No, I didn't touch your drumset..

I can’t lie I love Will Ferrell. I think he’s absolutely hilarious. From SNL, to “The Other Guys” I just die laughing.

Ferrell made his big break on SNL, his impressions of Alex Trebek, James Lipton, Harry Caray, and of course President George W. Bush became iconic and regular skits on the show. Form SNL, he developed a regular skit into a movie, that movie of course being “Night at the Roxbury”. 

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            I find the manner in which Ferrell’s movies are written and produced to be highly interesting. If you think of movies like “Step Brothers”, “Anchorman”, or “Talladega Nights”, a great deal of the funniest scenes in these movies are largely improvised by Ferrell and his cast members. The script of course is written to give a general direction to the scene, but Ferrell and the other actors would shoot many variations of the same scene again and again all the while improvising new dialogue, and in my opinion, coming up with absolute comedic gold.

            This of course isn’t high-brow comedy that really comments on society or makes the viewer consider the truths of the universe, but there’s no way you’re not laughing. I don’t think the lack of depth or “meaning” discredits the work at all, mainly because people don’t realize that improvisation comedy is ridiculously hard. There are just some actors that can’t improvise at all, and are completely confined by a script. It take a unique kind of talent to take a written suggest and develop a uniquely hilarious scene, and more than likely eight other versions.

            If you’ve ever seen Will Ferrell in any interview or any late night show, you know that he has a natural comedic gift. No one is working to hard to write a script for him that “shows his talent”.

            I’m sure you can all think of actors you’ve exclusively seen in drama and have never made the cross over to comedy. Likely, this isn’t because comedy is a lesser form of entertainment with not as much worth, more than likely, it’s because they just aren’t funny. Comedy requires timing and incite as to how to structure the joke so it hits the audience in the best way possible. I mean, anyone can do straight drama. Maybe not to the level of Sean Penn or Christian Bale, but there’s no doubt that producers and directors could shape the scene around the actor and really make them look good. However, you can’t simply edit someone to be funny.

Tina Fey

Well, I guess I’m kind of breaking form this week and talking about someone I really wouldn’t consider an excellent actor, but a pretty inspiring person in entertainment. Tina Fey.

I’m currently reading her auto-biography, and the more I read the more fascinated I am by her writing. If any of you don’t know, Tina Fey really ‘made it’ by writing for Saturday Night Live, and only started becoming one of the regular cast members after years of writing. After years of writing and performing on SNL, Tina went on to write the movies “Mean Girls” and “Baby Mama” and produce the show “30 Rock” on NBC, which I’m obsessed with. 

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I can totally understand how someone may not like Tina or 30 Rock, because it’s certain brand of comedy, but I think it’s all pretty reflective of Fey’s life and work.  Regardless if the shows, movies, or writings she’s done, I personally believe Fey has done a lot of work to pave the way for other female driven comedy.

For instance, Amy Poehler, one of Fey’s cast member on SNL has gone on to star in, and I believe produce the show “Parks and Recreation” (also excellent.. ridiculously excellent). In many episodes Poehler has either written or directed the entire episode. Maya Rudolph, another SNL alum also stars in TV series.

I don’t think anyone in this day and age would argue that women don’t have a place in comedy, but I think Fey’s success, and widespread success has made major network producers more open to centering sit-coms around female characters. It actually kind of seems to be a trend as of late. I mean, it seems like “ Whitney” was a flop, but there’s also the “The New Girl” to consider. The past few seasons seem to center around leading-lady comedies.

I mean, you can hardly talk to anyone that hasn’t seen “Bridesmaids” and absolutely loved it. I was absolutely shocked when my guy friends told me that they were hanging out and just decided to see “Bridesmaids” and loved it. I’m sure that sounds a little sexist, but I had my own apprehensions about seeing this movie, mainly because I didn’t think it looked funny, and I’m not the biggest Kristen Wiig fan. To me, it seemed like a girl’s version of “The Hangover”. But, I ended of loving it just like everyone else.  The movie itself just seemed different. It wasn’t a bunch of girls trying to tell raunchy jokes and be on the level of “the guys” in comedy.

Maybe this is only encouraging to me, as a lover of comedy that has never found women-comics funny, but I think it could be viewed as significant. But really, I have never seen a woman-comedian that didn’t make me cringe, until I started seeing more and more of Fey’s work, and women like her.

Ewan McGregor

So Ewan McGregor, a Scottish actor that made his big break as a Jedi. You’ll recognize him from the newest Star Wars movies as Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, the newest Star Wars editions morally offend most people, so I won’t try to sell you his talent based on those.

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 Unlike the last few actors I’ve written about, Ewan isn’t a super intense method actor, but I’ve still been blown away by some of his movies. By far one of my favorite movies that McGregor has done is “Trainspotting”. Interestingly enough, this was the third or fourth movie he was in, and it was a pretty good success. The movie’s based on a novel, and it centered around the life of Ewan McGregor’s character and his heroin habit and his attempt becoming sober.

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I won’t lie to you, the movie’s pretty dark. If you’ve ever read “Fight Club” or any of Chuck Palahnuik’s books, this movie has a similar kind of dark comedic feel. It definitely paints addiction differently than any other movie I’ve seen. The characters love to get loaded; it’s heavily romanticized, but at the same time, it’s such a mundane and casual thing.  Anyway, my favorite part of McGregor’s performance in this movie is that he is very understated. Some aspects of the movie are directed and produced to seem silly and provide a much-needed comic relief, but there remains a realness in the performances of all of the actors. By the end of the movie, you’ll feel a sense of shock that while you watched this movie through the eyes of McGregor’s character, you had your heart broken, and you laughed, but you didn’t necessarily realize the entire impact of the the narrative, that is until the last scene. I would highly suggest seeing it. If anything, it’ll be the best PSA you’ve seen.

A few other movies I would recommend, I think really show off Ewan’s unique talent. The best way to describe his acting is believability. He’s never really been a character that is entirely revolutionary, but in every movie I’ve seen him, I’ve just believed it.

Another dark, pretty alternative movie is “Velvet Goldmine”. It’s based on glam rock of the 70s and alludes to one of David Bowie’s stage characters. McGregor’s character is loosely based on Iggy Pop and Lou Reed. It’s VERY drugs, sex, and rock and roll. (Christian Bale's in this one too, yo)

More recent war-type movies would be “Black Hawk Down” and “Men Who Stare at Goats”. Just, see “Men Who Stare at Goats”… Really… You won’t be mad.

Finally, "I Love You, Phillip Morris" is a must-see.  All you need to know is Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor fall for one another. If that didn't sell you, this nutty story is based on one that is absolutely true. DO NOT read a plot summery before you watch the movie. If you ruin the end for yourself the movie won't be worth it. I laughed and cried and then laughed again and then cried again.

Well that’s all kids. Definitely check out some Ewan.

PS,  watch “Moulin Rouge” obviously the new one Ewan’s in… Alone, in a closet, with earbuds... Don’t tell your friends, and it can be our secret. 

Christian Bale

I know what you're thinking... the dude that played Batman. Yes, he's played Batman about three more times than any one actor should, but he's still a pretty interesting actor. Mind you, I've always loved the Batman movies, and, to me, The Dark Knight was the epitome of an incredible movie with incredible actors. However, Christian Bale truly blew my mind in the movie "The Fighter". For his performance in this movie, Bale won a SAG, Academy Award, and a Golden Globe. Not bad.

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Christian Bale, like Sean Penn, is a practicing method actor. He once interviewed and he referred to himself as a type of meaningless vessel that was only fulfilled while embodying a character. Yeah, some actors are a little intense, but they sure can produce good film.

What struck me about Bale's performance in "The Fighter" was how just how nervous he made me. In the film, he plays a crack head that's using more or less throughout the entire movie (don't worry, that's not really a spoiler). But his performance as an addict isn't campy, and he isn't portrayed as evil, or really even bad. He just is. Throughout the movie, I found myself so uncomfortable with Bale's character, and equally heartbroken.

Bale - "The Fighter"

After seeing the film, I was intrigued and wanted to learn more about Bale's other work. He's known for going to great lengths to physically embody his character. In "The Fighter" for instance, he dropped 62 pounds and became a skeletal version of himself. For another role in the"The Machinist", he was even thinner. Most big stars have similar stories of dropping or gaining a lot of weight, but it's usually a once-in-a-career type thing. Christian Bale has done it twice. I personally find it wildly impressive that one man is so willing to sacrifice his body time and time again just to accurately portray a role, when technology like CGI exists and editors could be put with the hardship.

Bale in Batman v. "The Machinist"

 

 

Anyway, I would highly recommend watching "The Fighter" if you get the chance. It's definitely not for everyone, but I was clearly impressed. Also, keep an eye out for other films Bale's in; they're not likely to disappoint.