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Why is it that really funny people often make decidedly bad and unfunny movies? After seeing trailers and commercials for recent Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy movies, I've been wondering about that more and more.
In the 80s Murphy was arguably the biggest star in show business. He sold millions of comedy records, pretty much carried Saturday Night Live through some of its worst seasons, and made a lot of blockbuster movies. And sure, a few of those were funny like
48 HOURS and BEVERLY HILLS COP where his kind of smart-ass humor was exhibited. But what's happened since? THE HAUNTED MANSION? MEET DAVE? And all those movies where he's in a fat suit for every character are just mind-numbingly bad. Where did the funny Eddie Murphy go?
Steve Martin has actually had a pretty solid film career. His earliest films like THE JERK and THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS are hysterical, and showcase his wacky sense of humor. ROXANNE and MY BLUE HEAVEN are consistently funny and even when he started playing 
This is the movie-Steve I'd like to remember |
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a dad like in PARENTHOOD and FATHER OF THE BRIDE he was still comical and the films were good. However, more recently things haven't gone so well. BOWFINGER was decent but BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE and the PINK PANTHER movies are bordering on embarrassing. Even his role in BABY MAMA was more weird/quirky than funny. Hopefully the upcoming IT'S COMPLICATED will redeem Martin a little but I'm not holding out a lot of hope.
Richard Pryor is considered by many to be the greatest stand-up comedian of all time. His material was edgy and raw and always very funny. However, in his films, that rarely was brought out. Sure, some of the ones he did with Gene Wilder like STIR CRAZY and SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL were funny if rather silly, but if all you knew of Pryor was based on his film career, you'd have no idea how amazingly funny he really was.
Chris Rock, who some have compared to Pryor, is another example. An amazing stand-up, his movies have been really weak. Like Pryor, his edgy material 
Yes, Chris, stick to what you do well |
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just doesn't seem to translate to film. DOWN TO EARTH, POOTIE TANG, and I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE are all mediocre to bad movies. (Perhaps that's why Rock is now trying his hand at a documentary).
Dana Carvey, another great SNL alum, aside from WAYNE'S WORLD has pretty much just made bad movies. Most of his comedy is based on characters and impressions and that doesn't really seem to hold up in a feature-length movie (although they certainly tried with OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS and the awful MASTER OF DISGUISE).
It's no wonder that a lot of stand-up comedians have had (and continue to have) success on television. Hell, it seemed like every other show in the 90s starred a stand-up. Half hour episodes (or more realistically twenty-two minutes) can revolve around a bit or a joke straight from an act and the comedy is much easier to withstand than in a ninety minute film. And think about the stars of those shows who tried to make movies. Roseanne was a huge hit but SHE-DEVIL was atrocious. 
I'm just glad there weren't actually parts 1-5 |
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The Cosby Show was good but Bill Cosby's LEONARD PART 6 and GHOST DAD? Come on. Home Improvement was (for some reason) very popular, but Tim Allen has made mostly bad movies.
And on the other side, it would be weird to see Jerry Seinfeld or Drew Carey starring in movies. Perhaps they rightfully recognize where their talents lay. (I wish the funny Kevin James would as well). However, if next week I see a commercial for a road-comedy staring all three of them, I would only be a little surprised.
I think what it comes down to is this: Good stand-up comedy, in addition to actually being funny, is about spontaneity and rhythm and quick-wittedness. Movies are not that at all. They're about hitting your mark and reading the words in the script and then doing take after take until the director is happy. Perhaps one day there will be a movie that can encapsulate all of that but until then we'll probably have several more lame Pink Panther and Eddie Murphy fat-suit films to endure.
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| Movie Musings |
Every other Tuesday
Thoughts, observations, conjectures, complaints about movies and mostly how they relate to me personally. If you're looking for something a little broader, try Ebert.
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| Tim Josephs |
Born to write (literally – much to the displeasure of his mother, he emerged with a pencil clutched in one tiny fist), Tim spends most of his days crafting epic monosyllabic poems, new comical titles to his favorite Beatles' songs (Hey, Dude), and angry letters to local businesses that have wronged him in some way. He's really an okay guy once you get to know him.
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