I have what may just be the most annoying, persistent cold in history. So, instead of being with friends like a normal 17-year-old girl, this Saturday I woke up at noon, spent the entire day at home with endless cups of Green Tea, and had an impromptu Judd Apatow marathon, which is probably the best way to spend a lazy day. So, I watched the 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, Step Brothers, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Other than Step Brothers, I've seen all of those movies repeatedly; with or without commentary (my obsession knows no bounds).
I guess I'm unlike most film snobs in that I treat good comedy as if it was a holy thing. And I don't mean Woody Allen "comedies" either. I've long preferred Ghostbusters to Annie Hall. What I think makes Judd Apatow movies so special to me is that they all seem to come from a place of profound sadness, or rather melancholy, which in my opinion is an even sadder emotion. Most comedies today only offer pure escapism (and I maintain there's nothing particularly wrong with that), but these movies take something mundane and ordinary, stretch it out a bit, and make it fantastic. They take pathetic, albeit slightly ridiculous, characters and put them in very real, emotional situations (having children, getting married, breaking up, going to college- growing up, in general), and somehow manage to make the movie hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time. It's clear that all of his movies come from a very real place, but instead of wallowing in sadness, he prefers to take these stories and point out that there is, in fact, something intrinsically funny about it all. This is what, I think, makes truly great comedy- taking something mundane and depressing, and pointing out some obvious hilarity in it all. Isn't it comedy that helps keep humanity, in general, from jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge?
I tend to dislike the old cliche that all comedians come from terrible upbringings, and I find that it's just as often false as true, but I do know that Mr. Apatow had a sad, mundane little childhood. He's talked in articles about how he had very few friends, was the stereotypical nerd, and always looked to comedy as a way to escape, so much that it became an obsession for him. So it does really warm my heart to see that he's managed to do the same for so many people.
His movies really do all seem to be dedicated to the modern day Apatows (if that makes sense to anyone but me). Here's an example I find very apt: In the Knocked Up commentary, he talks about a blind date he went on once. He thought it was going really well until his date told him she had to go back home because her friend's dad had gotten really sick and she needed to check in on him. So, he proceeded to call her every fifteen minutes or so asking how everything was, until finally his date's roommate picked up the phone and said "She doesn't want to talk to you!" and hung up. At this point in the commentary Judd jokingly asks "How do you bounce back from that?" to which Seth Rogen answers "You make a bunch of movies about nerds winning. That's what you do."
[also, if anyone wants to see my favorite scene in anything ever, here it is, from Freaks and Geeks, one of the best television shows in history:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmCpmEQD0L4
it was written by Judd Apatow, and he talked about it an article about two years ago, saying how it was the most emotional scene he's ever written, since it's based completely off of his childhood. And this is why I can never understand how some critics can just write off comedians as "mindless entertainers". I think that scene is much more real, subtle, and complex than anything Oscar darling Clint Eastwood has ever done.)
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It is getting not only embarrassing, but also tedious to keep typing out the same sentence on every one of these thoughtful and intelligent posts, namely that I have not seen ANY of the movies you've mentioned. So, from now on, instead of typing all that stuff out, I will simply type my favorite word in the entire world, which is, of course, Armadillo. When you see Armadillo, that is a code for my utter ignorance of virtually any movie produced in the last 10, maybe 20 years.
ReplyDeleteYour comments about comedy, are, of course, on target. I'm not sure what the difference between generic sadness and melancholy. Is the latter about loss or nostalgia, whereas the latter is just feeling bad? Also, the point about people who denigrate comedy. I'm not sure I've been exposed to much of that kind of commentary. Most of the stuff I read extols comedy. For me, the comedian is the one who can point to the invisible elephant in the room, the unseen absurdities that we have grown all too used to. To that end, the laughter that accompanies comedy usually contains the word, "yes" or "how true." It is ultimately an act of communion in the literal sense, since we all come together over comedy, whereas tragedy is about the individual.
Funny how everyone identifies with the nerds and geeks, even, (perhaps especially) if they were not either nerd or geek at any time in their life. One of my favorite paintings is by Heironymous Bosch and it shows Christ surrounded by ape-like people, the best of them, like St. Veronica, happy to get what they can get out of him, the worst, tormenting him overtely. He is each of us at that moment when our blind date throws us under the bus.
http://www.abcgallery.com/B/bosch/bosch56.html
"Armadillo" is one of my favorites as well.
ReplyDeleteI always think melancholy is the worst feeling in the world because it implies a sort of mundane-ness about life in general. The feeling of loss you get after a loved one dies or something equally horrible happens at least feels justified, but melancholy seems to be just a depressed feeling about the state of the world in general. I may just be using the word wrong.
Also, by the unfavorable critical response to comedy, I was thinking mostly about the fact that comedy never really gets recognized as award-worthy. People would sooner regard overly-depressing, pretentious movies as intelligent and works of art, while comedies, no matter how well executed, as simply entertainment for the masses, which I think over-simplifies comedy as a genre.I'm sort of guilty, though, of instantly loving most comedians, because I think it's lovely that some people devote their lives to making others happy. I absolutely loved what you said about comedy bringing people together while tragedy focuses on the individual alone. Very true.
That painting is both thought provoking and horrifying, Mr. Bennett, and I'm sure it will haunt me for years to come. Eek.
I like to refer to Judd Apatow as "The King of New Comedy" because that really is what he is. Since Anchorman in 2004, which was his first breakout production, he has consistently put out films that are not just filled with rapid fire jokes, but have a heart at their core that is surrounded by rapid fire jokes. He has proved that a movie about two teens hoping to get laid at a party can be sentimental and touching to watch. A movie can have both immature and mature elements and remain entertaining. I'm looking forward to his third directing effort, Funny People with Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen. I don't really like Sandler but with Apatow and Rogen I think it is hard to go wrong.
ReplyDeleteAnd since your on the topic of favorite words, mine is "surreptitious". It sounds really cool and it has an awesome definition: "Clandestine". That's two cool sounding words.
I'm not a huge fan of Adam Sandler either, especially not the crap he's done lately, but I know that him and Apatow have been friends for years, and the used to live together, so I'm sure he'll fit in nicely with the rest of the Apatow crew.
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