What the heck has happened to Inside The
Actor's Studio? It used to be the place to go to see James Lipton attach his lips to the buttcheeks of the
greatest actors alive today. But, I'm guessing they've run out of high-status actors to beg (Al Pacino is one of the
last biggies, and he'll be on later this year), since this year's lineup has been brutal. Elton John? Barbara Walters?
Rosie O'Donnell? Martin Lawrence? What do any of these people have to do with acting?This week's guest, Dave Chappelle, is also along those lines: another person not primarily known for acting. But given his disappearance, his reappearance, and his paranoid and incoherent appearance on Oprah, this interview is intriguing. I mean, think about it: James Lipton, perhaps the polar opposite of Chappelle as far as... well... everything is concerned, trying to figure out why Dave flew the coop, and also going wild over his powerful turn in Half-Baked. The unintentional comedy factor alone would make me want to watch. But Dave lets go some insights, as well, as this New York Times review details. So, it's going to be funny, unintentionally funny, and have some insight. Which is more than I'm going to say for the Al Pacino episode.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-10-2006 @ 4:20PM
Jamie said...
I note the crowd of students in the studio applued the loudest and enjoy the mot actors like Kevin Smith, George Carlin, and Mike Myers--folks one would not consider master thespians. Chapelle fits right in with the dumbing down of American cinema. Why not have him on?
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2-10-2006 @ 5:35PM
ErricZ said...
Since when is Kevin Smith is considered to be at the forefront of "dumbing down of American cinema"? If anything, he should be credited for just the opposite. Anyone else I see writing these days is just rehasing old classic hits -- King Kong, LOTR, just to name two right off the top of my head -- or making sequels to movies that had no right in being a first -- Big Momma House TWO?
Try a better example, I think we all agree that Chapelle isn't any honorific, actor-genius but just a damn funny, stand-up comic -- who happened to bail on a very successful show because he couldn't deal with the pressure of having a hit show.
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2-10-2006 @ 6:56PM
Jamie said...
Good grief. Have you seen a Kevin Smith movie? they are nothing but junior high sex joks and Star Wars references. How that is advancing cinema is beyond me.
At least Lord of the rings comes from literature. King Kong, too, is a variation on Romo and Juliet. Smith can't muster much more than blow job jokes and swiping material from comic books.
And that, mi amigo, is the dumbing down of American cinema.
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2-10-2006 @ 8:56PM
Jennifer said...
Hey, Kevin Smith has argued philosophical points about God, while still fitting in a poop monster. He can mix the two er, disparate elements together AND make it work- IMO, anyway.
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