Yes. ALL of them.
One of my favorites is the relatively little known āThe Frisco Kidā a western from 1979. Gene plays a Polish rabbi traveling across America to serve in San Francisco with robber Harrison Ford as his companion. Thereās a lot of humor (I enjoyed reading the quotes page at IMDB today), but much warmth and kindness as well.
Bon voyage, Gene! Love your stuff!
Iām right there with you, but for us to put a serious push behind Alzheimers research would require us to admit that mental health care is an actual thing that we should be thinking about and funding. And our country simply isnāt in that place right now.
I personally donate to only two charities. The World Food Program to help with global hunger. The other is the Cure Alzheimerās Fund. Cancer and heart disease suck, no doubt. But losing oneās mind, to paraphrase the great Dan Quayle, is truly a waste.
My favorite memory of Gene Wilder was on Inside the Actors Studio and Jamey Lipton asked āIf you should happen to go to heaven, what would you like God to say to you?ā
without missing a beat he said in a squeaky Gilda Radner voice āwould you like some tea?ā
I will think of him having a cup with Gilda, well done Gene, well done.
1 Like
I must admit I did feel a bit verklempt last night. Partly the passing of Gene Wilder. Partly the realization that, at the time of his death, he was 83 - when did THAT happen? Partly Gilda. A great love story there, now not known by many younger than myself. In Hollywood, it is unusual to find persons who can stay in a good relationship. RIP Gene! RIP Gilda! RIP that age of actors and comedians!
Well, of course. Partly because the surprise factor of the great comic moments is now 40 years old. The campfire beans scene? Never saw anything like that before the movie. Ever successful comic movie is so due to the surprise factor, and the greatness of the movie is diminished considerably the second time around. Comedy IS surprise.
I remember the joke that, as a 14 year old, I almost died from laughing at:
Q: Why do ducks have flat feet?
A: From stomping out forest fires!
Q: Why do elephants have flat feet?
A: From stomping out burning ducks!
The comic power of that joke is somehow diminished. Possibly because I, as an adult, know that ducks only fight city fires.
2 Likes
Your observation is valid, regarding Blazing Saddles (I recently had the same experience with Airplane, much less funny now that the gags have been recycled 100 times). But only some comedy relies on surprise. Young Frankenstein is as funny now, on the 20th viewing, as in the first.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is another example of a comedy that never grows old. Ditto Dr. Strangelove.
1 Like