Live Life Team
Films starring stand-up comics can be so inconsistent. At times, they are pitiful star vehicles, intended to make a quick buck through potty humour and recycled “It couldn’t get any worse than this” gags. Other times, the stand-up comics churn out the most fantastic comedies of all time (“Caddyshack”, “Ghostbusters”).
Take Robin Williams who has managed to combine the street-smart comedy he honed in clubs and a Julliard-trained acting education. He’s worked fairly non-stop, producing such terrific comedies as “Mrs. Doubtfire”. He’s also produced an outstanding body of dramatic work, including “Good Will Hunting”, which earned him an Oscar. Nevertheless, he’s turned his fair share of duds that at times, seem like he swung for the fences and missed, or just needed a paycheck.
Jim Carrey is another example of a comic turned actor. He’s starred in the outstanding “The Mask”, “Liar, Liar”, and “Man on the Moon” (for which he received an Oscar nomination) as well as the crude “Me, Myself, and Irene”, and “Yes, Man”, which seems nothing more than a recycled “Liar, Liar”.
The successes of both comics’ films seem to rest not on the brilliance of the actors but on the tyranny of the directors. Both Carrey and Williams have worked with brilliant, world-class artists as well as unknown corporate puppets. The difference always seems to be the setting the directors give them in which to perform. If audiences are lucky, we’ll see more art films and comedies from overbearing directors.
