Chekhov once hired a real derelict to play a derelict in one of his plays. It didn't work. It took the audience out of the scene. It's one thing for an actor to give a convincing imitation of a derelict. It's quite another thing to be a derelict....Richard Lewis looked gaunt and close to death. That kind of subverts the laugh potential of his lines. I think Lewis with his dire appearance could have added resonance to a Becket play but not so much to a sitcom. All that damned reality and mortality is heavier than light banter.....Related topic: The former Ellen Page now has a presence that's sure to draw attention away from whatever role she is playing. There are a couple of exceptions though. I think she could be the definitive Viola in Twelfth Night or Rosalind in As You Like It.
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12 comments:
Affirmative Action... acronyms have diverse invocations with semantic twists.
#BabyLivesMatter (BLM)
He looks so awful here, I'm surprised he had the energy to do the scene.
But he was a pro, and even if he (must have known) he was near the end, he still wanted to do what he loved.
Good for him...
Btw, getting Tracey Ullman was genius.
She is one of only a few truly funny women...
So. This is a ..... Sit-Com? What's the Sit? All these people have a social life that consists of pretending not to despise each other?
"I need to build a base with some rice"
wha?
Loved it. Thanks.
It’s little gems like this that keep us coming back, Ann!
If there were Purple Hearts for stand-up comedy, this is it.
Chekhov once hired a real derelict to play a derelict in one of his plays. It didn't work. It took the audience out of the scene. It's one thing for an actor to give a convincing imitation of a derelict. It's quite another thing to be a derelict....Richard Lewis looked gaunt and close to death. That kind of subverts the laugh potential of his lines. I think Lewis with his dire appearance could have added resonance to a Becket play but not so much to a sitcom. All that damned reality and mortality is heavier than light banter.....Related topic: The former Ellen Page now has a presence that's sure to draw attention away from whatever role she is playing. There are a couple of exceptions though. I think she could be the definitive Viola in Twelfth Night or Rosalind in As You Like It.
He lookeed awful. Still funny though. Leave em laughing.
He doesn’t blink!
He looks incredibly frail in that scene. I admire the guy for answering the bell one last time and still being funny as hell- RIP, Richard Lewis.
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Comments older than 2 days are always moderated. Newer comments may be unmoderated, but are still subject to a spam filter and may take a few hours to get released. Thanks for your contributions and your patience.