When it’s bad, it’s unwatchable, but when it’s good, you never forget it.
In a car ride earlier today, “Foxy Lady” came on the radio, and my brain automatically went to this awesome scene in Wayne’s World. I cannot hear that song without picturing the sleeves on the flannel tied around Garth’s waist bouncing up and down in conjunction with his pelvic thrusts. The first time I saw it, I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe.
There are a lot of classics in physical comedy–what are some of your favorites?
The dance of the rolls in The Gold Rush.
The factory scene in Modern Times (especially starting five minutes in).
When Eric Campbell discovers Chaplin kissing Edna Perviance in Beyond the Screen. (It’s at 5:13, but start watching at about 4:30 to get the setup)
Getting away from Chaplin:
Climbing the building in Safety Last.
The falling building in Steamboat Bill, Jr.
W.C. Fields kicking Baby Leroy in the ass.
(I’m confident that I’m badly misquoting this, but what the heck…)
(Mel brooks holds up three stone tablets) “I have been to the mountain where the Lord God has given me these fifteen” (one tablet slips out of his grasp to the ground and shatters)"…Ten! Ten commandments"
Allison Janney is an underappreciated physical comedienne. She had numerous bits on The West Wing (“The Jackal,” bits with exercise equipment, a killer meeting with Big Bird, etc.) and a wonderful throwaway gag in Primary Colors as a school librarian who Travolta’s character hooks up with (She does an accidental pole dance on a banister).
Yes, Kovacs’ “Nairobi Trio” represents one of the earliest examples of surreal dadaist humor in mainstream American culture. Firesign Theater, Andy Kaufman, early SNL, and a good chunk of comedy from the last 40 or so years has its roots here. Beyond that, however, it’s a waste of time to explain it. It either strikes you as funny or it doesn’t.
