kid growing up in a small town, I was the youngest of three. My family is great, but there was often tension within it. As the youngest (and undoubtedly the most spoiled, as the only boy), I quickly learned that my role was to break that tension. To make people laugh.

And so I did.

I'm over forty now, and I still try to make people laugh. (Which is a really good skill for picking up hot women, like my wife, FYI) The tension is no longer there, but the habit remains. And waht I still appreciate, when it comes to dealing with my daily harangues, whether its depression or rejection or just getting my work done, is the solace of laughter.

We adults, as a rule, take ourselves to seriously. Everything is serious. Every life moment is crucial. Our votes. Our ideas. Our work environments.

We get so wound up in "being adults" we forget that the most joy we had came when we were kids. When we were allowed to play. And playing is dreaming. There is a direct correlation between the two. I take my writing seriously, but if there's no joy in it, it isn't a dream.

I've spoken with a number of successful people who believe the only "real" pressure comes when you work a high corporate position where you make lots of money and work intense overtime. And oh yeah, your salary is $500,000 a year.

Hogwash.

I'd suggest that there is far greater pressure when you're not sure how you're going to pay rent and you're writing at 2am to finish a short story that may or may not ever be sold. I'm not suggesting that the high-powered executive isn't facing pressure. They are. (I've had a number of clients like this) But to suggest that such pressure is greater than that of the starving artist is bull. A single year of a salary like that is worth eight years of the life of a starving artist.

This is where the importance of humour enters. I've met numerous artists who are just as sad-faced and delirious as my high powered lawyer clients.(I'm a personal trainer. We see LOTS of rich clients.)

This is unacceptable.

If we lose our sense of humour, we lose our sense of place. This is death to any dreamer. It practically guarantees that we will become a self-important jerk.

And we have enough of those.

My suggestion? Find a way to laugh again.

Don't strain yourself to tell your partner that you're working on "your career." Don't roll your eyes at them when they ask you how it's going and don't quite understand. Of course they don't understand. Explain it to them, even if you've done it before. And most importantly, find things that make you laugh.

Laughter heals us. It makes us better. It helps artists to lose their narcissistic strain, (Yes, it's in you, too, no matter what you think.)

Tonight, I've posted a few videos that I find hilarious. I suggest you find people (John Oliver?) that speak profoundly but make you laugh. Never underestimate the power of a smile.

We need you to dream, but you need to laugh to follow through.

So let's find things to laugh about.

Together.



As a trainer, I have to include this one from Regan.




And one more from the great Louis C.K. (Swearing in this one, if that bothers you, but minimal) This is probably my favourite comedy bit of all time. Yeah, it's that good.)



Smiling now? Good!

Now get back to work, and forget about those dream killers and doubters and dummies who can't be bothered!

We need you!

Movie Review: The Other Guys (2010)

(2010)

Directed by Adam McKay

We're all still waiting for the great Will Ferrell comedy, the Liar Liar or Pink Panther or even Wedding Crashers that catapults him into the final stratosphere for comedic actors. After watching The Other Guys, it's clear we'll be waiting for a while longer. That isn't to say however, that The Other Guys isn't worth seeing. In fact, it lets you know right away that you're in one of the good Will Ferrell movies. For one thing, you're laughing almost immediately. The situation (Will Ferrell as a…) is only slightly absurd and he's paired with an actor who can play it straight and funny (Mark Wahlberg). The biggest difference between good Ferrell (Talladega Nights, Anchor Man) and bad Ferrell (Semi-Pro, Blades of Glory) however, is that he has a director capable of constraining him. In this case, it's Adam McKay. It's odd to say about a comedian who's so physical, but Ferrell is better when he's doing his thing with facial expressions and ridiculously obvious but inappropriate comments. What most people miss is that a large part of that comes from the goodwill he generates with his bumbling, innocent persona. (Have we ever seen an actor so political that is welcomed so easily on both sides of the aisle?)

In The Other Guys, Will Ferrell is an accountant/police officer who loves his desk job. His partner, Mark Wahlberg, is a former up and coming detective who's been forced to pair with Ferrell because of an unfortunate incident earlier in his career. Together, they get an opportunity to go after "a big one." It's a buddy cop movie with the twist that these buddy cops are clearly not heroic types.

In terms of straight guys, Wahlberg is good. As much as we've grown to appreciate his action abilities, he's just as good doing comedy. Unfortunately, his character here isn't defined as clearly as it needs to be. There are too many inconsistencies, and too often you find yourself saying "how can he do that?" I'm quibbling though, because when the two stars are arguing or "starting fresh", the chemistry is legitimate and funny. Eva Mendez has a role as the "perfect wife", as last played by Cameron Diaz in There's Something About Mary, and she handles it well enough. (She's asked to be hot, and she comes through with, err, flying colours)

Ferrell's movies, even his best, remind me a bit of Adam Sandler's work. There's funny stuff there, but the work feels incomplete. Especially in the second half of the films. And make no mistake, the second half of the movie is the difference between a great comedy and a good one. A great comedy makes you laugh all the way through and somehow manages to be poignant while twanging slightly on your heartstrings. A good comedy, which is hard enough, merely makes you smile and laugh. In that, The Other Guys is a good comedy. There's a number of laugh out loud moments, a great deal of smiling, and a buffet of quotables for the water cooler. We still haven't seen a great Will Ferrell comedy, but The Other Guys is another good one, and seeing as how rare that is these days, that will do for now.

**** (Out of Five)

Copyright Stephen Burns 2010

Movie Review: Death at a Funeral (2010)

A Very Slow Death…

Directed by Neil LaBute

Death at a Funeral is a farce, based on the 2007 British film of the same name. I wish I'd known that before I watched it. I'll be honest, the farce may be a theater tradition, but most of the time they're just stupid. It's an intellectually redundant form of broad based comedy, the idiot relative of its more refined cousin, satire, which actually requires thinking. And generally speaking, the only thing worse than a French or British farce, is an American one. It simply doesn't work in Hollywood because big American films are always trying to make sure that everyone is happy at the end. That's assuming, of course, people GET to the end. I first checked my watch about forty-five minutes into the movie. I checked it again about ten minutes later. At one point I yawned, and it was only 9:30pm. So, that wasn't a good sign. But maybe I should go back to the reason I watched the movie in the first place.

Some of you may not remember, but when Chris Rock released his 1998 HBO special, Black and White, there were many, myself included, who considered him the preeminent comedian of his generation. Perhaps the closest thing to the reincarnation of a young Eddie Murphy. Unlike Murphy however, Rock was never able to transform his stand up success to movies, not in a starring role, at least. Lawrence, on the other hand, was a box office power for a short time in the late 1990's. In many ways, he was the antithesis of Rock; a sometimes funny stand up comedian whose stylings did translate into some big hits. Then Hollywood paid him $20 million to do Black Knight, he became arrogant, and was never the same.

All comedians are angry, but when they become arrogant – that is, when their arrogance infects their comedy – they lose their mass appeal. Ever wonder why Adam Sandler is still popular? The anger, and therefore the humility, real or not, is still evident in his work, and people can still identify with him.

As for this typically unfunny farce, well, there isn't a lot to say. There's a funeral, obviously, and some well known actors playing types. I already mentioned the two leads. Luke Wilson is himself. Tracy Morgan is himself. Regina Hall acts as though she's still working with the Wayan brothers. (Psst. This isn't another Scary Movie. You don't have to squeak your voice on every line reading.) Danny Glover is a grumpy, wheelchair bound grandfather. Zoe Saldana is here, although I'm not sure why. Seems like she's accepted every acting offer since Avatar. She probably would have been more effective here in the blue, ten foot body, with the long tail. None of these actors are ever funny. Oddly, the only laughs in the movie come from James Marsden. His frazzled character is the only one we actually believe.

Death at a Funeral never lets you inside. You never get the sense that the movie cares about its idiot characters, perhaps it's not supposed to, and consequently, doesn't care about you either. The best part of the movie was checking the display on my DVD player and realizing there were only nine minutes left. The movie is 89 minutes but feels much, much longer. If the purpose of this farce was to slow down the minute hand on my watch, the movie is a tremendous success. Otherwise, you'll wish you were the one in the casket.

* (out of five)

Copyright Stephen Burns 2010