Modified On February 2, 2005
That’s right, we’re paraphrasing Rodney King to make a point. We found a press release for “The Clean Standup Comedy Tour: The Movie,” that contains the following quotes:
” This new movie has no profanity or otherwise dirty humor, proving that comedy doesn’t have to have four-letter words to be funny.”
“…no profanity, vulgarity, sexual references or innuendos, swearing or toilet humor, proving that comedy can be funny without any four-letter words.”
Why so defensive, people? Why do these fellows find it necessary to tear down others in their quest to build up their product? As we’re fond of saying (as we never grow tired of repeating); It’s hard to do clean comedy, it’s hard to do dirty comedy… It’s hard to be funny.
The release continues with such ungainly phrases as, “…this unprecedented clean comedy film reestablishes the bar for comedy.” and then takes a defensive tone with “There’s nothing corny or silly about it… it’s just packed with hip, fresh, relevant humor.”
The release reaches it’s low point with this:
“If our own children can’t watch one of our movies, then we can’t be proud of our efforts.”
Twisted or what? We wouldn’t let a ten-year-old watch our club sets. Nonetheless, we’re extremely proud of our work. We merely acknowledge that it’s just not for consumption by the little ones.
We have no problem with anyone putting product out there that goes for a G-rating. People do it all the time without all the qualifiers and the cattiness. (In fact, G-rated movies gross, on average, better than all other ratings. (Or is PG? Or G and PG combined?) Family-friendly fare does well and it is marketed unapologetically for the most part.
Has their been a precipitous slide in interest in standup because of vulgarity? Not that we’re aware of. Standup is doing better than it has in a decade. Have standup concert films had trouble selling tickets? Recent movies focusing on the Kings of Comedy and the Blue Collar Comedy Tour have broken box office records.
Is this a Christian movie, made mainly for the consumption of religious people? If it is, then say so. Nobody will care if it is.
Further down in the release is this:
“The success of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” and television shows like CBS’s “Joan of Arcadia” has caused Hollywood to sit up and take notice”
and
“Hollywood is finally embracing films like “The Clean Standup Comedy Tour” because they’re clearly so financially viable.”
Of course, this is belied by the fact that, at the time of the press release, no distributor had been nailed down, nor have any deals been struck with any retailers.
(And, not to pile on, but a sensible measure of “financial viability” usually means that it’s coming to a theater near you or it’s available in bricks and mortar stores and not just the film’s website. And, while we’re not piling on, we seem to recall that the MPAA gave Mel and his pic an R-rating for graphic violence!)
Wethinks they are too defensive for their own good. Our favorite bit of snottiness is this gem:”Laugh Out Loud Productions believes that comedy doesn’t have to be dirty to be funny, and only chooses to work with comedians who share this philosophy.” So there! We theorize that there HQ in a treehouse– With a crudely drawn sign that says, “No durty comics allloud!” We bear no ill will toward the comics involved (Michael Joiner, Thor Ramsey, Carlos Oscarand Michael Jr.), we wish them luck. But why do the producers find it necessary to be so negative?
And as for their claim that theirs is “the first full-length clean standup comedy movie ever created,” we might remind them that “Bill Cosby Himself (1983)” was rated PG at the time, but standards were much tighter back then. We have no doubt that Mr. Cosby’s concert film would merit a G these days. And it would be financially viable and suitable for all audiences!